Lomé Declaration: A shared commitment to national security and refugee protection

On July 4, 2025, in Lomé, the security and interior ministers of Togo, Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, and Ghana signed a joint declaration aimed at strengthening national security and protecting refugees. This act was formalized during the second day of a ministerial meeting of the Regional Dialogue, which took place in the Togolese capital.

The initiative, launched in March 2024 with the support of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), responds to the growing challenges facing these countries. The deteriorating security and humanitarian context in the Sahel has led to massive population influxes and risks of destabilization within their territories. Participating states therefore deemed it necessary to concretely address measures to reconcile national security imperatives with refugee protection.

The Lomé Declaration, the result of more than a year of ongoing dialogue between the five countries, endorses a series of important recommendations. Key measures include:

• Strengthening the principle of non-refoulement : Guarantee that refugees are not returned to countries where their lives or freedom would be threatened.
• Simplified procedures for recognition of refugee status : Facilitating access to refugee status for those who need it.
• Empowering refugees : Ensuring access to essential services to improve their quality of life.
• Strengthening coordination : Improving cooperation at the national and sub-regional levels regarding pastoralist refugees.

Following the signing of the document, the President of the National Assembly of Togo, Kodjo Adedze, urged action: "The Lomé Declaration calls us to action. May it be a flame that lights our path, an oath that we carry in our hearts and in our actions."

For his part, Barrie Freeman, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations for West and Central Africa (UNOWAS), reaffirmed the commitment of the signatory states to better human security for the benefit of refugees and host populations.

The Emissary