Regional Operations Profile - Africa

Working environment

At the end of 2007, African nations hosted 10.5 million people of concern to UNHCR, some one million more than in 2006 and a third of those of concern worldwide. Internally displaced persons (IDPs) made up the majority of this total. Some 5.8 million of the estimated 12.7 million conflict-generated IDPs living in sub-Saharan Africa receive protection and assistance from UNHCR.

Meanwhile, the number of refugees fell to 2.3 million in 2007, continuing the downward trend begun in 2001, while the number of asylum-seekers increased to over 252,000 persons, some 13.5 per cent more than in 2006.

These numbers reflect both significant progress in achieving durable solutions for refugees and IDPs, as well as the impact of new population movements across the continent. Both 2007 and 2008 saw the development of comprehensive strategies to address protracted refugee situations. These were aided by the consolidation of peace and stability in some countries of origin, the generosity of African States that offered local integration, and the willingness of countries elsewhere in the world to provide resettlement opportunities.

In 2007, some 2 million displaced people found solutions to their plight. An estimated 300,000 refugees and 1.7 million IDPs made the decision to return home, mainly to Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Liberia and Southern Sudan.

Local integration efforts, which had faced difficulties for a considerable period, have been revitalized in Central, Southern and West Africa. UNHCR is working with States in the region to realize this durable solution for hundreds of thousands of refugees.

In West and Southern Africa, the consolidation of peace and declining refugee populations have made governments more receptive to creative solutions for the remaining refugees, including local integration. In the United Republic of Tanzania, for instance, the local integration and naturalization of some 171,000 Burundian refugees who had fled their country in 1972 is underway.

Resettlement has served as a tangible demonstration of international burden sharing. It helped to reassure governments hosting large numbers of refugees of international solidarity, enhanced protection space and increased receptivity to other solutions for refugees. UNHCR referred approximately 19,000 refugees comprising 28 nationalities for resettlement in 2007.

At the same time, conflicts in Chad, the DRC, Kenya, Somalia, the Darfur region of Sudan, and the crisis in Zimbabwe have produced large new displacements. Sudan remains the most complex humanitarian operation in Africa, comprising both the largest IDP crisis and refugee repatriation operation. Sudan was also the biggest refugee-producing country in Africa during 2007. The humanitarian emergency in Darfur continues, with unending violence and deteriorating security.

The situation in eastern Chad worsened, despite the deployment of the European Union-led peacekeeping force. A rebel attack on the capital, N'Djamena, resulted in refugee movements to neighbouring Cameroon. In Somalia, where the number of IDPs rose from 450,000 to approximately 1.1 million between January 2007 and June 2008, displaced people have limited access to life-sustaining assistance.

In eastern DRC, fighting, attacks against IDP camps, sexual violence and other serious human rights violations displaced about half a million people, in addition to generating refugee flows towards neighbouring countries.

Even in the areas to which IDPs fled in search of safety, insecurity threatened their lives, put them at risk of further displacement and limited their access to basic rights and services such as education and food. Providing assistance and protection was challenging and frequently dangerous for humanitarian workers. UNHCR continued to work to improve conditions for refugees and IDPs, many of whom live in appalling circumstances in camps or settlements, impoverished host communities or urban settings.

Acute malnutrition rates dropped in some of the refugee operations most affected by the problem, notably Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya. The establishment of standard operating procedures to address sexual and gender-based violence has brought tangible results in some countries, such as Burundi, where 96 per cent of the 300 survivors who reported incidents of such violence in returnee areas received medical, legal and psychosocial support. However, additional efforts are required to meet minimum international standards in these sectors and others, including education and HIV and AIDS.

Strategic objectives

UNHCR has established the following objectives for its operations in Africa for 2009:

Ensuring effective protection by:

• Enhancing the protection of refugees and others of concern against sexual and gender-based violence, abuse and exploitation.

• Building capacity among governments to conduct refugee status determination (RSD) and registration.

Safeguarding the social and economic well-being of persons of concern by:

• Enhancing the protection of refugees and others of concern against sexual and gender-based violence, abuse and exploitation.

