The Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development has reiterated Federal Government’s commitment to the implementation of the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR).
This, according to the Minister, Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouq is to provide more opportunities for inclusion of refugees.
Farouq said this in her keynote address at a Stakeholders Meeting on the Implementation of GCR in Abuja.
She said the meeting would provide a unique opportunity for stakeholders to demonstrate their commitment to the implementation of the GCR.
According to her, the GCR is a very important instrument developed in the global humanitarian and development community.
“I wish to assure you that the government of President Muhammadu Buhari through my Ministry will continue to ensure that legal, policy and institutional frameworks are strengthened to ensure full implementation of the GCR.
“Also, to provide the needed support to ensure the domestication of the Kampala Convention on IDPs and provide more opportunities for inclusion of refugees, IDPs and other vulnerable groups in government social protection programmes.
“The aim is to address major underlying causes of displacement,’’ Farouq stressed.
The minister explained that the world was facing serious humanitarian challenges.
She added that in the Lake Chad Basin region, there were more than 3.3 million IDPs, with over 2.7 million IDPs in North-East Nigeria, 513,000 IDPs in Cameroon, Chad and Niger and 244,000 refugees in the four countries.
According to her, Nigeria has the highest number and carries the heaviest burden of the humanitarian challenge.
“The adoption of GCR is a good omen for Nigeria. It has opened a new vista of opportunities for stakeholders to access support in a timely, predictable and sustainable manner.
“It creates an incentive for stakeholders to join forces and pool resources to address the humanitarian challenges with the intention of addressing underlying causes in a sustainable and humane manner.
“It also enables stakeholders to approach the humanitarian challenge from a durable solution perspective which requires closer, stronger and well-coordinated partnerships and collaborations across all levels of governance,’’ Farouq said.
Also speaking, the Minister of Women Affairs Mrs Pauline Tallen said women and children are most affected in humanitarian crisis.
Tallen pledged the support of her ministry in addressing humanitarian crisis and disaster, especially on women and children.
Similarly, the governor of Borno, Prof. Babagana Zulum said a lot of Nigerians taking refuge in Cameroon, Niger Republic and Republic of Chad were willing to return home.
Zulum pleaded with the Federal Government to look into the possibility of bringing them back home.
The Federal Commissioner, Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, Alhaji Basheer Mohammed noted that the agency was set to enrol refugees and IDPs into the National Health Insurance Scheme.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event was attended by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), Nigerian Immigration Service, National Identity Management Commission, and office of the SDGs.
Others were the representatives of states governments and many relevant stakeholders. (NAN)