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In a context of COVID-19 pandemic, UNHCR assisted with the voluntary repatriation of 2,257 Ivorians from Benin, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia and Togo
High Profile returnees meeting with UNHCR Representative to share about their reintegration
UNHCR prioritizes identification, registration and referral of persons at risk of statelessness. These new orientations were given during a workshop in Daloa
HIGHLIGHTS
■ Following a request for an audience, UNHCR Representative met Mr. Pierre Kipre, former Minister of Education and Ambassador of Cote d'Ivoire to France under the Laurent Gbagbo regime, and Mr. Issa Malick Coulibaly, former deputy director of cabinet and minister of Laurent Gbagbo on Wednesday, October 20. The two personalities expressed their gratitude to UNHCR and their host country for the protection and support offered to them. They have been able to exercise professionally and travel thanks to their refugee cards.
Back in Cote d'Ivoire through the assistance of the UNHCR they expressed their appreciation for the process of reintegration in their country. They mentioned having received their identity card and passport and that the application for a diplomatic passport was also in progress.
They requested further assistance from UNHCR regarding their pension and unpaid salaries issues as well as continuous advocacy for the reintegration of former civil servants in their respective positions.
■ Days following this meeting the former financial Services Administrator Katinan Koné Justin, who returned from exile on April 30, 2021, was reinstated to the General Directorate of Taxes on October 21, 2021. The said decree has been shared to CIV return WhatsApp group including UNHCR colleagues in COA for information and possible dissemination within refugee camps, as a step towards reintegration of former officials within their respective ministries.
■ Identification, registration and referral of persons at risk of statelessness to the National Commission on Eligibility for Stateless Status (CNESA) is the new priority of the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in the fight against statelessness in Côte d'Ivoire. These orientations were given during a capacity building and remobilization workshop organized by UNHCR on the 21-22 October in Daloa. The workshop was the lieu to access the low number of applications for statelessness status at the CNESA despite wide communication and revise the process of identifying persons at risk of statelessness in order to be more effective.
■ UNHCR's High Level Influencer, the Humourist Magnific, paid a courtesy visit to UNHCR Representative. UNHCR thanked the artist for his commitment through awareness and advocacy actions in favour of refugees, returnees, and people at risk of statelessness since 2017. The comedian, for his part, reiterated his availability for the cause of people under the UNHCR mandate. "We are all potential refugees, and I will always be available for people seeking protection," said the artist.