Liberia no longer has refugees-LRRRC Director Logan

By Kruah Thompson 

The Executive Director of the Liberia Refugees Repatriation, Resettlement Commission (LRRRC) Rev. Festus Logan discloses here that a total of 31, 991 Ivorian Refugees have been repatriated home.

He made the disclosure Thursday, July 14, 2022, at the Ministry of Information’s regular briefing on Capitol Hill.

Director Logan says as of September 2020, the LRRRC noted cessation of hostility in neighboring Ivory Coast, informing Ivorian refugees that their home country had returned to political, social, and economic stability, and it was time to voluntarily return home.  

He says when the home country of refugees enjoys political, social, and economic stability, the international community usually asks the host country, in this case, Liberia, to announce a cessation, which took effect on 30 June.

He notes that not all of the refugees came from Ivory Coast, adding that some came from Syria and other countries.

“The total of 200 mixed nationals came from Syria and others.” 

However, The LRRRC boss says a total 597 Ivorian refugees are still in the country, opting for Liberian citizenship.

He says as part of durable refugee solution, some would say “I don’t want to go back to my country, based on their own reason but I want to stay in Liberia.”

He further reveals that President George Weah has issued an executive order on civil documentation for those refugees, who are opting for local integration.

“As part of the President’s civil integration, the LRRRC with the help of the UNHCR has constructed a housing unity with solar electrification in Nimba”, Rev. Logan says.

He continues that with support from the United Nations, government constructed additional 70 Pro-poor housing units in Grand Gedeh County, but explains that those structures are only for integrated refugees, while 20 percent of the facility is for vulnerable post-community.

“Meaning our vulnerable people, who are living in, but will no longer be living in; but we are providing them these structures for assimilation and coexistence along with the refugees.”

At the same time, he reveals that a total of 1200 Liberian Refugees in Ghana, all of them family heads with 399 dependents have expressed interest in returning home.

He adds that among them are 815 females and 731 males, constituting 53 percent and 27 percent, respectively. Editing by Jonathan Browne