The UN Convention relating to the status of Refugees of 1951 and its 1967 Protocol assert that refugees have a right to housing, work and education so that they can live a dignified and independent life while they are displaced. Ghana is among the 149 states that are party to the 1951 Convention and/or its 1967 Protocol. Accession to the Refugee convention and its protocol indicates a country’s willingness to protect refugees.

The story is different for over 15.000 Liberian refugees who are currently displaced and homeless after a camp they have called home for more than thirty years was demolished by Ghanaian authorities in February 2024. Buduburam camp also commonly known as the Liberia camp is situated 45 kilometres West of Ghana’s capital, Accra. The camp was established in 1990 to accommodate Liberians who were fleeing from a civil war in their country. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency withdrew support from the camp and encouraged the refugees to return home since Liberia was “safe.” The camp was decommissioned and ceased to be a refugee shelter in 2012.

The Government of Ghana promised to integrate those who would remain but over the years, there has been laxity in ensuring that the refugees are integrated into Ghanaian society. The Ghana Refugee Board claimed that it lobbied for the delay of the demolition of the camp. In October 2022, Professor Kenneth Agyemang Attafuah, the Chairman of the Ghana Refugee Board, made a promise in Geneva at the meeting of the Executive Committee of UNHCR that the state of Ghana would decommission the refugee camp in a safe, humane and efficient manner. He also hinted on the possibility of giving the refugees a Ghana card which enables integration into Ghanaian society through work and other income opportunities.

On 27th February 2024, residents woke up to violent demolitions of their houses without prior warning. Mr. Dennis Gwoin, the camp leader, expressed disappointment that the government of Ghana did not give people shelter after the demolition. More than three months later, people are still living in the open with nowhere to run to. The Liberian government evacuated 750 refugees on 31 May 2024. The camp leader says that the government of Liberia is more focused on evacuation which he distinguishes from repatriation. People are being evacuated from Ghana to Liberia without a feasible plan to resettle them. It is for this reason that over the years, some of the refugees who had gone back to Liberia returned to Buduburam. It is a place they have known as home for more than thirty years now.

The government of Ghana keeps giving mixed messages regarding its commitment to integrate the refugees into Ghanaian society. In some cases, the demolitions were applauded because the camp was allegedly contributing to crime rates in the community. The camp leader says that they challenged the Police and other law enforcement agencies to investigate and apprehend criminals. The question is, how does the demolition of a displaced person’s shelter curb crime? When an already troubled population is portrayed/framed as problematic i.e criminals, this could lead to hostility from the host community.

The people in Buduburam deserve to be treated with dignity like any other person. They have a right to shelter, food, education, healthcare, among other basic rights. The permits that they possess restrict them from working or conducting any business. The Government of Ghana needs to be clearer and more unequivocal in its promises and commitment to local integration. This is a humanitarian crisis that deserves urgent intervention. Politics should be put aside. The Liberian Government should also make comprehensive repatriation programmes so that people do not feel like they do not belong when they return to their country of origin. Work, education, rehabilitation and settlement should be prioritised. The UNHCR needs to get back to the camp and see how the two states, Ghana and Liberia are non-committal in ensuring that the refugees are integrated and repatriated. It seems that these two countries are not doing much since the UN Refugee Agency pronounced itself on the issue of Buduburam by withdrawing support. The people of Buduburam need you, UNHCR, now more than ever.

Annah Ashaba