UNHCR representative meets with Sudanese officials

Roman Urasa, the UNHCR representative in Khartoum, met with Sudanese government officials on Thursday to discuss the plight of Ethiopian and Eritrean refugees remaining in Sudan. During the two-year long border conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea, tens of thousands of people had sought refuge in the country. In his meeting with cabinet affairs minister, Abd-al-Rahman Sirr al-Khatim, and refugee commissioner, Muhammad Ahmad al-Aghbash, Urasa raised the concerns of the UNHCR in repatriating the remaining refugees. Geneva-based UNHCR Spokeswoman for Africa Delphine Marie told IRIN on Friday that while they were still assessing the situation and could not give exact figures: “The primary objective of the UNHCR is to put together a repatriation program for the remaining refugees in Sudan in order of priority, while at the same time working in Eritrea to assure that the conditions and infrastucture of that country is condusive to their return.” A secondary objective was to put together a plan for those people who arrived prior to 1991. “The old caseload for people living in Sudan for over 30 years was approximately 160,000,” she added. At its highest, the UNHCR registered 90,000 people living in tents in May and July of this year. “The UNHCR repatriated about 23,000 of these refugees,” Marie said. She went on to say, however, that after the June ceasefire, there was a large increase in “spontaneous” repatriation. While initially the UNHCR registered 5,000 of these, she expected this figure to be far higher, adding: “many of the camps now look nearly empty.” A Sudanese state television report on 7 September said the Sudanese minister emphasized the importance of the role being played by the UNHCR in supporting the refugee programme in Sudan. He called for future cooperation on refugee issues and respect for the charters laid down for this purpose at the African and international level, it said.