The UNHCR Regional Liaison Office (RLO) was opened in Addis Ababa in 1966 in order to establish strong relations with the then new Organization of African Unity and other international organizations based in Ethiopia. In 1969, UNHCR concluded a cooperation agreement with the OAU providing for mutual consultations on matters of common interest concerning refugees in Africa. More than forty years of partnership with the African Union has helped UNHCR to strengthen its collaboration with all members of the AU and more effectively address the problem of refugees in the continent.
Immediately after RLO’s establishment refugees starting coming to Ethiopia and the new office had to take on two major roles – the protection and assistance of refugees in Ethiopia on the one hand and its originally envisaged role of regional liaison. During the past four decades the office, in collaboration with the Ethiopian Government and other local and international partners, has assisted hundreds of thousands of refugees from Somalia, Sudan and other countries of origin. Today, Ethiopia hosts over 90,000 refugees from Sudan, Somalia, Kenya and Eritrea in camps around the country and a smaller number of urban refugees from several other countries in the capital, Addis Ababa.
As of January 2009, what used to be known as the Regional Liaison Office was split into two offices in order to better manage the two key responsibilities. These are: the Representation in Ethiopia and the Representation to the African Union and the ECA (RAUECA).
The RAUECA, among other responsibilities, leads UNHCR’s liaison with the African Union which involves undertaking complex diplomatic negotiations geared to influence Africa’s policies on refugees. At the moment, the RAUECA, in partnership with the AU, is working on the organization of the upcoming African Union Special Summit on Refugees, Returnees and Internally- Displaced Persons in Africa. The summit would be an historic event to which UNHCR and indeed all relevant humanitarian actors accord a high degree of importance. Scheduled to be held in October 2009 in Kampala, Uganda, the Special Summit is expected, among other major decisions, to adopt the first ever Convention on the protection of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). For more information on this, please visit the RAUECA website: www.unhcrrlo.org
The UNHCR Representation in Ethiopia leads and coordinates national action to protect refugees in Ethiopia and resolve their problems. It works with the Ethiopian Government and other partners to provide protection, assistance and long-term solutions for refugees. As at 31 May 2009, the Representation to Ethiopia is caring for over 98,483 refugees, mainly from Somalia, Eritrea, Sudan and Kenya. The overwhelming majority have been accommodated in eight camps in different regions of the country.
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