UNHCR appeals for US $90 m to prepare for return of refugees

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has appealed for US $90 million to fund preparations for the potential return of more than 500,000 refugees who fled conflict and war-related hardships in southern Sudan during the past two decades. Many of the refugees are expected to opt to go home after a comprehensive peace agreement is signed to end 21 years of war between the government and the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army. The two sides on 26 May signed three key protocols on power-sharing and the contested areas of Abyei, the Nuba mountains and southern Blue Nile, paving the way for a comprehensive peace deal. UN Assistant High Commissioner for Refugees Kamel Morjane told a news conference in Geneva on Tuesday after returning from a five-day visit to Sudan: "My mission focused on the south. With peace almost in sight, we are nearing the end of 21 years of war, indeed, of Africa's longest-running conflict." He added: "Although peace is not yet final, we feel that there are solid grounds for optimism, and we must be fully prepared to repatriate, receive and reintegrate those refugees who wish to do so. Returning refugees are persons who have voted with their feet in favour of peace, and repatriation creates its own momentum for further repatriation and peace." UNHCR was taking a step-by-step approach to repatriation, Morjane said, adding that more than 500,000 southern Sudanese refugees were living in seven neighbouring countries, including Egypt. "Our plan of action is ready, it has been ready for a few months now," he said of the repatriation programme, noting that some refugees had already started going home on their own. "Spontaneous repatriation is taking place, mainly in northern Uganda, mainly for security reasons." Emmanuel Nyabera, the UNHCR spokesman in Kenya, which hosts between 60,000 and 70,000 southern Sudanese refugees, said preparations for their return would entail, among other things, registration, working with other humanitarian agencies to set up basic amenities in their home areas, and an awareness campaign to let them know of conditions inside southern Sudan. "The emphasis will be on voluntary repatriation," Nyabera told IRIN. "We have to make them understand the situation so that they can make informed decisions," he added. Morjane said that whereas UNHCR was hopeful about southern Sudan, reconstruction challenges remained. As an example, he pointed to the fact that some 35,000 Sudanese refugee children in one Kenyan camp came from an area in Sudan that had only 10,000 places in schools. On the situation in western Sudan's Darfur region, Morjane said the Khartoum government had asked UNHCR to expand its presence in the area. Over one million people have been displaced within Darfur, predominantly by attacks carried out by militias, who are reportedly allied to the government. The government denies involvement in the attacks. At least 150,000 people are estimated to have fled to neighbouring Chad, while between 15,000 and 30,000 are thought to have been killed. Recalling his visit to eastern Chad in December, Morjane said in reference to the Sudanese refugees: "The situation is among the worst I have ever seen."