The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees has urged the Cameroonian authority not to send Nigerian refugees back to the Boko Haram violence they fled from.
Despite warnings, Nigerian refugees and asylum-seekers who fled Boko Haram violence continue to be returned from Cameroon, UNHCR said, underscoring the need to accord international protection to those in need. “
UNHCR said. Since the beginning of 2018, 385 Nigerians refugees and asylum-seekers had been forcibly returned from Cameroon, the majority of them in March, including 160 on April 10 and a further 118 a week later.
In total, the UN agency has registered some 87,600 Nigerian refugees in the country.
UNHCR also noted that it recognized legitimate national security concerns of States affected by the Boko Haram crisis, and stressed that it is important that refugee protection and national security are not seen as being incompatible.
Properly functioning screening, registration and asylum systems help safeguard host country security,