Cameroon

2013 UNHCR country operations profile - Cameroon

Working environment

The context

Cameroon hosts some 104,000 refugees and asylum-seekers, mainly from the Central African Republic and Chad. The global financial crisis has resulted in higher prices for basic commodities and services in the country. While the Government has taken measures to reduce prices, their impact is not yet visible. Politically, an uneasy calm has prevailed since the promulgation in early 2012 of an electoral code.

Preparations for legislative and local elections are being facilitated by a biometric registration system managed by the Cameroon elections organization body.

Cameroon is a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol, as well as the 1969 OAU Convention. At the national level, the Government adopted the Law Defining the Legal Framework for Refugee Protection in July 2005. A decree to bring the 2005 law into application was signed in November 2011, and this was followed by the creation of the Eligibility and Appeals Commissions in July 2012.

The needs

Even though a joint UNHCR/Government of Cameroon assessment in 2011 established that the provision of long-term residency permits was a key priority for the residual group of Nigerian refugees in the Adamaoua and north-west regions, an institutional framework is still needed to facilitate the local integration of these refugees.

There are prospects that a tripartite agreement between UNHCR and the Governments of Cameroon and Chad will be signed in 2012. Such an agreement could result in the repatriation of more than 90 per cent of the approximately 3,000 Chadian refugees in Langui camp. The residual population would need to be assisted to integrate locally.

Even though refugees from the Central African Republic in the Adamaoua and eastern regions are finding opportunities to work in agriculture and farming as an alternative source of livelihood, they remain dependent on UNHCR for basic needs and essential services. WFP's assistance strategy has changed from general food distribution to targeted food distribution benefiting 26,000 refugees in 2011. Due to financial constraints, this was further reduced by 50 per cent in 2012 and a considerable number of refugees will be at risk of food insecurity in 2013 if funding is not made available to cover these needs.

Main objectives and targets for 2013

Favourable protection environment

Administrative institutions and practices are developed and strengthened at the national level.

• The capacity of national institutions to register asylum-seekers and conduct RSD is improved.

Fair protection processes and documentation

The standard of registration and profiling is maintained for refugees and asylum-seekers in urban areas and Central African refugees in the Adamaoua and eastern regions.

• Registration for refugees and asylum-seekers in urban areas are data updated on a continuous basis.

• The national authorities conduct RSD for some 1,500 asylum-seekers.

• Verification and profiling of Central African refugees in the Adamaoua and eastern regions is conducted by UNHCR. Civil-status documentation is strengthened for stateless people.

• The authorities are assisted to issue civil documentation to some 3,500 stateless people.

Durable solutions

The potential for the local integration of Nigerian refugees in the Adamaoua and north-west regions is realized.

• Measures are implemented to facilitate the social integration of some 3,220 Nigerian refugees in the north-west and Adamaoua regions.

• The potential for the local integration of Chadian refugees living in Langui camp is realized.

• Measures to facilitate the local integration of the residual caseload from Langui camp are implemented.

Community empowerment and self-reliance

The level of self-reliance and quality of livelihoods are improved.

• Some 2,500 households of Central African refugees receive support to engage in animal husbandry.

• Microcredit is provided to about 700 Central African refugee women and men.

• Targeted skills training is offered to some 1,500 Central African refugees.

• Support for crop production helps about 5,000 households of Central African refugees.

• Needs assessments are conducted and support provided for the residual population of 1,480 Chadian refugees.

Strategy and activities in 2013

Thanks to the creation of the Eligibility and Appeals Commissions, UNHCR will be able to gradually transfer responsibility for refugee status determination (RSD), registration and documentation to the Cameroonian authorities. UNHCR will continue to provide assistance and seek durable solutions for refugees and asylum-seekers in urban areas in line with its urban refugee policy. The focus will be on assuring general access to primary education and basic health services, as well as targeted assistance for the most vulnerable, in order to improve their living conditions and self-reliance. Emphasis will also be put on building the capacity of the governmental bodies set up by the decree to implement the 2005 Refugee Act.

For refugees from the Central African Republic, UNHCR will continue to offer protection and essential services, with a focus on refugee sites where conditions fall significantly below UNHCR's standards. Food security will be promoted through income-generating activities targeting farmers, grazers, and small businesses. In order to reduce school overcrowding, which is one of the reasons why some 9,800 children are not being educated, new facilities will be constructed.

Durable solutions will be implemented in 2013, particularly through voluntary repatriation for Central African refugees. With the cessation clause for Rwandan refugees coming into effect in 2013, UNHCR will advocate for and support programmes to permit the population to obtain naturalization, alternative status and/or resident permits in Cameroon.

After the anticipated repatriation of the majority of Chadian refugees from Langui camp, UNHCR will focus on the local integration of the residual population and rehabilitate the basic infrastructure of the camp.

UNHCR will combat statelessness by helping people of concern to make informed choices about nationality and will support the Government of Cameroon in providing residents with civil-status documentation.

For the residual group of Nigerian refugees, UNHCR will advocate that they be granted an alternative status, in the form of residence permits, until group naturalization becomes possible.

Constraints

Logistical problems make access to refugees difficult for UNHCR staff and implementing partners. This is particularly so in the east and Adamaoua regions, where Central African refugees are spread over 50,000 square kilometres in more than 300 settlements. Furthermore, the refugees' nomadic lifestyle makes it difficult to provide them with assistance and documentation. The integration of refugees living in urban areas poses serious challenges as 80 per cent of them are illiterate and originally from a rural environment.

Organization and implementation

Coordination

UNHCR works closely with governmental departments, UN Agencies and international NGOs. In addition, monthly general and sectoral coordination meetings are held for all UNHCR-funded programmes.

Financial information

UNHCR's budget in Cameroon began increasing in 2008 and peaked in 2010 due to influxes from the Central African Republic and Chad. For 2013, Cameroon will require USD 19 million, compared to USD 20.7 million in 2012. This decrease is mainly due to a reduction in the number of refugees opting for voluntary repatriation.

Source: UNHCR Global Appeal 2013 Update

UNHCR contact information