Over One Thousand Refugees Living In The Brong-Ahafo Region

Over one thousand Ivorian Refugees are currently residing at the Fententaa Refugee Camp near Berekum in the Berekum Municipality of the Brong-Ahafo Region, Nii Ako Sowah, the Public Information Officer of the United Nation High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), has told Space FM in Sunyani.

Speaking on the SPACE FM MORNING FLIGHT show on Tuesday to commemorate the WORLD REFUGEES DAY, which is celebrated on 20^th of June every year, Mr. Ako Sowah said the Ivorian Refugees were integrated into the country in the year 2011 after the Ivorian political instability after the country’s presidential elections. He added that since 2011, the government of Ghana has been caring for the Ivorian refugees at Fententaa.

He said the government has worked assiduously in caring for them and also expressed his appreciations to UNHCR, Bishop of Catholic Dioceses and Catholic Secretariat, Berekum Municipal Assembly and other partners for their immense contributions towards the up keeping of the refugees at the Fententaa Camp.

Each year on June 20^th, the United Nation Refugees Agency (UNHCR) and countless civic groups around the world host the WORLD REFUGEES DAY in order to draw the public’s attention to the millions of refugees and internally displaced persons worldwide who have been forced to flee their homes due to war, conflict and persecution.

This year WORLD REFUGEES DAYis celebrated under the theme WITH REFUGEES.

In a related development, the Ghana Refugee Board (GRB) has said there is an increase in Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) among refugees living in the country. According to the board, SGBV cases rose from 17 in 2015 to 41 in 2016.

The Eligibility and Protection Officer of the Ghana Refugee Board, Doris Tagoe, made the revelation at a press conference in Accra, as part of activities to mark this year's International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict and World Refugee Day. GRB called on government and other stakeholders to help improve the lives of refugees in the country and the world at large.

According to statistics, there are some 11,865 refugees and some 1,371 asylum seekers, making it a total of 13,236, currently living in camp settlement across the country. Ms Tagoe noted that there is an increase in sexual and gender-based violence reported in all the refugee camps across the country.

She disclosed: “In 2015, 17 SGBV incidents were reported among persons of concern even in the refugee camps located in the Western and Central regions in spite of numerous training sessions undertaken for all parties involved in prevention and response to SGBV... Out of the 17 incidents reported, seven incidents involved children survivors including cases of defilement. One case was successfully brought to court by the victim and her legal representative resulting in a guilty sentence for the perpetrator. Another case submitted to court could not be concluded as the alleged perpetrator absconded before trail.

“In 2016, a higher number of SGBV cases were reported on all four camps. There were 27 cases for adults and 14 cases for victims under 18 years. This brings the total number of cases reported on all four camps to 41. The victims comprised 35 females and six males.”

Ms Tagoe noted that although there has been some improvement in the rate of response on the part of government officials regarding SGBV cases, the redress process is slow and there are still challenges with legal representation and existing legal aid services.

“On the whole, structures and procedures have been established in all the refugee camps to address SGBV incidence and support survivors to seek redress while perpetrators are reported and handed over to the security institutions for appropriate punishment,” she added.