What happens after the request: registration, family handling, major support and rights where officially stated?
UNHCR’s country account says that asylum-seekers identified on arrival are referred to UNHCR for eligibility assessment under its mandate because national status-determination and appeal procedures have not been established. It reports that identified people were documented through UNHCR’s regional operation in Gabon and lived in urban host communities, while no refugees or asylum-seekers were formally registered in the country. This describes the documented referral/registration arrangement; urban residence is not evidence of a guaranteed government accommodation benefit.
See recorded sources
Limits of the record- The source does not establish the individual post-referral registration steps, family handling, subsistence support, right to work or migration permission while waiting. The population statement is contextual and not proof that an individual cannot request protection.
- https://rimap.unhcr.org/node/157 — UNHCR country context and status-determination referral
<p>No refugees or asylum-seekers were formally registered in the country, and those identified were documented under UNHCR’s regional operation in Gabon, residing within urban host communities rather than in camps or settlements. Stateless individuals, though few, live alongside other foreign-national groups in coastal towns, holding temporary identity papers under ordinary immigration rules. </p>
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<p>The country acceded to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol in 1986, thereby accepting the core international standards for asylum protection; however, no domestic law has been enacted to establish national procedures for status determination or appeal. Asylum-seekers identified on arrival are referred to UNHCR for eligibility assessment under the UNHCR mandate.</p><p>Following their pledge to promote regional advocacy for the rights of refugees, stateless and internally displaced people at the 2023 Global Refugee Forum, Sao Tome and Principe ratified in 2024 four Conventions: the 1969 OAU Convention, the 2009 Kampala Convention; the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness in 2024. This significant initiative is a testament to the State's willingness to establish adequate legal frameworks that ensures the rights of forcibly displaced and stateless persons and provide a robust foundation for collaborative efforts to support the national systems. </p>
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