Government protests against resettlement

The Government of Sudan has protested to the United Nations over its role in the resettlement of children from southern Sudan to the United States. The government criticised the UN for its role in the transportation of children from areas controlled by the Sudan Peoples Liberation Army (SPLA) “without the knowledge or consultation of the government of Sudan”, the official Sudanese news agency (Suna) said on 3 April. A letter delivered to the UN Secretary-General’s office by the Sudanese permanent mission to the UN in New York called on UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to reconsider the operation. The message followed a previous complaint over the resettlements addressed to the UN representative in Khartoum, Suna said UNHCR spokesman Paul Stromberg told IRIN that names and details of places of origin of refugee resettlements were not given out as a matter of principle, and that this applied to refugee movements throughout the world. However, Stromberg said that an explanation of the resettlement programme had been given to the Sudanese government.