UN refugee agency begins repatriation of Sudanese in Central African Republic
Refugees from Sudan have begun returning home from the Central African Republic (CAR) thanks to a new agreement signed by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Governments of the two countries, the agency announced today.
Refugees from Sudan have begun returning home from the Central African Republic (CAR) thanks to a new agreement signed by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Governments of the two countries, the agency announced today.
The accord, endorsed yesterday in Bangui, paved the way for the voluntary repatriation of some 16,000 Sudanese refugees currently residing in the land-locked nation.
The new agreement is one in a series signed between UNHCR and African countries hosting Sudanese refugees. These pacts follow on the Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed in January, 2005, which ended 21 years of civil war in Sudan.
The first flight of refugees was scheduled to take off this morning, bringing an initial group of Sudanese. The first phase of the operation will be conducted by air, and is expected to bring back 5,000 refugees by April, with the organized return of the remaining refugees expected to be completed by the end of this year.
Most Sudanese arrived in the country around 1990, and settled in the area of Mboki, where an estimated 12,000 live today despite severe humanitarian problems. Throughout this time, UNHCR has cared for the refugees, including by providing primary and secondary education, and a functioning hospital.
“The CAR is today faced by a humanitarian crisis, bound to turn into a humanitarian disaster unless significant international funding is received,” said Maurizio Giuliano, a UN spokesman in the impoverished country.
Despite its own severe difficulties, war-torn CAR currently gives refuge to over 28,000 refugees from a dozen nationalities. Jean-Marie Fakhouri, UNHCR Director of Special Operations for the Sudan and Chad, thanked the CAR Government and people “for having generously welcomed Sudanese refugees over more than 15 years.”
“The hospitality extended to these people by Central Africans despite all their difficulties, has been truly touching. This teaches us that, even when resources are scarce, human beings are capable of great solidarity and generosity.”