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Published on 2024-03-28 17:07:12
Burkina-Mali-United Nations-High Commissioner-Refugees
Management of refugees: Mali, Burkina Faso, and UNHCR sign revised tripartite agreement
Ouagadougou, Thursday, March 28, 2024 (Africa Links 24) – Mali, Burkina Faso, and UNHCR signed a revised tripartite agreement on Wednesday during the closing ceremony of their 13th tripartite meeting. The agreement aims to create favorable conditions for forcibly displaced persons living on the soil of Burkina Faso and the Republic of Mali.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Cooperation, and Burkinabes Abroad, Karamoko Jean Marie Traoré, co-chaired the closing ceremony of the 13th tripartite meeting between Burkina Faso, the Republic of Mali, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees on Wednesday, March 27, 2024, in Ouagadougou, with the Malian Minister of Health and Social Development, Colonel Assa Badiallo Touré.
This meeting allowed the three parties to sign the revised tripartite agreement. This agreement aims to create favorable conditions for forcibly displaced persons living on the soil of Burkina Faso and the Republic of Mali, and now includes the repatriation dimension for Burkinabe refugees living in Mali.
“This agreement symbolizes the collective will of the three parties to come to an agreement to provide an adequate response to the difficulties of persons in refugee situations, so that they have a better quality of life,” said Karamoko Jean Marie Traoré. Refugees are on both sides, in Burkina Faso and Mali. Therefore, the Malian Minister of Health and Social Development, Colonel Assa Badiallo Touré, also welcomed the signing of the agreement, which she believes will allow Mali and Burkina Faso, in tandem with UNHCR, to work towards “giving a happy life to forcibly displaced persons.”
In implementing this agreement, the two countries can count on the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, noted the UNHCR Resident Representative in Burkina Faso, Maurice Azonnankpo. Indeed, the UN agency is committed to “facilitating the repatriation process, ensuring the safety and dignity of refugees,” he said.
In addition to the signing of the revised agreement, participants made recommendations, according to the Permanent Secretary of the National Commission for Refugees, Dr. Oumarou Kologo. These recommendations are based on the harmonization of statistics on repatriations and the designation of members of the structures to be part of the next session.
The tripartite agreement between Burkina Faso, the Republic of Mali, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees signed on January 9, 2015, only addressed the voluntary repatriation of Malian refugees living in Burkina Faso.
The next tripartite meeting will be held in September in Bamako, Mali.
Burkina Information Agency
WIS/ND
Read the original article(French) on Agence d’Information du Burkina
