Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq, says the federal government is determined to ensure that Nigerian refugees are returned to the country in safety and in dignity.
Ms Farouq told a delegation from the United Nations High Commissioner For Refugees (UNHCR) in Geneva in her office in Abuja that one of the Ministry’s priorities is to sustain the process of bringing back the refugees which includes development of sustainable home-grown models for rehabilitation, reintegration, and reconstruction.
The Minister, who was represented by the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Mr Bashir Nura Alkali, stated on Thursday: “To ensure the provision of a sustainable durable solution, the Ministry in collaboration with relevant organizations has launched a homegrown strategy, the Humanitarian Peace Development Framework, in line with global best practices and in tandem with the President Buhari administration plan.
“The Nigeria government is poised towards ensuring the voluntary return of Nigeria Refugees in neighboring countries as a result of the activities of Boko Haram and we are committed to implement this in line with international best practices. The Nigeria government is presently hosting a large number of Refugees from neighboring countries and we are working hard in collaboration with UNHCR to provide adequate protection to the refugees and the asylum seekers.”
Earlier, the leader of the UNHCR delegation and Assistant High Commissioner for Operations, Raouf Mazou thanked the government of Nigeria for guiding them through their tour of IDP camps in Maiduguri, stating that their visit is to interact with the federal government and share ideas and views on some of the humanitarian challenges.
“This visit is first, to express our solidarity. This is a difficult situation. In Borno particularly, there are close to three million Internally Displaced Persons. From the Humanitarian point of view, this is a very serious problem that the country is facing, which requires the support of the International Communities.