Sudanese refugees depart Iraq for resettlement
Briefing Notes, 16 December 2008
This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Ron Redmond – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at the press briefing, on 16 December 2008, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
A group of 97 Sudanese refugees, mainly from Darfur, who have been stranded in a makeshift camp in the desert in Iraq since 2005, left this morning for Amman, Jordan, from where they are scheduled to fly this evening to Romania. In Romania they will be housed in a new Emergency Transit Centre in Timosoara while they wait for their resettlement applications to be processed. UNHCR would like to thank the governments of Jordan and Romania for their cooperation in making this movement possible.
The group, which is currently in Jordan, is scheduled to depart tonight on a special flight from Marka Airport in Amman to Romania, accompanied by UNHCR staff. It will be followed shortly by another 42 Sudanese refugees who are expected to leave Iraq next month.
The group fled Sudan in the late 1980s and since their departure from Sudan conditions in Darfur have seriously deteriorated. The refugees have had little or no contact with their families in Sudan. They fear returning to their country, where they would find themselves in a situation of internal displacement.
The refugees suffered abuse, blackmail, eviction and assaults by militias following the 2003 downfall of the Saddam Hussein regime. A total of 17 Sudanese were killed between December 2004 and February 2005. Because of this targeting by the insurgent groups, the refugees tried to flee Iraq but were not successful. They became stranded in the K-70 camp outside Al Rutbah town, in the Al Anbar desert, some 75 km east of the Jordan/Iraq border. Here they were subject to severe weather conditions and harassment by militias. UNHCR has delivered humanitarian aid to the group, which includes women and children, while trying to find a durable solution for them.
A relevant handbook on the reception and integration of resettled refugees.
A repository for exchanging ideas on resettlement partnerships, June 2011.
An alternative for those who cannot go home, made possible by UNHCR and governments.
July 2011 edition of the UNHCR Resettlement Handbook.
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 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 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 Refugees
Refugees are streaming in from Sudan's Blue Nile Region into South Sudan, many to Doro Camp.
| 
| 
| 
