Country Operations Profile

Working environment

The context

The conflict in Sudan continues to affect millions of people and create a complex and volatile political and security situation that remains a challenge for the humanitarian community. UNHCR and its partners provide protection and assistance to refugees, returnees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Sudan. The Office implements programmes in four operational areas: a protracted refugee situation centred mainly on eastern Sudan; a growing urban refugee population in Khartoum; an ongoing IDP and refugee emergency in Darfur; and the repatriation and reintegration of returnees in Southern Sudan. Each of these programmes has a different set of protection challenges and durable solutions prospects.

In the three years since the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and the creation of a Government of National Unity, thousands of Sudanese have returned from exile. By August 2008, UNHCR had assisted some 126,000 refugees to return to Southern Sudan, while nearly 157,000 returned spontaneously. It is estimated that nearly 130,000 Sudanese refugees still remain in Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda. UNHCR with its partners implements community-based reintegration projects in areas of return. It is also seeking solutions for a small group of Ethiopian refugees currently living in the southern region.

The Darfur Peace Agreement signed in May 2006 has so far failed to deliver stability. Conflict and the displacement of civilians within Darfur, and to Chad, continue to hamper efforts to protect and assist the region's 2.5 million IDPs, as well as some 45,000 Chadian refugees and more than 3,000 refugees from the Central African Republic. The joint African Union and United Nations hybrid force (UNAMID) is present but unable to carry out all its responsibilities due to a lack of equipment and personnel.

The situation in eastern Sudan is characterized by acute poverty and underdevelopment, but general security has improved with the signing of the East Sudan Peace Agreement. The region hosts some 147,000 refugees, including an estimated 90,000 in UNHCR-assisted camps. The majority of these refugees have lived there for a long time and have few durable solutions prospects. Furthermore, since July 2007, UNHCR has been facing a continuous influx of new asylum-seekers from Eritrea, Ethiopia and, more recently, Somalia.

Khartoum is host to some 30,000 urban refugees and asylum-seekers, mainly from Eritrea and Ethiopia. Khartoum State also has some 1.7 million IDPs, about 400,000 of whom reside in four sites recognized by the authorities, while the rest live in informal squatter areas in and around the city. The majority are in a protracted urban situation and endure the same forms of hardship as the urban poor, in addition to lacking access to documentation and livelihood opportunities.

The needs

East Sudan

In eastern Sudan, the absence of durable solutions prospects makes refugees highly dependent on humanitarian assistance. Conditions in refugee camps need to be improved. Possibilities for employment and economic opportunities need to be enhanced to reduce refugees' dependence on external assistance.

At the same time, improvements are required in the current asylum legislation to guarantee access to asylum and registration procedures and to eliminate restrictive practices. The Solution Strategy for the Protracted Refugee Situation in Sudan, jointly elaborated by UNHCR and the Government, tries to address most of these issues. Initiatives that bring together the major stakeholders, including developmental actors and donors, must be strengthened.

Southern Sudan and Blue Nile State

In Southern Sudan and Blue Nile State, lack of access to justice, basic services and livelihood opportunities are the main constraints faced by displaced people, returnees and host communities. Despite increased investment by the Government and the international community in reconstruction and economic development, the need for services and livelihood opportunities remains vast. If not addressed, competition for resources, including land, has the potential to trigger localized conflicts.

Darfur

In Darfur, besides insecurity, violence against women and environmental degradation, the primary concerns of people are in access to land and other livelihood opportunities. Migration heightens rivalries over natural resources, and competition for water, firewood and grazing land can lead to conflict. Continuous cooperation with the Government and other stakeholders to provide effective protection for refugees, IDPs and returnees remains critical.

Khartoum

In Khartoum, the protection needs of refugees and asylum-seekers stem mainly from the weak capacity of governmental structures to implement an effective asylum policy, reduce poverty and support lasting solutions. Among the internally displaced, women and children are more vulnerable to protection risks as they lack housing and basic services and suffer neglect and marginalization.

Main objectives

Annual programme

Refugees in eastern Sudan and Khartoum

• In cooperation with the authorities, address the urgent humanitarian needs of refugee communities.

• Seek comprehensive durable solutions in line with the Solution Strategy for the Protracted Refugee Situation in Sudan.

• In cooperation with development actors, improve relations between refugees and host communities through area development.

• Strengthen the capacity of Sudan's Commission for Refugees to conduct registration and refugee status determination (RSD), provide documentation and protect asylum-seekers and refugees in line with international standards.

• Improve living conditions for the camp-based population by improving the water supply, food security, and health education and sanitation services.

• Raise awareness on health and nutrition, malaria and HIV and AIDS, and fill gaps in supplementary and therapeutic feeding services.

Supplementary programme

IDP and refugee returns in Southern Sudan and Blue Nile State and IDPs in Khartoum

• Facilitate refugees' voluntary repatriation in safety and dignity to Southern Sudan and Blue Nile State.

• Create conditions for the sustainable return and early social and economic reintegration of returning refugees and IDPs.

• Support IDP communities to attain durable solutions, with a focus on groups with specific needs.

• Conduct returnee and protection monitoring and intervene with the authorities and other actors in case of protection violations.

• Coordinate with the authorities and build their capacity to intervene on behalf of displaced people.

• Enhance the self-reliance of refugee groups through community-based activities.

Refugees, IDPs and returnees in Darfur

• Promote protection and respect of the rights of refugees, returnees and IDPs.

• Contribute to a safer environment for refugees and IDPs in camps, settlements, areas of return and rural communities.

