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Mauritania + 9 more

Mauritania: UNHCR Operational Update as of 15 September 2017 [EN/AR]

Attachments

Mauritania hosts over 2,000 urban refugees and asylum seekers and almost 52,000 Malian refugees in Mbera, a camp established in 2012, in the arid south-east region close to the Malian border.

Despite the conclusion of a peace agreement in 2015, largescale returns of Malian refugees are not expected due to persistent violence in northern Mali.

The protracted displacement situation in Mbera exercises a considerable pressure on already limited local resources in the Bassikounou region.

KEY INDICATORS

2,811
New arrivals from Mali in 2017

471
Voluntary returns to Mali facilitated in 2017

5,069
Malian refugees with specific needs (as of 31 August 2017)

FUNDING (AS OF 15 SEPTEMBER)

USD 19.8 M
requested for UNHCR operation in Mauritania

Update on Achievements

Operational Context

In Mauritania, UNHCR provides protection and assistance to 51,599 Malian refugees in Mbera camp, in south-eastern Mauritania and to 1,570 urban refugees and 622 asylum seekers (mainly from the Central African Republic, Syria and Côte d’Ivoire) in Nouakchott and Nouadhibou.

UNHCR works closely with the Mauritanian authorities towards the development and implementation of a national asylum system. Pending the adoption of a national asylum legislation, UNHCR supports the authorities to enhance refugee protection in Mauritania by improving access to documentation, including birth registration, to basic services, such as health and education, as well as to economic opportunities.

In collaboration with the Mauritanian Government, which continues to keep its borders open to new influxes, and in cooperation with other UN agencies and national and international NGOs, UNHCR leads the humanitarian response for Malian refugees in the Hodh ech Charghi region since 2012. Despite the conclusion of a peace agreement in Mali in June 2015, large-scale returns of refugees are not yet expected due to the security situation in north Mali. In June 2016, Mauritania, Mali and UNHCR concluded a Tripartite Agreement for the voluntary repatriation of Malian refugees. When conditions allow for return, this agreement will provide a framework to facilitate voluntary return. In the meantime, it reconfirms the commitment of Mauritania and Mali to protect refugees.