Refugees of Sudan

Last updated
Displaced Sudanese
Total population
40.2 million [1]
Regions with significant populations
Flag of Sudan.svg  Sudan 7.1 million [2]
Flag of Egypt.svg  Egypt 469,664 [3]
Flag of Chad.svg  Chad 304,650 [4]
Flag of Ethiopia.svg  Ethiopia 50,000 [5]
Flag of Uganda.svg  Uganda 33,438 [6]
Flag of Jordan.svg  Jordan 6,120 [7]
Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 3,449 [8]

Sudanese refugees are people originating from the country of Sudan, seeking refuge outside the borders of their native country. In recent history, Sudan has been the stage for prolonged conflicts and civil wars, as well as environmental changes, namely desertification. These forces have resulted not only in violence and famine but also the forced migration of large numbers of the Sudanese population, both inside and outside the country's borders. Given the expansive geographic territory of Sudan, and the regional and ethnic tensions and conflicts, much of the forced migration in Sudan has been internal. Yet, these populations are not immune to similar issues that typically accompany refugeedom, including economic hardship and providing themselves and their families with sustenance and basic needs. With the creation of a South Sudanese state, questions surrounding southern Sudanese IDPs may become questions of South Sudanese refugees.

Contents

Reasons for fleeing

The movement of populations within and around the territory of modern-day Sudan and its neighbors for trade, opportunity, climatic variations, and conflicts is not unique to recent or contemporary history. But these movements have intensified and become more concentrated for reasons including prolonged civil war, violence between various populations along ethnic and political lines, droughts and subsequent famines in the 1980s, and humanitarian emergencies and famine caused by improper responses to previous crises by international aid organizations. Movements of people are also inherently more problematic across international boundaries, which may be contradictory to natural population flows within the region. [9]

A Darfuri refugee camp in Chad Darfur refugee camp in Chad.jpg
A Darfuri refugee camp in Chad

Internally displaced Sudanese

As of 2016, an estimated 3.2 million Sudanese were internally displaced persons (IDPs), and another 78,000 were in IDP-like situations. [10] 300,000 of these IDPs were newly displaced in the first months of 2013 due to renewed intertribal conflict. Continuing insecurity, combined with government restrictions on humanitarian access in the Darfur region, South Kordofan, and the Blue Nile States, has hampered UNHCR's activities. [11] Historically, refugee assistance programs in Sudan have relied on the definition of a refugee as one who has crossed an international frontier. This definition is increasingly inappropriate worldwide and especially so in Sudanic Africa, where the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) exceeds the number of refugees. [12]

Following the outbreak of the 2023 Sudan conflict, the International Organization for Migration estimated in August 2023 that the number of IDPs had increased to nearly 7.1 million, more half of which were displaced by the recent conflict alone. [2]

Host countries

Chad

Egypt

Starting in the 1990s, the increase in refugees from Sudan has forced UNHCR RO Cairo to shift its focus from education and training to the care and maintenance of refugees. [13] In Cairo, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) is involved in helping process refugees for resettlement, moving refugees, and assisting with their medical examinations. IOM also conducts cultural orientation for the refugees to prepare them for resettlement in third countries. [13] The UNHCR regional office in Cairo (RO Cairo) is overextended, and after Somalis, the Sudanese (mainly southern Sudanese) represent the largest caseload. [14] A large number of Sudanese refugees in Egypt reflects the fact that many Sudanese travels to Cairo to obtain official recognition of their refugee status from the UNHCR. The Sudanese refugees in Egypt fall under two categories: those who are waiting for their status-determination interview and those who have been rejected or who are self-settled. [15] Between 60 and 70 percent of Sudanese asylum seekers have their applications for refugee status rejected. [15] Rejection and closure of a file have serious psychological and emotional implications for refugees. Many of those rejected, especially men, turn to alcoholism as a way of overcoming their problems. Others become mentally disturbed and there have been reports of suicide or attempted suicide upon receiving news of the rejection. [15] The unity of the family has been challenged by Sudanese refugees' quest for UNHCR recognition. Women and children wait in Cairo for their UNHCR applications to go through while husbands wait in Sudan. [15] The difficulties of life in Cairo and the inability of some husbands to join their families in Egypt have forced some women refugees to abandon their husbands, remarry, and leave for resettlement. [15] In cases of rejection of a family application at the UNHCR, many men leave their wives and children and look for another single woman with UNHCR status to avoid responsibility. [15] Additionally, UNHCR RO Cairo does not recognize polygamous unions, and as such will not refer polygamists for resettlement to countries where polygamy is not permitted. [15] All of these factors have contributed to the break-up of families, divorce, and the abandonment of children. Finally, the UNHCR identity cards issued to refugees are not always recognized by the Egyptian authority. There have been situations in which people have been taken and detained for three to four days and then released, despite their UNHCR status. [15] A resident permit stamp on a valid Sudanese passport seems to offer more protection for refugees. [15]

Kenya

An estimated 3,500 Sudanese refugees are living in Kenya.