• Improving living standards and reducing major risks to health, notably malnutrition, malaria, HIV and AIDS, and inadequate health services.

• Applying age, gender and diversity analysis to all operational activities.

Attaining durable solutions by:

• Promoting durable solutions, with particular attention to protracted refugee situations.

Responding effectively to emergency situations by:

• Maintaining a regional emergency response capacity.

• Promoting the safety of staff, populations of concern and organizational assets.

In pursuit of the above objectives, the Office will develop dynamic partnerships and enhance results-based management, including the efficient utilization of resources.

Thematic highlights

UNHCR will strengthen national capacities to deliver protection, provide assistance and realize solutions for refugees, taking into account the phenomenon of mixed migration, which has introduced new complexities for governments and the Office.

With regard to durable solutions, UNHCR anticipates that, conditions permitting, an estimated 196,000 refugees will repatriate voluntarily in 2009, mainly to Angola, Burundi, Côte d'Ivoire, the DRC, Mauritania and Southern Sudan. The Office will support Governments willing to integrate refugees locally in Central, Southern and West Africa. Some 116,400 refugees will be in need of resettlement in 2009, more than four times as many as in 2008.

Strong partnerships with international and local NGOs, UN agencies and other organizations will remain vital in reinforcing the protection of forcibly displaced people and ensuring that their basic needs are met. UNHCR will continue to promote the early engagement of development actors in post-conflict situations and in areas hosting refugees and IDPs.

Fostering partnerships with African multilateral organizations in strategic areas, such as the promotion of durable solutions, peacebuilding, post-conflict reconstruction and mixed migration will also be a priority in 2009. Some ground breaking events are foreseen for 2009 under the umbrella of the African Union, and UNHCR will strongly support these initiatives (see box).

Based on the current operational environment and within the framework of the regionalization process in Africa, UNHCR is restructuring its presence in Southern and West Africa by establishing regional offices in Pretoria and Dakar.

Sub-regional priorities

In West Africa, UNHCR's operations will focus on local integration for the majority of the refugees remaining in the region, in cooperation with the Economic Community of West African States and concerned governments. The organized repatriation to Mauritania is expected to continue in 2009, notwithstanding recent political developments in the country. While returns to Togo should be completed by the end of 2008, the repatriation to Liberia may be extended depending on the number of returns attained by the end of 2008. The organized repatriation of Ivorian refugees should begin in 2009.

Major activities in the East and Horn of Africa will include improving protection and assistance for refugees in camps; facilitating the return of Sudanese refugees living in Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda; and assisting the return of smaller refugee groups of other nationalities. UNHCR will continue to support the cluster approach for IDPs and returned IDPs in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Uganda.

Operational and security conditions will remain challenging in many areas of Chad and Sudan. In Chad and the Darfur region of Sudan, UNHCR will focus on improving standards of assistance and protection for refugees and IDPs. In Southern Sudan, the Office will facilitate the repatriation of refugees and support the reintegration of returned refugees and IDPs. In eastern Sudan, UNHCR will redouble its efforts to find comprehensive durable solutions for the long-staying refugee community in the area.

In Central Africa and the Great Lakes region, operations will focus on improving protection and assistance for refugees living mainly in camps in Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic (CAR), Rwanda and Tanzania. UNHCR will also seek to implement comprehensive durable solutions for refugees, including facilitating the return and reintegration of refugees to Angola, Burundi and the DRC and the local integration of some of the 1972 Burundian refugees in Tanzania. UNHCR will continue to lead the protection response to IDP situations in CAR and the DRC.

Improving the asylum regime will remain a special feature of the operations in Southern Africa. UNHCR will continue to organize repatriation to the DRC and support individual voluntary repatriation for refugees of other nationalities, while encouraging governments to integrate remaining refugee groups locally. UNHCR will be ready to respond effectively to developments in Zimbabwe, whether they result in increased refugee flows or opportunities for the return and reintegration of refugees and other displaced populations.

