UNHCR Sudan Operations No. 98 - June 2009 C o n s t r u c t i o n o f a c u l v e r t A r F Food distribution to Congolese refugees at Lasu settlement, Central Equatoria State, South Sudan. Photo: Yei/UNHCR For further information please contact: UNHCR Sudan SUDKH@UNHCR.ORG Teresa Ongaro ONGARO@UNHCR.ORG Karen Ringuette RINGUETTE@UNHCR.ORG
World Refugee Day was celebrated under the theme Real People, Real Needs on 20 June. In Sudan, refugees, local and national authorities, UNHCR, UN agencies, NGOs and the general public marked the festivities with speeches and entertainment by refugees. Sudan hosts some 280,000 refugees from DR Congo, Chad, Central African Republic, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia and other countries. The refugees are scattered throughout eastern Sudan, Southern Sudan, Darfur, and Khartoum. National Programmes UNHCR continues to advocate with COR for a waiver of the exit permit fee for refugees departing on resettlement to third countries. Currently, a refugee is charged about US$250 per exit permit. UNHCR resettlement activities constitute a means of providing international protection and appropriate durable solutions to refugees. Resettlement also plays a role in sharing responsibilities and burdens of the refugee problem. While it is UNHCR s obligation to ensure the protection of refugees, where necessary by promoting their resettlement, unlike voluntary repatriation or seeking asylum, resettlement is not a right of the individual. Ultimately resettlement countries determine the profile of the refugee they wish to interview and make the final decision as to whom to resettle. Each year, less than 1,000 persons are resettled to third countries out of Sudan. Southern Sudan and Blue Nile State Refugees The influx of Congolese refugees into Southern Sudan fleeing attacks by the Lord s Resistance Army (LRA) in the DRC continued. Abductions are frequent. In Central Equatoria more than 1,100 Congolese refugees arrived at Lasu, bringing the total receiving assistance there to 7,750 persons. In Western Equatoria, 66 Congolese refugees arrived at Makpandu, while 50 other Congolese made their way to Ezo. These two sites now host 4,305 refugees. Fresh LRA attacks occurred in Central Africa at the end of June provoking a fresh influx of refugees including Congolese who had already been displaced into the Central African Republic to Source Yubu and Tambura, north of Ezo in Western Equatoria. An inter-agency assessment team is visiting the sites (at the time of writing) to determine the protection and assistance needs of this group. Source Yubu is almost inaccessible during the rainy season and assistance to this caseload in situ will pose major logistical problems. Southern Sudan hosts 21,190 refugees: 4,961 from Ethiopia, and 16,229 from DR Congo and over 600 from Central Africa. 2/6
Downscaling operations Blue Nile State UNHCR Sudan Operations Update June 2009 UNHCR down-scaled its operations in Blue Nile State, marked by the closure of the office in Damazin on 30 June. UNHCR has retained its presence in Kurmuk, which is co-located with WFP, since Kurmuk County has a high number of returnees, both refugee and IDP (returns continue). Cost-sharing in Kurmuk and overall savings from reductions in administrative support for field offices allow for greater operational support to implementing partners. In order to ensure that gaps would not be created by office closure hand-over arrangements were established with UNMIS-RRR and UNMIS-POC through the offices of the Humanitarian Coordinator. It was agreed that as of 1 July 2009, UNMIS-RRR would take over leadership/coordination activities for cross-sectoral support for return (sector and cluster), notably co-chairing the Return & Reintegration Task Force and coordinating activities related to the UN & Partners Work Plan and the Common Humanitarian Fund. Meanwhile, UNMIS- POC would take over leadership/coordination responsibilities of the Protection sector/cluster, chairing the Protection Working Group and coordinating Work Plan and CHF activities. Southern Sudan In line with the reduction of activities associated with the return operation, and in view of the need for cost savings, most of the truck fleet maintained in South Sudan to assist refugees and IDPs to return was decommissioned on 30 June. Contractual arrangements with NGO partners implementing activities in way stations were also terminated. In future, any assistance to returnees in way stations in Southern Sudan will be carried out by UNHCR staff through direct implementation arrangements. The UNHCR field office and way station in Kapoeta, Eastern Equatoria, will close at the end of July as a cost savings measure. Thereafter UNHCR activities in the east of Eastern Equatoria State, particularly in support of returnees from Kakuma, will be conducted by the UNHCR office in Torit. Voluntary repatriation Discussions are being conducted with UNHCR offices in the region to determine the best approach to assisting refugees who wish to return in 2010. 3,875 individuals have returned from Kenya and Uganda. Returns from Ethiopia remain low due to ongoing insecurity in Jonglei and Upper Nile states. During the rainy season in July and August, returns will decline further before picking up again in September. Some 31,700 returnees have been assisted home during 2009, against a revised planning figure of 33,500 for the year. Overall nearly 330,000 refugees have returned home to Southern Sudan. UNHCR Egypt reported that following a recent survey few of the 22,394 Sudanese refugees registered their desire to repatriate to Southern Sudan. A second go and see visit from Arua and Hoima in Uganda was received at Yei, Juba and Nimule. The delegation viewed reintegration projects and met with state, county and GoSS officials. 3/6
