Refugees have right to asylum — UNHCR

Head of Ogoja Sub Office of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) in Cross River, Mr Tesfaye Bekele, has revealed that refugees all over the world have the right to seek asylum.

Bekele said this in Ogoja on Sunday while presenting a trophy to the Cameroonian refugee football team that defeated Cross River State Emergency Management Agency football team.

The football match, which the Cameroonian refugee team won by 10-9 through penalty kick, was one of the activities lined up to commemorate the 2022 World Refugee Day celebration.

Bekele said the football match was organised to give the refugees a sense of belonging.

“Every June 20, the entire world is celebrating refugees; and the theme for this year is ‘Whoever, Wherever, Whenever,’ everyone has the right to safety.

“It means that everyone has the right to seek asylum, regardless of their ethnicity, race or religion at any place all over the world.

“Nobody can ask them not to seek for safety because they are running from their own country to seek for safety in another country,” he said.

He added that the celebration signified that the refugees were protected, supported and received by the state and federal governments, UN agency and other partners.