Challenges

Political instability and insecurity persist in some areas, which could lead to new displacements and prevent the voluntary return of tens of thousands of people. In addition to risks to the lives of beneficiaries and humanitarian workers, insecurity restricts humanitarian access and has enormous implications on operations, notably in CAR, eastern Chad, eastern DRC, Somalia and Sudan's Darfur region.

UNHCR operates in difficult conditions in many parts of Africa. Logistical problems are a daily reality, with many operations affected by heavy rains, floods and the lack of transport infrastructure.

Obtaining lasting durable solutions through repatriation and local integration are perhaps the greatest challenges for ending the cycle of forced displacement. The lack of economic opportunities in countries of asylum decreases prospects for self-reliance among refugees and reduces possibilities for their sustainable local integration. Similarly, a dearth of reintegration activities and livelihood prospects in countries of origin hampers the consolidation of peace and the sustainability of returns.

Mixed population movements towards other continents and within Africa will continue to pose challenges for humanitarian action and protection, particularly in ensuring that people in need of international protection have access to asylum procedures.

The global food crisis has a significant impact on refugees, as two-thirds of the refugee population in Africa depends on international food aid. In this context, expanding self-reliance opportunities is of the utmost importance.

Operations in Africa account for more than a third of UNHCR's 2009 budget. Predictable and adequate funding will be crucial if UNHCR is to identify durable solutions and help people of concern enjoy basic rights.

African Union initiatives on forced displacement

In 2009, the African Union (AU) will hold its first Special Summit of Heads of State and Governments on Refugees, Returnees and Internally Displaced Persons in Africa. The summit will provide a unique opportunity for Heads of State and governments to adopt new approaches to resolve situations of forced displacement in Africa. UNHCR will be working closely with the AU Commission to ensure the success of the event.

UNHCR will also provide technical advice to the AU in connection with the development of a Convention for the Protection and Assistance of IDPs in Africa. Once adopted, this Convention will be a groundbreaking achievement; it will be the first international treaty on IDPs.

Financial information

In addition to the ongoing activities planned for in last year's 2008-2009 Global Appeal, the 2009 annual budget provides for a number of new displacement situations as well as increased needs in ongoing operations.

Policy priorities, such as projects for health and nutrition, have been mainstreamed into country programmes. Revised budgets also include adjustments for the ongoing regionalization process in Southern and West Africa, variations in salary scales and higher fuel and food costs, as well as the need to ensure Minimum Operational Safety Standards (MOSS) in all locations.

The number of supplementary budgets has increased for 2009. If fully funded, they will enable UNHCR to:

• Realize durable solutions for refugees from Angola; Burundi (living in Tanzania); Eritrea and Ethiopia (living in eastern Sudan); Liberia, Sierra Leone and Southern Sudan.

• Address assistance and protection needs related to the unfolding situations in Zimbabwe, Sudan's Darfur region and Somalia.

• Address post repatriation, rehabilitation and livelihoods requirements associated with the impact of long presence of Sudanese refugees who are gradually vacating camps in Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda.

• Address the protection and assistance needs of IDPs and returned IDPs in CAR, Chad, the DRC, Kenya and Uganda.

