Geneva: Cooperation between the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the Angolan authorities was the focus of a meeting between High Commissioner Filippo Grandi and the country’s permanent representative to the United Nations in Geneva, Ana Maria de Oliveira.
According to Angola Press News Agency, the meeting discussed the existing cooperation between UNHCR and Angola after independence, as well as the reduction and closure of offices around the world due to a shortage of funds. With this reorganization, Africa will have two UNHCR regional offices, one in Nairobi (Kenya) and the other in Dakar (Senegal), the latter to which Angola will now report.
On that occasion, the High Commissioner noted that some refugees from Liberia and Rwanda who have been in Angola since 2015 remain without residence documents, and he requested special attention to this fact. He also expressed his full commitment to collaborating with the Republic of Angola.
The Angolan ambassador thanked the High Commissioner for his availability and reiterated her wishes for fruitful and healthy cooperation, in line with the noblest values of the United Nations. The Angolan diplomat took the opportunity to thank the agency for all the support to Angola for the protection and assistance to refugees.
Available data indicate that Angola continues to be a host country, providing protection to more than 52,000 foreign citizens of different nationalities, allowing them access to all basic and primary services on an equal footing with national citizens. The UN Refugee Agency is an international organization dedicated to protecting and assisting refugees, asylum seekers, and stateless persons worldwide. It works to ensure that everyone has the right to seek refuge and find safety after fleeing violence, persecution, or war. It also strives to find lasting solutions for displaced persons, such as voluntary return to their country of origin, integration into the host community, or resettlement in a third country.