Emergency Aid for Liberian Refugees

March 23, 1999

On March 23 (Tue.), the Government of Japan decided to donate 1.34 million U.S. dollars to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) as an emergency grant aid to assist the Liberian refugees.
Japan's aid will be used for the procurement of food, transportation of refugees and food, provision of daily necessities, restoration and establishment of water-supply facilities, provision of pharmaceuticals, restoration of medical facilities and shelters, etc., for the Liberian refugees.
The prolonged civil war in Liberia has generated an estimated 770,000 refugees in the country. The UNHCR started a large-scale repatriation program from the end of 1997. Although 240,000 refugees returned to Liberia in 1998, about 220,000 people still remain in neighboring countries for such reasons as the delay in the improvement of public order in Liberia, an inflow of Sierra Leonean refugees into Liberia, and the cutting-off of transportation in the rainy season.
The UNHCR has already repatriated another 10,000 Liberian refugees since this January, and as the will to return is mounting among the remaining refugees, the UNHCR, not missing this opportunity, is conducting relief activities designed to realize the repatriation of all the refugees by the end of this year.
As confirmed at the Second Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD-II) held in Tokyo in October last year, Japan has proactively participated in international endeavors for the restoration of peace and security in post-conflict African countries, including Liberia, from the viewpoint that the realization of political stability in Africa is an extremely important prerequisite for its economic development. This time, Japan has decided to donate the funding from a humanitarian viewpoint, in response to the appeal by the UNHCR, to contribute to achieving political stability through assistance to the efforts to improve the humanitarian situation in Liberia, while also taking into account the steady follow-up of the TICAD-II.

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