UNHCR trains journalists on refugee and displacement issues

In a training workshop to be held for two days, a UNCHR Legal Rights Protection Official explained that Yemen witnesses the largest influx of refugees in the world from the Horn of Africa, particularly those coming from Somalia and Iraq. The workshop aims to address issues of mixed immigration, local refugees, and the concept of violence regarding refugee gender issues. By the end of September 2009, the number of refugees in Yemen had mounted to 150, 921. However, he told News Yemen during a UNHCR journalist training workshop that the refugee situation is heading towards improvement, pointing out that they are beginning efforts with the government to establish a comprehensive refugee processing system.

 
The UNHCR official commended the role Yemen plays as the only Arab country to sign onto the refugee treaty since 1951, in addition to signing its 1967 protocol. He said that this confirms the country's adherence to international legitimacy, as well as clearly defining the country’s human rights record. He added that they seek, in cooperation with the government, to establish a refugee registration office and a national committee headed by the Vice Foreign Minister, Ali Muthana Hassan, to deal with the issues of refugees.

 
The UNHCR Legal Rights Official described the Yemeni government’s relationship with refugee issues to be positive, referring to the wide coverage by the Yemeni press of the issue which publishes stories shedding light on the refugee situation, defending the rights of refugees, and working as the voice of the refugees. He went on to say that the role played by the press works to monitor the government and international organizations’ performance.

 
He called for a sustainable solution for the refugee situation in Yemen, related to UNCHR solutions composed of three options: integration of refugees to the host community, resettlement, or voluntary repatriation to their home country. He said most prefer the last option, though it is not the only one.

 
The Legal Rights Protection Official said that it is the hosting country and not the Commission which is accountable for protecting the refugees, pointing out that the UN interferes only when the country fails or does not desire to protect the locally displaced, or refugees.

 
He said that he did not know the intentions of the resettlement of people from outside the country. On the other hand, he said that they try to provide assistance to the displaced people of Sa’adah, so that they are able to return to their homes.

 
The UNHCR described the situation in Sa’adah as calm, pointing to the decrease in the number of check points that were previously set up by tribal elements.

 
A report issued on the Sa’adah situation mentioned 15 cases of displaced people from last February and March of this year, primarily due to the unrest in the area of Ghamr. He said that the affected were settled in the al-Talh and Sam camps. The official spoke about the obstacles to the implementation of activities in areas outside of Sa’adah and Bani Hushaish, whose problems are still unresolved because the authorities did not allow the UNHCR or other UN agencies access to them.

 
The official mentioned that 100,000 people have been displaced due to the Sa’adah conflicts, expecting the number to increase because of difficulty of access to vulnerable areas. He also pointed out that there are an additional 20,000 displaced people in Hadramout and al-Maharah because of the 2008 floods.

 
In regard to the Ethiopian and Iraqi refugees that Yemen also hosts, the Commission’s report said that since the beginning of January to April 30 of 2009, 3 Ethiopian and 89 Iraqi refugees have been voluntarily repatriated to their countries.

 
A UNHCR Official for Refugee Affairs stressed the role played by the media for access to information over the refugees’ status in the country; however she called for them to ensure credibility in covering the refugee situation.

 
In a related issue, Yemen and the UNHCR agreed on establishing a refugee studies center. The agreement was signed between Sana’a University and the UNHCR last Sunday.

 
Under the agreement, the UNHCR commits to provide logistic assistance for the University to establish the center, build the teaching staff's capacity and to provide cultural resources and publications on the law of asylum and forced migration.

 
Sana'a University has pledged to provide the space for the Center, update the library with the current resources, and create a multidisciplinary board of advisers from the university's teaching staff.

 
The memorandum was signed by Rector of Sana'a University Khaled Tmaim and the UNHCR's Representative in Yemen, Claire Bourgeois.

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