Ethiopia

Ethiopia shelters about 70,000 refugees from Sudan, most of whom live in refugee camps in the Benishangul-Gumuz and Gambela Regions.

Uganda

As of 2024 there were 37,841 refugees from Sudan in Uganda. [16]

Gulf countries

In the last quarter of the 20th century, many Sudanese migrated to the Gulf countries to seek work in light of the oil boom in the Gulf and the deterioration of Sudan's economy. [17] The allure of Gulf migration waned starting in the 1990s as the Government of Sudan's support for Iraq in the Gulf War meant that some expatriates were expelled while others lived under tight restrictions. As Sudan was amidst its second civil war, the return was not an option, so many Gulf expatriates started moving to the United States and Canada on "lottery" or asylum and refugee tickets. [17] As such, the traditional migration to Gulf countries is being used by some refugees to achieve further migration to Europe, the United States, Canada, and Australia. [17]

Aid

Issues

Due to the shortages in UNHCR assistance to Sudanese refugees, some Church groups have opened learning centers for refugee children. Furthermore, churches also offer training programs for adult refugees, provide food rations to families, in addition to financial assistance, health services, and job placement. [13] With respect to those Sudanese living in shantytowns in Greater Khartoum or in other urban areas of Africa and the Middle East, remittances provided by kin resettledin Western countries have become an essential part of the overall income needed to meet daily subsistence and other critical needs. [14] Urban refugees’ reliance on cash assistance from abroad is seen as a unique situation since there are few NGOs and humanitarian-based support mechanisms available to adequately meet the needs of refugees in Cairo, Beirut, Damascus, and elsewhere on Sudan's periphery. [14]

Gender issues

In their communities, Sudanese women play a substantial economic role, as the inhabitants of the South depend on agriculture, grazing, fishing, and hunting. [12] When forced to migrate to the capital Khartoum, women pick up marginal work that brings in little income and exposes them to the risk of arrest by authorities. Displaced women often sell tea or liquor, but since the sale of alcohol is illegal, this can lead to imprisonment. [12] Displaced women also suffer in ways that men do not, and in the shantytowns and government-run camps around Khartoum, women continue to suffer violations of their rights and assaults on their bodily integrity. [12]

In Egypt, many southern Sudanese women have entered the Egyptian workforce to support their families. [15] As some men have assumed familial roles like food preparation and childcare, they have become sensitized to the difficulties women experience. [15] Men, however, are uncomfortable with this role reversal and tend to emphasize the negative consequences it has on child development and the husband-wife relationship. [15]

Durable solutions

Resettlement

Whereas earlier waves of Sudanese refugees found asylum first in neighbouring countries, contemporary Sudanese refugees use these countries as a springboard for resettlement in a third country. [17] Some refugees find themselves moving between different countries in the region in order to increase their chances for resettlement.

Repatriation

Repatriation of Sudanese refugees remains difficult given the ongoing conflict and tensions in Darfur and South Sudan. The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement is viewed as the principal determinant of peace and stability in Sudan. [18] This pact paved the way for the return of thousands of Sudanese refugees from neighboring countries. [19]

In South Sudan, armed groups like Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and intertribal clashes have produced increased levels of violence. The patterns of violence point to a clear targeting of women and children. [20] This presents a definite obstacle to repatriation. In Darfur, insecurity, land occupation, and crop destruction continue to generate fresh displacement and prevent returns. [20]

Hosting refugees

During the civil war between Eritrea and Ethiopia, many traveled to Sudan as refugees. These camps had a very harsh environment, medicine and clean water were scarce. Some survived on other nations. (e.g. UN Rations). As of 2016, there were 232,000 South Sudanese refugees in Sudan. [21]

See also

Related Research Articles

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integration or resettlement to a third country. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, with over 18,879 staff working in 138 countries as of 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Refugee</span> Displaced person

A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a person who has lost the protection of their country of origin and who cannot or is unwilling to return there due to well-founded fear of persecution. Such a person may be called an asylum seeker until granted refugee status by a contracting state or by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) if they formally make a claim for asylum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Internally displaced person</span> Person forced to leave their home who remains within their country

An internally displaced person (IDP) is someone who is forced to leave their home but who remains within their country's borders. They are often referred to as refugees, although they do not fall within the legal definitions of a refugee.

