VZCZCXRO2146
RR RUEHPA
DE RUEHAR #0547/01 0671434
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 081434Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY ACCRA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0641
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/CDR USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ACCRA 000547 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREF PREL GH LI
SUBJECT: EMBASSY ENGAGES ON LIBERIAN REFUGEE REPATRIATION 
 
REF: ACCRA 248 
 
¶1.  (U)  Summary:  In a February 14 meeting with Liberian 
Ambassador to Ghana von Ballmoos, Ambassador expressed USG 
support for the new GOL and for repatriation of Liberian 
refugees.  Ref Coord echoed these themes in a speech to 
graduates of a skills training program at Budumburam Refugee 
Camp.  The GOG, UNHCR and Refcoord held a second, very 
positive tripartite refugee meeting, focused on the need to 
repatriate Liberians and rehabilitate Krisan camp.  End 
Summary. 
 
------------------------------- 
Meeting with Liberian Ambasador 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (U)Ambassador met with Liberian Ambassador to GhanaRudolf von Ballmoos on February 1 to congratulate him on 
President Johnson-Sirleaf's inauguration.  Von Ballmoos 
pointed to Ghana's possible future role in training the 
Liberian police.  He opined that most of the Liberian 
refugees in Ghana were ready to return home, with only a few 
interested in resettlement.  He was impressed that Budumburam 
Camp offered such amenities as electricity, vocational 
training, and schooling through the secondary level, 
providing opportunities that few children living in Liberia 
can currently enjoy.  For refugees not wanting to repatriate, 
von Ballmoos hoped naturalization in Ghana might be an 
option, since many refugees had already spent over 10 years 
living near Accra.  (Many Ghanaians who fled the Nkrumah 
government emigrated to Monrovia and eventually became 
Liberian citizens, he said.)  Ambassador hoped that 
conditions would be ripe for more repatriation and also saw 
naturalization in Ghana as a viable alternative. 
 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
Speech at Budumburam Camp:  Liberians, Go Home! 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶4.  (U) On February 25, Ref Coord visited Budumburam Camp to 
attend a ceremony honoring graduates of a PRM-funded skills 
training class for teen mothers.  In a speech to several 
hundred Liberian refugees, he encouraged repatriation, hoping 
the honorees would use their newly acquired skills to help 
rebuild their country.   The visit marked the first time the 
GOG granted an embassy request to visit a refugee camp since 
it began requiring formal approval in December 2005. 
 
--------------------------------------------- - 
Second Tripartite Meeting Focuses on Liberians 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Repatriation was also the dominant theme of a 
recent tripartite refugee meeting involving representatives 
from the Embassy, UNHCR, and the GOG on February 28.   Acting 
UNHCR Representative Luc Stevens said despite shortfalls in 
staffing and funding, he would continue to do the "minimum" 
with what he had to assist refugees.  (Comment:  while this 
may have been a poor choice of words, it reflects UNHCR's 
concerns about budget cutbacks.  End comment.)  Stevens 
emphasized that his overarching priority was the repatriation 
of Liberians, with a target of 10,000 departures this year. 
Barnes offered three suggestions to encourage more 
repatriation:  offer training in vocational skills so that 
refugees will feel more empowered to rebuild their lives and 
country; involve the Liberian embassy as a facilitator to the 
greatest extent possible; and inform the 300 Liberian 
refugees at Krisan so that they, too, can repatriate if they 
wish.  Stevens said that currently only 50-75 refugees were 
repatriating each week by air, despite an increase in the 
baggage allowance to 50 kilograms per person.  (Note: at this 
rate, it would take 20 years to empty out Budumburam Camp. 
End note.)  Ref Coord said the USG was putting out the word 
that the large-scale resettlement of Liberians had ended.  In 
addition, we were postponing or terminating some of our 
resettlement programs to encourage more Liberians to 
repatriate before the onset of the rainy season. Senior UNHCR 
Protection Officer Jane Muigai favored the naturalization of 
long-term Liberian refugees, to which the GOG interlocutors 
had no direct response. 
 
---------------- 
Update on Krisan 
---------------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  Stevens told the group he intended to hire a UN 
Volunteer to conduct a long-awaited socio-economic survey of 
the Krisan refugee camp population, which he thought could be 
completed by mid-April.  Questioned on resettlement, he said 
that after the survey, "We will proceed with the Sudanese," 
although the exact modalities were yet to be determined. 
 
ACCRA 00000547  002 OF 002 
 
 
Stevens also wanted to look more carefully at durable 
solutions for the Togolese living in Krisan since the camp 
opened in 1997.  UNHCR staff at the Ho Field Office would 
conduct a similar socio-economic survey of the Togolese 
refugees in the Volta Region, with an expected completion 
date of April 30. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) In terms of refugee assistance at Krisan, Stevens 
said UNHCR would concentrate on the basics of water, 
sanitation, and food, abandoning its plan to re-introduce a 
UNIDO program to teach income-generating skills such as 
making palm oil.  Participants questioned the value of such a 
program in the remote subsistence economy of the refugee camp 
area.  He added that Geneva had given him the directive to 
"find a solution for Krisan and close the camp," but 
cautioned that this would take another 1-2 years. In light of 
a depleting food pipeline for Krisan, Stevens thought he 
might be able to divert funds from Budumburam as an interim 
fix at the end of March.  Ref Coord pointed out that the U.S. 
and Norway were currently the World Food Program's only 
donors, and that if others step up to the plate, the USG 
might be persuaded to make additional contributions. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Stevens expressed his disappointment that the 
Ghanaian judicial system had not yet dealt firmly with the 
provocateurs responsible for the arson at Krisan Camp in 
November.  All suspects had been released on bail and many 
had returned to Krisan to receive their food rations, he 
asserted.  Edwin Barnes, Chief Director at the Ministry of 
the Interior, replied that he would contact judicial 
authorities quietly to see what might be done about the 
presumed arsonists.  Obviously, he could not be perceived as 
tampering with the system or infringing upon human rights, he 
added. 
 
------- 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU)  The tripartite meeting was a follow-on to the 
Ambassador's January lunch (reftel).  This meeting was more 
relaxed and jovial, reflecting a greater level of trust among 
the group.  Clearly, the forum has helped UNHCR and the GOG 
to communicate more effectively, although the GOG remains 
somewhat miffed that it has not yet received a formal 
response to its October request for resettlement of the 
Sudanese.  The next tripartite meeting is tentatively set for 
early April.  Our impression is that UNHCR is moving in the 
right direction with the limited resources it has.  Even with 
widespread international support, repatriation of the mostly 
Monrovia-based refugees in Ghana by air or by sea will 
require a good deal of persuasion and persistence, as opposed 
to the relatively straight-forward process of trucking 
agrarian refugees from Guinea and Cote d'Ivoire across the 
Liberian border.  Furthermore, despite the Liberian 
Ambassador's comments, we believe that interest in possible 
resettlement remains high at Budumburam.  End Comment. 
 
 
 
 
BRIDGEWATER