The Liberia Refugee Repatriation and Resettlement Commission (LRRRC) is calling on Liberian politicians to stop politicizing challenges facing current and former Liberian refugees residing in the Republic of Ghana in the decommissioned Buduburam Camp.
In a release issued in Monrovia Tuesday, November 16, 2021, LRRRC said it is seriously taken aback by some politicians who are providing information based on falsehood about the situation faced by the people concerned, and is calling on them to stop, as the situation is purely a humanitarian one and should be void of politics.
The Commission release said the Republic of Liberia, as a signatory to several international conventions and protocols—LRRRC is fully aware of one of its core mandate, which is to provide international protection for all refugees, with Liberian refugees around the world and in Ghana being no exception.
It can be recalled that the Government of Liberia (GOL) recently dispatched a delegation, headed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dee Maxwell Saah Kemayah, to the Republic of Ghana to hold talks with Ghanaian authorities to find a permanent solution to the situation.
As a result of this bilateral meeting, a joint communiqué was signed, covering the establishment of a technical team headed by LRRRC and the Ghana Refugees Board (GRB), with the mandate of developing a roadmap that will ensure the repatriation of Liberians in safety and dignity.
While in Ghana, the Liberian delegation also met with current and former Liberian refugees. In that meeting, over 5,000 Liberians residing in the Buduburam refugee camp were expected to voluntarily repatriate to Liberia. The government said it is committed to seeing this come to fruition.
The commission is in the meantime appealing to those who want to make political gain about the situation to rethink this, as refugee matters are strictly humanitarian and not political.
The release observes that the Government of Liberia (GOL), through LRRRC, is doing everything possible to begin returning its citizens. It will be holding stakeholder’s consultative engagements to welcome meaningful suggestions and contributions aim at finding a permanent solution to the situation.