• Text size Normal size text | Increase text size by 10% | Increase text size by 20% | Increase text size by 30%

UNHCR and Sudan kick off registration of Eritrean and Ethiopian refugees

News Stories, 4 March 2008

© UNHCR/R.Saidumarova
Registration takes place at a camp in eastern Sudan.

KHARTOUM, Sudan, March 4 (UNHCR) – The UN refugee agency and the government of Sudan have launched a joint registration operation for tens of thousands of mostly Eritrean and Ethiopian refugees living in eastern Sudan. The registration, due to last for several months, started on Sunday and is expected to benefit more than 133,000 refugees.

Out of these, 95,000 live in open camps in Kassala, Gaderef, Jezzira, Sinar and the Red Sea states of eastern and central Sudan, while about 38,000 live in urban and rural areas of these states. Khartoum, the capital, is said to be hosting close to 30,000 refugees, who also need to be verified and registered.

The massive operation seeks to address the plight of refugees who, after decades in Sudan, are still relying on humanitarian assistance because of lack of access to employment, compounded by lack of proper identification documents.

"This exercise will clearly allow us and the government of Sudan to determine the exact number of Eritrean and Ethiopian refugees who are still in Sudan," said Chris Ache, the UNHCR representative for Sudan.

"We will also be in a better position to reinstate those who had lost their refugee status but deserve it back, while at the same time we will collect enough information on their needs," added Ache, referring to Eritreans affected between 2002 and 2004 by the so-called "cessation clause" that revoked their refugee status

The Eritrean and Ethiopian refugees in Sudan have mostly enjoyed protection for the past four decades, but it has been extremely difficult for those living in the east and in Khartoum to support themselves, particularly when they lack ID.

By registering these populations, the Sudanese government and UNHCR hope to determine the best solution based on the refugees' profile. Some will require continued humanitarian support because of their vulnerability.

Others may require self-reliance support, while a number may be in need of resettlement in a third country because they can neither remain in Sudan nor repatriate. Ache said that at the end of the exercise the government would issue ID to all registered refugees.

Most importantly, the registration will translate into reconfirmed refugee status for nearly 70,000 Eritreans who lost it under the cessation clause. UNHCR considers that the end of the Eritrean war of independence in 1991 and the end of the border conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia in 2000 removed the root causes of the Eritrean refugee problem.

The registration will also take into account the arrival since the beginning of last year of some 10,000 asylum seekers. Nearly 90 percent of them originating from Eritrea cited forced army recruitment as their main reason for flight. Others are from Ethiopia and Somalia. The last general registration took place in 2001.

The Eritreans and Ethiopians in Sudan represent one of the most protracted refugee situations in the world.

By Fatoumata Kaba in Khartoum, Sudan

• DONATE NOW • • GET INVOLVED • • STAY INFORMED •

 

Related stories by:

UNHCR country pages

Registration

The recording, verifying, and updating of information on people of concern to UNHCR so they can be protected and UNHCR can ultimately find durable solutions.

Battling the Elements in Chad

More than 180,000 Sudanese refugees have fled violence in Sudan's Darfur region, crossing the border to the remote desert of eastern Chad.

It is one of the most inhospitable environments UNHCR has ever had to work in. Vast distances, extremely poor road conditions, scorching daytime temperatures, sandstorms, the scarcity of vegetation and firewood, and severe shortages of drinkable water have been major challenges since the beginning of the operation. Now, heavy seasonal rains are falling, cutting off the few usable roads, flooding areas where refugees had set up makeshift shelters, and delaying the delivery of relief supplies.

Despite the enormous environmental challenges, UNHCR has so far managed to establish nine camps and relocate the vast majority of the refugees who are willing to move from the volatile border.

Battling the Elements in Chad

Southerners on the move before Sudanese vote

Ahead of South Sudan's landmark January 9, 2011 referendum on independence, tens of thousands of southern Sudanese in the North packed their belongings and made the long trek south. UNHCR set up way stations at key points along the route to provide food and shelter to the travellers during their arduous journey. Several reports of rapes and attacks on travellers reinforced the need for these reception centres, where women, children and people living with disabilities can spend the night. UNHCR has made contingency plans in the event of mass displacement after the vote, including the stockpiling of shelter and basic provisions for up to 50,000 people.

Southerners on the move before Sudanese vote

Chad: Relocation from the Border to Refugee Camps

Since fighting broke out in Sudan's western region of Darfur last year, more than 110,000 Sudanese refugees have fled into Chad. They are scattered along a 600-km stretch of desert borderland under a scorching sun during the day and freezing temperatures during the night.

Access to these refugees in this inhospitable region is difficult. Staff of the UN refugee agency drive for days to locate them. Bombing in the border zone and cross-border raids by militia from Sudan put the refugees at risk and underscore the urgent need to move them to camps in the interior. In addition, the approach of the rainy season in May will make the sandy roads impassable. Aid workers are racing against time in an attempt bring emergency relief to these refugees.

Chad: Relocation from the Border to Refugee Camps

Sudan: A Perilous RoutePlay video

Sudan: A Perilous Route

Kassala camp in eastern Sudan provides shelter to thousands of refugees from Eritrea. Many of them pass through the hands of ruthless and dangerous smugglers.
Sudan: Heading for a New HomePlay video

Sudan: Heading for a New Home

UNHCR is offering to help move hundreds of people from Sudan to newly independent South Sudan, where they will build new lives. Almost 250 families with ties to the south are waiting for a ride.
South Sudan: Blue Nile RefugeesPlay video

South Sudan: Blue Nile Refugees

Refugees are streaming in from Sudan's Blue Nile Region into South Sudan, many to Doro Camp.