• Support the Government to fulfil its responsibility to protect and assist refugees, returnees and IDPs.

• Strengthen protective mechanisms and the capacity of all relevant actors to respond to the needs of displaced people.

• Strengthen awareness among all protection actors, including communities, and promote cooperation to prevent and respond to sexual and gender-based violence.

• Support the creation of an environment which prevents further displacement.

• Coordinate protection activities with partners throughout Darfur.

Key targets

Annual programme

Refugees in eastern Sudan and Khartoum

• All asylum-seekers have access to registration, legal and social counselling, documentation and RSD procedures.

• The most basic needs of asylum-seekers and refugees are addressed.

• Instances of refoulement are promptly addressed.

• All asylum-seekers and refugees with specific needs obtain support, including health care.

• All survivors of sexual and gender-based violence have access to medical and psychological assistance as well as legal representation.

• More than 1,000 refugees are referred for resettlement.

• The global acute malnutrition rate is reduced from 14.5 per cent in 2008 to 11.6 per cent in 2009 in camps in eastern Sudan.

• The under-five mortality rate in camps is less than 20 per cent, and the maternal mortality rate is under 225 deaths per 100,000 live births.

Supplementary programme

IDPs and refugee returns in Southern Sudan and Blue Nile State and IDPs in Khartoum

• Some 54,000 refugees are assisted to return voluntarily to Southern Sudan and Blue Nile State.

• Returnees and receiving communities are helped by community-based projects in health, education, water and sanitation, with a particular focus on areas of high return such as Jonglei, Upper Nile and Eastern Equatoria.

• Protection and returnee monitoring activities are strengthened to include areas of refugee and IDP returns in Jonglei, Upper Nile State and Eastern Equatoria, where there is a lack of basic social infrastructure.

• Ethiopian and Congolese refugees in Southern Sudan gain better access to basic services and livelihood opportunities.

• Refugees, IDPs and returnees in Darfur

• Some 450 protection monitoring missions are carried out.

• Some 23,000 IDPs are provided with basic household goods and non-food items.

• Some 80,000 women are supported through women's centres.

• Youth centres help some 6,000 young people.

• Up to 40 new wells are established, benefiting some 35,000 people. Water committees are set up to manage the supply in each location.

• Hygiene committees are established in 200 villages.

• Some 4,000 family latrines are constructed in selected villages.

• Some 40 schools and classrooms are rehabilitated and constructed.

• Some 400,000 tree seedlings are planted.

Strategy and activities

Refugees in eastern Sudan and Khartoum

UNHCR will continue to develop a self-reliance scheme for this protracted caseload in collaboration with the local government and other partners. The scheme targets some 147,000 long-staying Eritrean refugees. UNHCR will move its sub-office from Es Showak to Kassala and also establish a presence in Gedaref. The emphasis will be on refugees' productive capacity, small projects and community participation.

Investments will be made in the camp infrastructure to achieve acceptable standards. The Office will advocate for the Government to enact asylum legislation that meets international standards, including guarantees against refoulement, unhindered access to asylum procedures, proper documentation, freedom of movement, access to economic opportunities and local integration.

Returnees and IDPs in Southern Sudan and Blue Nile State and IDPs in Khartoum

UNHCR will assist at least 54,000 Sudanese refugees to return home, mostly from Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda. The majority of the returnees are expected to arrive in Jonglei, Eastern Equatoria and Upper Nile States. Accordingly, reintegration resources will be targeted at these areas. At the same time, UNHCR will continue to provide some support for IDPs in Khartoum, paying special attention to women at risk and other groups with specific needs. UNHCR will also focus on working with the Government to register Anuak refugees from Ethiopia and helping the communities hosting the displaced.

IDPs, refugees and returnees in Darfur

UNHCR will focus on consolidating and reinforcing its protection lead role throughout the region, expanding its presence, increasing protection advocacy, and continuing its targeted and emergency assistance, particularly in rural areas and potential areas of return. Working with the Government of Sudan and UNAMID, the Office will support the Government to fulfil its primary responsibility to ensure a comprehensive humanitarian response throughout Darfur.

UNHCR will provide non-food items and essential services to groups with specific needs, and enhance coping mechanisms through support for educational services and income-generating activities. Special attention will be paid to providing local authorities with institutional support. Assistance to local communities will also continue through community-based projects.

Constraints

The growth in returns to Juba and other urban centres will continue to strain local infrastructure and may generate social problems. The rainy season (May-November) will bring repatriation activities to a near standstill as weather conditions hinder movement by road and air.

In Darfur, the lack of security is likely to displace more people and prevent sustainable return. It also hampers humanitarian workers' access to rural areas and settlements. Limited resources in water, food and fuel contribute to long-standing communal tensions, particularly between pastoralists and farmers.

Organization and implementation

Coordination

UNHCR works in close collaboration and cooperation with the Government of Sudan, local and international NGOs, IOM, ICRC and UN agencies. The Humanitarian Aid Commission and the Commissioner for Refugees remain UNHCR's main governmental counterparts.

Financial information

UNHCR's financial requirements for supplementary programmes in Darfur and Southern Sudan have continued to increase steadily as the Office has expanded its operation to return and reintegrate Sudanese refugees from countries of asylum, as well as due to the increased UNHCR presence in north and south Darfur. The requirements under the annual programmes, mainly for care and maintenance of refugees in eastern Sudan, have remained relatively stable.

In addition to the supplementary programmes presented in this Appeal, the Office foresees the establishment of an additional supplementary programme to find durable solutions for the protracted refugee situation in eastern Sudan.