This measure will take effect on June 30, 2022, when Ivory Coast joins international commemoration of World Refugee Day.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, officially declared on Monday in Abidjan, the cessation of the status of Ivorian refugees.
Mr. Grandi was speaking in the presence of President Alassane Ouattara and vice-president Tiémoko Meyliet Koné, and representatives of countries hosting Ivorian refugees.
“I want to pay tribute to you, Mr. President, because you proposed to start this process, which was made possible by multiple factors, essentially, here in Cote d’Ivoire, the restoration of peace and stability, the national reconciliation efforts and the economic development that you have guided,” said Grandi.
He also paid tribute to the countries of the region that have played an “indispensable role in hosting more than 300,000 Ivorian refugees, notably Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania and Togo.”
“Refugees are still returning and repatriation operations will continue for several more weeks (…). It is important that those who do not wish to return, for personal reasons, regularisation measures are taken,” he said.
The number of refugees in the world, he noted, has reached 100 million worldwide and the crisis in Ukraine has propelled it further.
“Thank you, President Ouattara, for having launched this challenge (…) and thank you for the host countries for your humanitarian role.”
The Ivorian vice-president, Meyliet Koné, on behalf of President Alassane Ouattara, praised the host countries, recalling that “more than 300,000 compatriot refugees have returned to the country, which is more than 96 percent of Ivorian refugees.”
The Ivorian government, at the end of a regional meeting on 6 and 7 September 2021 in Abidjan, signed a joint declaration with countries hosting Ivorian refugees, leading to the cessation of refugee status.
The Ivorian refugee cessation clause was officially recommended by the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) at the 72nd session of its Executive Committee, which took place from 4 to 8 October 2021.
The Ivorian government has been promoting the return of prominent opposition leaders since February 2021.
In this context, former president Laurent Gbagbo returned to the country on 17 June 2021.
A few weeks ago, the Ivorian government adopted a bill establishing national asylum status for refugees.
Cote d’Ivoire did not really have any texts to regulate refugee status.
AP/ls/cgd/lb/as/APA