There are tens of thousands of Sudanese refugees in Egypt, most of them seeking refuge from ongoing military conflicts in their home country of Sudan. Their official status as refugees is highly disputed, and they have been subject to racial discrimination, and police violence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mediation of the Chadian Civil War (2005–2010)</span> Historical conflict resolution process

Mediation of the Chadian-Sudanese conflict began shortly after the government of Chad declared an "état de belligérance", or 'state of belligerency' with Sudan. on December 23, 2005. The BBC translated "belligérance" as "war".

Bruno Geddo is an Italian national, born in Novara in 1959. He has served with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for over 30 years in Sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa and the Middle East.

An urban refugee is a refugee who decided or was obliged to settle in an urban area rather than in a refugee camp in the country or territory where the person fled to. More than 60% of the world's refugee population and 80% of internally displaced persons (IDP) under UNHCR mandate live in urban environments. In 2009, their number was around 5.5 million people. "Urban refugee" is not a recognized legal term in the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. However, the UNHCR has adopted a 'Policy on Refugee Protection and Solutions in Urban Areas' in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sudanese in Israel</span>

Sudanese refugees in Israel refers to citizens of Sudan who have sought refuge in Israel due to military conflict at home, and to those who moved there illegally as migrant workers. In 2008, there were 4,000 Sudanese in Israel, 1,200 from Darfur and the remainder Christians from South Sudan. The majority entered through the Israeli-Egypt border. Most live in Tel Aviv, Arad, Eilat and Bnei Brak.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kampala Convention</span> International agreement of the African Union adopted in 2009

The Kampala Convention is a treaty of the African Union (AU) that addresses internal displacement caused by armed conflict, natural disasters and large-scale development projects in Africa.

By January 2011 the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimated that there are 262,900 Sudanese refugees in Chad. The majority of them left Sudan escaping from the violence of the ongoing Darfur crisis, which began in 2003. UNHCR has given the Sudanese refugees shelter in 12 different camps situated along the Chad–Sudan border. The most pressing issues UNHCR has to deal with in the refugee camps in Chad are related to insecurity in the camps,, malnutrition, access to water, HIV and AIDS, and education.

Africa Humanitarian Action (AHA) is a non-governmental organization that provides relief services to countries in Africa. It was founded by Dr. David Zawde in 1994 in response to the Rwandan genocide.

Qatar Charity is a humanitarian and development non-governmental organization in the Middle East. It was founded in 1992 in response to the thousands of children who were made orphans by the Afghanistan war and while orphans still remain a priority cause in the organization's work with more than 150,000 sponsored orphans, it has now expanded its fields of action to include six humanitarian fields and seven development fields.

International Organization for Migration (IOM) Mission in Ukraine is an official representative office of the International Organization for Migration in the country and is located in its capital city Kyiv.

A refugee crisis can refer to difficulties and dangerous situations in the reception of large groups of forcibly displaced persons. These could be either internally displaced, refugees, asylum seekers or any other huge groups of migrants.

South Sudanese refugees are persons originating from the African country of South Sudan, but seeking refuge outside the borders of their native country. The world's youngest independent country has a recent and troubled history of prolonged conflicts and ecosystem mismanagement such as overlogging, which has led to desertification. These forces have resulted not only in violence and famine, but also the forced migration of large numbers of the population, both inside and outside the country's borders. South Sudan was cited as the largest refugee crisis in 2016, being the world's third largest, followed by Syria and Afghanistan. As of 2022, the UNHCR estimated that there were 2.4 million refugees under its mandate originating from South Sudan, making the country the fifth largest source of refugees.

The Mustapha Mahmoud Park Massacre denotes a 2005 incident in Cairo, in which dozens of Sudanese asylum seekers were killed. The civil wars in Sudan that have been taking place on and off since 1955, the subsequent destabilization and economic collapse caused by the country's infrastructure and economy, and the fighting in Darfur (2003), forced millions of Sudanese civilians to flee their homes and cities. Many of them arrived in Egypt, the neighboring country.

