Banjul, The Gambia 16 October 2001
To:
Mr. Ruud Lubbers, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Cc:
Vice President, The Gambia
Permanent Secretary for The Office of The Vice-President
Permanent Secretary for The Department of The Interior
Director Department of Immigration
Permanent Secretary for Local Government & Lands
United Nations Resident Coordinator
European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Assistance
Director of European Community Humanitarian Office
Minister for Foreign Affairs UK
Department for International Development UK
Secretary of State, United States of America
Regional Refugee Assistance Coordinator, American Embassy, Abidjan
UNHCR Representative Branch Office Dakar
UNHCR Regional Director West Africa
UNHCR Liaison Office The Gambia
Dear Mr. Lubbers,
We the undersigned Non Governmental Organisations working in The Gambia would like to bring to your attention our serious concern over the proposed closure of the UNHCR Liaison Office in The Gambia. There is an existing caseload of 10,000 Sierra Leonean Refugees and since 01 April 2001 at least 10,000 further refugees have arrived from the Casamance region of Senegal. Since this date the Gambian community has provided around 200,000 days of support to the Casamance refugee population.
In world terms and current focus, this caseload of refugees appears very small. However, The Gambia is only 11,300 square kilometres with a population of 1.3 million inhabitants growing at a rate of 4.2 per cent. In this context of small size, high population density and low income, such refugee influxes have a significant impact on host communities where poverty is already endemic - The Gambia's Human Development Index is one of the lowest in the world (149 out of 162).
There is no evidence to suggest that this refugee situation is abating - indeed the most recent humanitarian and political evidence within the region indicates a continuing fluid and turbulent sub-regional situation which can impact heavily on The Gambia at short notice. Presently the UNHCR Liaison Office in The Gambia represents the pivotal strategic link between the Government of The Gambia and other humanitarian actors. It plays a vital role on advising and informing policy and practice in relation to refugees in the country. These are critical issues relating to the national security interests of The Gambia which require careful management.
UNHCR The Gambia also leads a fledgling refugee co-ordination mechanism to provide timely responses to refugee influxes and, in the event of a full repatriation of refugees to Sierra Leone, will play the central coordinating role in this process.
We understand the cost savings that may be realised in closing the UNHCR Liaison office. However the operation in The Gambia is a modest one, and cost savings realised through closure may be relatively small. Secondly, any savings (for the wider donor community) may be very quickly lost due to poor coordination and lack of focus, duplication of efforts and decreased monitoring of the context, which could lead to more urgent and costly responses. The void created by the absence of UNHCR's Liaison Office in The Gambia will not be easily bridged and we anticipate that the humanitarian impact of the Casamance crisis in particular will further increase poverty levels among Gambian host communities.
We therefore request your serious consideration of the impact of the proposed decision to close the Liaison Office of UNHCR in The Gambia.
Respectfully submitted by the undersigned non-governmental organisations:
Action Aid The Gambia
Catholic Relief Services
Christian Childrens' Fund
Concern Universal
Gambia Food and Nutrition Association
The Gambia Red Cross Society
The Association of Non-Governmental Organisations
