Management of Refugees : HCR Unveils Four Year Strategic Plan

In other to adequately adopt to changing situations as concerns the management of refugees, asylum seekers, and internally displaced persons, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (HCR) in Cameroon has launched a Multi-year and Multi-Partners Strategic Plan for the period 2022-2026. The strategic plan was officially presented on March 20, 2024 in Yaounde and a copy of the document handed to the Secretary General of the Ministry of External Relations, Chinmoun Oumarou, for onward transmission to hierarchy. 
The plan involves nine strategic orientations corresponding to nine priority actions and three strategic directions. With Cameroon hosting refugees from about nine countries, and coupled with security challenges in the Far North, North West and South West Regions which has led to forced movements, the strategic plan brings several stakeholders on board for a better coordination and response to the needs of these vulnerable population. As per the three strategic directions, they include strengthening the protection response (predictable, effective, evidence-based, community-based), strengthening coordination (refugee response and IDP response in the areas of shelter and camp management) and finding sustainable solutions (self-employment, repatriation, resettlement, legal integration socio-economic inclusion). The plan draws its inspiration from President Paul Biya’s statement at the United Nations General Assembly in New York in 2016 in which he made a general appeal on the management of refugees. As a result, the plan is aligned with the National Development Strategy of Cameroon (NDS30) and emphasises the integration of refugees and internally displaced persons in development plans. 
While giving some insights to the plan, the Resident Representative of HCR Cameroon, Olivier Guillaume Beer, noted that the 2022-2026 programme focuses on ensuring that people forced to flee maintain access to their rights and essential services and durable solutions are provided that ...