A/HRC/17/33/Add.2 channels. However, the Government has estimated that remittances amounted to approximately 242 billion FCFA (7 per cent of the gross domestic product), representing an important source of income for the country and providing people with a strong incentive to migrate.5 18. It is estimated that remittances transferred through official channels represent between 40 and 50 per cent of the overall Senegalese remittances. Wire transfers of money represent the most commonly used means of transfer. In 2006 it was reported that Senegal had more than 500 wire-transfer points (banks, post offices and others). 19. An estimated 75 per cent of the remittances transferred to Senegal contributes to the satisfaction of daily consumption needs of families left behind, which is an essential element for the protection of their right to an adequate standard of living. About 10 per cent of remittances is deposited in local banks as part of savings. The rest is reportedly devoted to two types of investment: housing and trade. Concerning housing, remittances may be put towards purchasing land, family houses or houses to prepare the migrant’s return or to rent out (particularly in the capital). Investments in the trade sector are reportedly rare and concentrated in the transport sector (taxis, coaches), the import of second-hand vehicles or parts, and in agriculture. 20. One of the main conclusions of a national study on remittances conducted in 2007/08 indicated that remittances from migrants contribute to reducing by approximately 31 per cent the prevalence of households living below the poverty line.6. Senegalese migrants in many countries of destination have been able to establish community groups through which they maintain contacts with their villages and communities of origin. Some of these groups have also been able to invest in community projects such as schools, health centres and mosques in their villages of origin. In order to facilitate this type of investment and to overcome obstacles linked to administrative hurdles and a generally deficient institutional environment for business, the Government adopted a law on decentralization and economic policies to provide local authorities with the necessary flexibility to establish direct partnerships with the countries of destination within the framework of the international obligations assumed centrally by the State. C. Refugees and asylum-seekers 21. The number of refugees and asylum-seekers in Senegal has been constant since 2001. In 1999 there were 21,539 refugees; in 2007, 20,421 according to 2008 estimates by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.7 About 95 per cent of the refugees/asylum-seekers are from Mauritania. Between 2000 and 2007 there were approximately 4,042 asylum applications, mainly from nationals of Sierra Leone, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia and Mauritania. 22. An estimated 20,000 Mauritanian refugees continue to live in northern Senegal, spread among 283 sites, 16 years after being expelled from their home country. The exact number of Mauritanian refugees is still not known, as the registration exercise, which began in December 1999, was abandoned in 2000. This has left the majority of these refugees in a precarious situation as they do not have proper identification papers, except for the “Green Card” which was issued upon their arrival in 1989 and which expired three months 5 6 7 6 Senegal, initial reports of States parties (CMW/C/SEN/1), para. 55. UNDP, “Migration au Sénégal. Dynamique et Orientations Stratégiques” par Ousmane Ndoye et Luc Joel Gregoire, October 2008, p. 15. As cited in International Organization for Migration (IOM), Migration en Sénégal : Profil National pour le Développement de Politiques Stratégiques 2009 (Geneva, 2009), p. 6.