UNHCR’s Grandi joins Ivorian refugees on the last leg of their journey home
With peace and stability in Côte D’Ivoire, refugee status for Ivorians is coming to an end. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees joined a group returning home from Liberia.
UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi with Sea Inès Diehi, an Ivorian who returned home in 2019 and set up a small business with help from UNHCR. © UNHCR/Colin Delfosse
Blessing Tieu, 18, felt a mixture of excitement and trepidation as she waited with her family and dozens of other Ivorian refugees to board a barge for the short passage across the Cestos River. The crossing would take her from Liberia – where she was born and had lived all her life – across to Côte d’Ivoire – a homeland she had never seen.
“I don’t know anything about Côte d’Ivoire,” she admitted. “I worry that not speaking French will make it hard for me to adapt. I hope people will be kind and help me learn to speak my father’s language. That would allow me to continue my studies.”
Blessing’s father, Basile, 47, recalled the day in November 2002 when he fled to safety in neighboring Liberia. “I had to walk for two days across the 47 kilometers that separated my village from the border,” he said. Twenty years on, he is happy to be returning home with his wife, two children, and two grandchildren, and is hopeful for the future.
“Over the years I spent in Liberia, I learned several trades, including plumbing, carpentry, and masonry. I hope that this knowledge will allow me to rebuild my life and provide a better future for my children,” he said.
Celebrating peace, Ivorians returning from exile are no longer refugees #WRD
Onboard the barge, the excitement level grows and the passengers break into song. A few minutes later, they disembark on the Ivorian side of the river to cries of “welcome back!” and “there’s no place like home!” from tearful friends and relatives who had come to meet them.
Joining them on their short but momentous journey was the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi. In October 2021, he recommended that asylum countries end refugee status for Ivorians following the peaceful resolution of two decades of civil conflict and instability in Côte d’Ivoire. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, together with seven regional governments, identified long-lasting solutions for all Ivorian refugees.
Grandi disembarked the barge holding the hand of one of the youngest passengers returning home, a little girl whose orange life jacket nearly reached her feet as they walked down the gangway together.
“Accompanying these Ivorians returning home holding the hand of this little girl was a very moving moment,” Grandi said. “I can only wish her a magnificent future in her own country.”
The civil conflicts between 2002 and 2007 and 2011 and 2012 forced some 340,000 Ivorians to flee their country.
Since 2011, some 310,000 Ivorian refugees – ninety-six percent of those living in West Africa, mainly in neighboring Liberia and Ghana – have been able to return home following an improvement in the political situation. This includes some 14,000 who have returned since the start of this year with the help of UNHCR
After disembarking, the new arrivals were taken to a transit center at Toulepleu, where they could rest and receive cash assistance or medical services ahead of starting the final leg of their journeys back home.
For many, reintegrating into Côte d’Ivoire is not without its challenges, especially when it comes to finding housing, working, and navigating various administrative procedures. To smooth the process, UNHCR has put in place a return assistance program to help former refugees at various stages of their repatriation and reintegration.
Sea Inès Diehi, 50, was grateful for this assistance when she returned to Côte d’Ivoire in 2019 and found that her land had been occupied by other families. She received housing, cash assistance that allowed her to start a small business, and legal assistance that enabled her to regain possession of her land.
“With a roof over my head, a way to earn a little money, and possession of my land, I can face the future with confidence,” she said.
On the eve of World Refugee Day on 20 June, and with the number of people forced to flee violence and persecution worldwide recently passing an unprecedented 100 million, the High Commissioner said he had chosen to accompany former refugees back to Côte d’Ivoire to send a message of hope for what can be achieved through peace and cooperation.
“There is no greater satisfaction for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees than to see a refugee crisis end because solutions have been found,” he said. “This is proof that durable solutions are possible if countries of origin, civil society, international organizations, as well as host countries, work together.”
As Basile and his family prepared for the final leg of their voyage home, he took a moment to express his gratitude for the safety they had found in neighboring Liberia. “Thank you to our Liberian brothers and sisters who welcomed and supported us all these years.”
Then his thoughts returned to the home, and all the possibilities that lie ahead.
“We’re finally here! Now let’s see what the future holds.”
Ivorian refugees wave to waiting friends and family from the barge carrying them from Liberia back to Côte d’Ivoire. © UNHCR/Colin Delfosse
Abidjan – UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, is celebrating World Refugee Day in Côte d'Ivoire, alongside former refugees who have returned home ahead of the formal end of Ivorian refugee status later this month.
The process to formally end refugee status – the application of cessation clauses – for Ivorian refugees comes into effect on 30 June, acknowledging the end of an era of displacement for hundreds of thousands of Ivorian refugees. The cessation of refugee status follows the peaceful resolution of two decades of intermittent civil conflict and political instability in the West African nation.
The resolution of a crisis that at its height forced more than 300,000 people to flee to neighboring countries and beyond is a welcome bright spot amid a rising global trend of forced displacement. Last month, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, said the war in Ukraine and other ongoing crises pushed the number of people forced to flee conflict and persecution worldwide beyond 100 million for the first time.
At a ceremony in Abidjan hosted by the President of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, Alassane Ouattara, and featuring national representatives and ambassadors from countries that hosted Ivorian refugees, the High Commissioner met former refugee families and wished them well on their return home.
“For those of us in UNHCR, nothing is better than witnessing the end of exile. After two decades, Ivorian refugees can come home safely and with dignity. They are proud Ivorians - living and working in their own communities or in neighboring countries,” Grandi said. “I was happy to spend Saturday with Ivorian refugees returning home. The return of hundreds of thousands of Ivorians demonstrates to the region – and the world – what is possible when there is the political will to end violence and true cooperation among nations.”
Under the terms of the cessation clauses, countries hosting Ivorian refugees are encouraged to facilitate their voluntary repatriation or for those few Ivorians who have chosen to remain, to facilitate local integration, acquisition of permanent residency, and naturalization.
Ivorians fled the country in two distinct waves following civil strife between 2002 and 2007, and 2011 and 2012. Thousands of people also fled to neighboring countries in 2020 amid fears of violence linked to presidential and parliamentary elections.
More than 310,000 Ivorian refugees, or 96 percent of all those registered across West Africa, have chosen to return home. Over 11,000 of the 14,000 people who have returned this year have arrived from neighboring Liberia, where UNHCR is organizing weekly transportation for Ivorians wishing to return home. Ivorians returning home may face some challenges upon their return and will need sustained help, but the Government has committed its support to their reintegration and local communities are welcoming them back.
On 18 June, Grandi traveled to the Liberian border to accompany Ivorian refugees on the last stage of their journey home by ferry across the river that marks the frontier between the two countries. At the crossing, Liberian authorities formally delivered birth certificates to their Ivorian counterparts to ensure returnees can enroll their children in schools, obtain national identity cards and register to vote.
The High Commissioner pledged UNHCR’s continued support to Côte d’Ivoire and the countries that hosted Ivorian refugees to implement the cessation clauses and assist all those wishing to return home.
Media contacts
- In Abidjan, Sulaiman M.T. Momodu: momodus@unhcr.org +225 05 64 30 52 47
- In Dakar Alpha Seydi Ba: baalp@unhcr.org +221 77 345 74 54
- In Geneva Matthew Saltmarsh: saltmars@unhcr.org +41 79 967 99 36