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Yemen and UNHCR Seek Ways To Ease Burdens of Refugees Flow
  Written By: (YEMEN POST STAFF) 
  Article Date:
February 04, 2009

 

 
Minister of Human Rights met on Wednesday with the representative of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Yemen Caire Burjwa.  

The meeting sought ways to ease the burdens the influx of African refugees lays on Yemen with a focus on good planning to contain the current situation of the African refugees and to deal with recent indicators.  

The meeting asserted the importance of taking urgent measures to limit the repercussions of the flow of African refugees to the country.  

Furthermore, the meeting dealt with the activation of the complain commission set up in 2008 and qualifying its members to be able to achieve their duties well.  

And this must be done with the aim to form a new mechanism to deal with the complaints of the refugees to bring solutions to their problems.  

The pair also brought up the possibility of conducting field visits in the future to the refuges in the country to see if there are refugees who ought to be deported.  

Teams from the local authorities concerned with the refugees matters and the UNHCR office in the country will seek on their field visits to take legal actions against such refugees providing that this does not conflict with Yemen's pledges on refugees.

At the meeting, Caire praised efforts Yemen exerts to accommodate refugees, mostly Somalis.  

Recent figures suggest the number of the African refugees who have already arrived in Yemen has reached 800.000 refugees.  

Almost two weeks ago, refugee smuggling boats carrying almost 300 Somalis and Ethiopians capsized in the Red Sea. Many were rescued and dozens were considered missing.