Budget (USD)
Countries	2008			2009
	Annual budget	Suppl. budget	Total	Annual budget	Suppl. budget	Total
Total	400,484,184	247,273,390	647,757,574	445,935,555	202,503,113	648,438,668
[1] Includes activities for resettlement, repatriation and care and maintenance, as well as light aircraft charters. [2] Includes the Regional Support Hub in Nairobi. [3] Includes activities for individual voluntary repatriation, malnutrition and malaria. [4] Includes the Regional Support Hub in Dakar. [5] Includes care and maintenance, voluntary repatriation, local integration and resettlement assistance for urban refugees managed by the regional office in Senegal. [6] Includes strengthening registration, documentation and refuge status determination systems in Southern Africa, repatriation of individual refugees, resettlement, and external relations. Note: Supplementary programme budgets exclude 7 per cent support costs that are recovered from contributions to meet indirect costs for UNHCR.
Burundi	21,833,225	5,742,263	27,575,488	24,127,058	2,733,304	26,860,362
Cameroon	3,150,673	500,000	3,650,673	11,244,567	0	11,244,567
Central African Republic	2,133,674	2,804,057	4,937,731	3,730,862	2,998,080	6,728,942
Chad	73,766,150	15,082,897	88,849,047	80,626,842	11,698,498	92,325,340
Congo, Republic of the	5,970,813	0	5,970,813	5,977,632	0	5,977,632
Democratic Republic of the Congo	40,922,027	28,507,764	69,429,791	53,587,722	21,447,738	75,035,460
Gabon	1,994,337	0	1,994,337	2,179,825	0	2,179,825
Rwanda	5,450,315	141,000	5,591,315	10,389,742	0	10,389,742
United Republic of Tanzania	24,671,621	14,537,812	39,209,433	26,563,840	9,176,211	35,740,051
Regional activities [1]	8,415,000	0	8,415,000	8,000,000	0	8,000,000
Subtotal Central Africa and the Great Lakes	188,307,835	67,315,793	255,623,628	226,428,090	48,053,831	274,481,921
Djibouti	3,141,379	1,074,000	4,215,379	4,949,658	2,382,974	7,332,632
Eritrea	3,952,118	0	3,952,118	4,135,357	0	4,135,357
Ethiopia	18,393,089	12,547,634	30,940,723	23,141,071	11,403,062	34,544,133
Kenya [2]	41,480,297	27,223,314	68,703,611	45,116,023	9,122,718	54,238,741
Somalia	6,948,071	18,711,698	25,659,769	9,662,358	21,339,682	31,002,040
Sudan	18,618,769	87,523,168	106,141,937	22,335,095	80,804,715	103,139,810
Uganda	16,851,084	17,637,554	34,488,638	16,655,702	13,376,813	30,032,515
Regional activities [3]	2,350,000	0	2,350,000	3,700,000	0	3,700,000
Subtotal East and Horn of Africa	111,734,807	164,717,368	276,452,175	129,695,264	138,429,964	268,125,228
Benin	1,452,423	0	1,452,423	1,325,238	0	1,325,238
Côte d'Ivoire	7,241,611	2,336,449	9,578,060	6,493,798	1,882,587	8,376,385
Gambia	71,237	0	71,237	91,477	548,492	639,969
Ghana	6,137,528	0	6,137,528	5,543,193	2,354,878	7,898,071
Guinea	7,009,896	0	7,009,896	5,559,416	1,454,130	7,013,546
Liberia	20,627,460	3,049,920	23,677,380	9,953,213	0	9,953,213
Mali	96,253	0	96,253	108,215	0	108,215
Nigeria	2,866,236	0	2,866,236	3,220,330	0	3,220,330
Senegal [4]	6,504,729	158,066	6,662,795	6,965,772	1,903,401	8,869,173
Sierra Leone	6,575,657	150,000	6,725,657	4,008,743	0	4,008,743
Togo	461,138	0	461,138	1,076,957	0	1,076,957
Regional activities [5]	6,452,060	0	6,452,060	4,550,800	0	4,550,800
Subtotal West Africa	65,496,228	5,694,435	71,190,663	48,897,152	8,143,488	57,040,640
Angola	4,632,000	0	4,632,000	4,305,132	0	4,305,132
Botswana	2,469,909	1,401,869	3,871,778	2,159,097	389,408	2,548,505
Malawi	2,693,492	0	2,693,492	2,358,012	0	2,358,012
Mozambique	2,521,686	1,635,514	4,157,200	2,275,240	420,561	2,695,801
Namibia	2,556,195	0	2,556,195	2,663,690	0	2,663,690
South Africa	7,127,158	5,373,832	12,500,990	7,865,927	2,230,529	10,096,456
Zambia	8,835,503	1,134,579	9,970,082	13,486,725	230,529	13,717,254
Zimbabwe	2,109,371	0	2,109,371	2,439,226	4,604,802	7,044,028
Regional activities [6]	2,000,000	0	2,000,000	3,362,000	0	3,362,000
Subtotal Southern Africa	34,945,314	9,545,794	44,491,108	40,915,049	7,875,830	48,790,879