Eastern Sudan Continuing refugee influx There were 1,453 new refugee arrivals in June: 1,359 Eritreans, 31 Somalis and 63 Ethiopians. Since the beginning of the year, 11,115 Eritreans, 519 Ethiopians, and 432 Somalis have arrived in east Sudan, for a total of 12,066 refugees. The Eritrean influx more than doubled in comparison with the same period last year, while the Somali influx fell by more than 85%. Secondary movements Two pick up trucks loaded with persons who turned out to be Eritrean and Ethiopian refugees were chased by security forces while heading north of Kassala towards the Egyptian-Sudanese border. Twenty-eight people fell off the vehicles, three of whom died, and seven were admitted to hospital. The rest were detained by police, among them young women and children. Apparently, their intended destination was Israel. In such instances, UNHCR engages legal counsel to represent detained refugees. All refugees were released to the Commissioner for Refugees (COR) and transported to Shagarab refugee camp. The phenomenon of secondary movements is common among new arrivals, who are mostly young, urban, and educated men and women. Registration Since March UNHCR and COR have been engaged in phase 2 of the verification exercise in the eastern states. However, the exercise was suspended at the beginning of June pending the resolution of the matter of ID cards issued to persons who had not necessarily been through the RSD process. UNHCR is studying the issue and has requested COR, in the meantime, to authorize continuation of the verification exercise in parallel. Phase I of the verification and registration of refugees in the 12 camps in eastern Sudan was successfully completed in 2008. ProGres, the standardized data system for refugee registration operating in more than 300 camps and 72 countries, including 32 in Africa. Darfur Internally displaced persons Framework for return On 5 July 2009 the Humanitarian Country Team adopted a revised 2009 UN Framework for Return in Darfur, recognizing the evolution in the process of IDP return, the current reality of some voluntary and sustainable returns, and the imperative to facilitate return only when resulting from a free and well-informed choice. IOM and UNHCR led extensive consultations involving other protection actors in Darfur notably Protection Cluster Working Groups in North, South and West Darfur on the principles that should inform humanitarian interventions in favour of returning populations, including dialogue with UNMIS. The document provides guidance to agencies on how to uphold the right of IDPs to freely choose their place of residence, and to make free and informed decisions about returning to their places of origin. 4/6
Cluster approach UNHCR participated in the inter-agency mission and contributed to the roll-out of the Cluster Approach in Darfur as a lead of the protection sector. With the support of a UNHCR representative of the Global Protection Cluster in Geneva, a protection workshop was organized in El Fasher, building into the more comprehensive activities of the Cluster Mission. The workshop was attended by all major protection actors in Darfur, including sub-cluster leads (UNICEF, UNFPA and IOM), NGOs and UNAMID and resulted in the development of a plan of action to consolidate the protection cluster architecture, its overall goals and its strategy for a more predictable, accountable and efficient coordination of protection/ human rights activities across Darfur. In connection with the roll-out of the cluster approach in Darfur, an All Darfur Cluster Working Group was created in El Fasher to ensure overall coordination of activities with a Darfur-wide perspective. Additionally, UNHCR is finalizing the terms of reference for a Protection Cluster Support Cell to be located in El Fasher. Assessment missions Joint UNHCR/Humanitarian Aid Commission (GoS) missions were conducted in North, South and West Darfur States to assess the agriculture, education and protection activities and programs present in the region. Each mission met with members of the Protection Working Group in the State capitals, and offered an opportunity for members to share their concerns about the protection situation in Darfur. Topics discussed included, inter alia, the issue of returns, problems with security and humanitarian access, matters related to SGBV, and the continued struggle to fill the service gaps left by the expulsion of the NGOs in March. In preparation for the rainy season, UNHCR undertook a variety of activities including NFI distribution in West Darfur, directly or in cooperation with other agencies. Refugees 476 individuals arrived in Um Dukhun from CAR in the second half of June, specifically, 182 Sudanese returnees and 294 Central Africa refugees. They were fleeing intra-tribal political rivalry in Birao/Daba that had erupted into conflict where civilians were targeted. Upon verification of the arrivals and an assessment of their needs, UNHCR and its partner Triangle provided one-time emergency assistance, including NFIs for 300 households (plastic sheeting, kitchen sets, mosquito nets, jerry cans and sleeping mats) and food rations, in coordination with WFP/CRS. Additionally, new arrivals were offered the option of being relocated to a camp to receive further services. Recent reports confirmed the existence of some 1,500 refugees from this same conflict in CAR in the Um Dafog area of South Darfur. UNHCR is planning a mission to the area to assess the humanitarian and protection situation in order to formulate a protection and assistance intervention strategy. 5/6
Khartoum Internally displaced persons As part of an inter-agency effort, UNHCR continued to follow the fate of more than 10,000 families, largely women and children, whose houses have been demolished during a process of re-planning and relocation which occurred in the Mayo settlement/squatter area in Khartoum periphery. Advocacy interventions with the authorities continued, aimed at fostering the respect of the Khartoum State Guiding Principles on Relocation and deter demolitions during the current rainy season. UNHCR monitoring and advocacy efforts have also been devoted to alert the HAC-chaired North Sudan flooding task force on the need for a contingency plan to mitigate the effects of the seasonal flooding, which would aggravate the already precarious shelter and sanitation conditions in the affected areas. As chair of the Protection Working group, UNHCR has continued to signal to UN Habitat the opportunity to stress with the Ministry for Planning and other Khartoum State authorities, the need for a more transparent and efficient process of land allocation. Anuak refugees performing on World Refugee Day at Lologo way station Juba, South Sudan. Photo: Juba/UNHCR UNHCR Sudan 23 July 2009 6/6