Usumain Tukuny Baraka is a Sudanese activist and asylum seeker living in Israel. He is a leader of Israel's asylum-seeking community and the first Darfuri refugee to graduate from a Hebrew-language program in an Israeli university.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Sudan floods</span> Natural disaster in the Sudan in 2022

The 2022 Sudan floods saw the figure for flood-affected people in Sudan had exceeded the figure for 2021, rising to 314,500. From 2017 to 2021, there were 388,600 people affected by floods annually.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sudanese refugee crisis (2023–present)</span> Ongoing refugee crisis caused by the Sudanese civil war

An ongoing refugee crisis began in Africa in mid-April 2023 after the outbreak of the Sudanese civil war. By June 2024, around 2.1 million people have fled the country, while around 12 million have been internally displaced within Sudan; these numbers include at least 75,000 migrant returnees and other third-country nationals, making the refugee and displacement crisis in Sudan the largest in African history.

Throughout 2024, the population of Sudan suffered from severe malnutrition and human-made famine conditions as a result of the Sudanese civil war beginning in 2023, primarily in Darfur, Kordofan, and neighboring refugee-taking nations such as Chad. Famine conditions were caused in part by deliberate attempts by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to siege and loot cities with civilians trapped in them and by both sides blocking off supply routes to allow food and humanitarian aid to flow through. On 1 August, the Global Famine Review Committee released a report officially declaring that there was a high risk of IPC Phase 5 famine conditions ongoing throughout internally displaced persons (IDP) camps in Darfur near Al-Fashir. Over 900 deaths have been caused by the famine and over 9 million people have been displaced as a result of the famine and war.

References

  1. ↑ https://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/Publications/Files/Key_Findings_WPP_2015.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  2. 1 2 "7 million people internally displaced in Sudan: IOM". Sudan Tribune. 5 September 2023.
  3. ↑ "Refugee context in Egypt". UNHCR Refugee Agency of Egypt. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  4. ↑ "Sudanese refugees in Chad must adapt or starve". 9 June 2016. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
  5. ↑ Refugees. "In Ethiopia, UNHCR's Grandi urges more support for people fleeing Sudan". UNHCR Refugee Agency. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  6. ↑ "Refugees in Uganda by country of origin 2024". Statista. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  7. ↑ "Jordan". 2 November 2023.
  8. ↑ "Refworld - Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Kenya (as of February 2016)". United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
  9. ↑ de Waal, Alex (1988). "Refugees and the Creation of Famine: The Case of Dar Masalit, Sudan". Journal of Refugee Studies. 1 (2): 129. doi:10.1093/jrs/1.2.127.
  10. ↑ Refugees, United Nations High Commissioner for. "Refworld - Sudan: Refugees, asylum-seekers, IDPs and others of concern to UNHCR by State as of 30 April 2016" . Retrieved 21 June 2016.
  11. ↑ UNHCR. "2014 UNHCR country operations profile - Sudan".
  12. 1 2 3 4 Abusharaf, Rogaia Mustafa (2009). Transforming Displaced Women in Sudan: Politics and the Body in a Squatter Settlement. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
  13. 1 2 3 Edwards, Jane Kani (2007). Sudanese Women Refugees: Transformations and Future Imaginings. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN   978-1-4039-8077-9.
  14. 1 2 3 Riak Akuei, Stephanie (2005). "Remittances as Unforeseen Burdens: Considering Displacement, Family and Resettlement Contexts in Refugee Livelihood and Well Being". Global Migration Perspectives. 18. Global Commission on International Migration.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Edwards, Jane Kani (2007). Sudanese Women Refugees: Transformations and Future Imaginings. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
  16. ↑ "Uganda Refugee Response Portal". UNHCR . 30 September 2019. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  17. 1 2 3 4 Assal, Munzoul A. M. "Refugees To and From Sudan" (PDF). Paper. The Forced Migration & Refugee Studies Program at the American University in Cairo. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-01-11. Retrieved 28 March 2011.
  18. ↑ UNHCR. "2011 UNHCR country operations profile-Sudan". website. UNHCR. Retrieved 28 March 2011.
  19. ↑ UNHCR. "Voluntary Repatriation" (PDF). Website. UNHCR. Retrieved 28 March 2011.[ permanent dead link ]
  20. 1 2 "UNHCR - Sudan". UNHCR. Retrieved 27 March 2011.
  21. ↑ "Sudan: Humanitarian Bulletin - Issue 24 - 6 – 12 June 2016 [EN/AR]". 16 June 2016. Retrieved 21 June 2016.

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