Briefing Note

Update on Southern Sudan Operations

May 2010

Background
Organised Return (as of May 2010) The signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005 marked a turning point
Organized returns: 172,742 in the history of Sudan. In the same year, UNHCR re-established its presence in Southern
Total: 329,572 (spontaneous Sudan with main objectives to facilitate the return and reintegration of Sudanese refugees.
included) Since then, close to 330,000 Sudanese have returned home from exile. This represents
Refugees: Total 24,394 around 75% of the 428,000 who were registered as refugees in neighboring countries at the
UNHCR Registered: 17,082 beginning of 2005. An estimated 2.5 million IDPs returned home during the same period.
Ethiopian: 4,601 National elections finally took place in April 2010 amidst reports of party boycotts in the run
Congolese: 12,479 up to the polls as well as mass irregularities during the voting period. These elections are a
CAR: 02 critical milestone as the country edges closer to the referendum that is slated for January
UNHCR Southern Sudan Presence:
2011 when the people of South Sudan will choose between independence or continued
Office of Deputy Representative- Juba
Bor inclusion in a unitary Sudanese state.
Torit UNHCR has an important role and obligation to play in Southern Sudan through its
Nimule continued engagement before and after the 2011 referendum. Without concerted
Yei commitment to make the return sustainable, the success story of the returns can turn into
Yambio “failure” with new population displacements both external and internal. While the returns
Malakal have progressed elsewhere, there are still areas of potential high return such as Akobo,
Kajokeji Jonglei State, Nasir and Mabaan, Upper Nile State where due to the insecurity caused by
Implementing Partners: the inter-tribal conflicts, the returns have been so far insignificant.
ADRA SSCCSE GTZ With advancement of the CPA implementation, UNHCR is reorienting itself especially to
JEN SSAC WVI
intervene in newly arising challenges of statelessness, asylum building, and durable
DED SUHA ACROSS
IMC SSRRC InterSOS solutions of IDPs while continuously monitoring and advocating for sustainable return. All
IRC SSHRC UNV these efforts are geared to bring lasting peace and stabilization to Southern Sudan.
NRC RI Macdowell Limited
Voluntary Repatriation and Reintegration:
Key Operational Partners:
RCSO UNDP WFP UNMIS UNHCR continues to assist Sudanese refugees and internally displaced persons to return
UNICEF FAO home and to facilitate their initial reintegration into Sudanese society.
The return journey involves conducting verification and screening of individuals, supporting
2010 Budget: USD 65.6 mil persons with special needs, managing way stations and providing a modest amount of cash
Funds available: USD 29.8 mil grants for transport and early reintegration. Returnees receive reintegration packages
containing mosquito nets, blankets, sleeping mats, jerry cans, buckets, soap, cooking sets,
plastic sheets, seeds and agricultural tools (provided by FAO) and an initial three-month
food ration (provided by WFP). Women of child bearing age receive sanitary kits; pregnant women and babies a baby kit;
extremely vulnerable cases are provided with a tent.
UNHCR and its partners conduct protection monitoring in returnee areas to identify and follow up on issues in which the returnees
may be prejudiced or discriminated by comparison with the population as a whole. Returnees have generally been welcomed by
the receiving population.
Community-based reintegration projects (CBRPs) are implemented to provide protection, basic services and livelihood
opportunities in areas of high return. Nearly 900 such projects have been completed to date including 330 hardware projects
involving construction or rehabilitation of schools, health clinics and water facilities.
Of primary concern to UNHCR is the potential for fresh displacements that compromise the attainment of sustainable return. A dire
lack of infrastructure and basic services is compounded by increasing sporadic violence. Notably, inter-tribal clashes that are
rooted in traditional conflict over resources have become more brutal due to the use of modern weapons of war. Constant
insecurity will make it difficult to build the foundations needed for sustainable reintegration of returnees.

Protection and Assistance of Refugees:

Southern Sudan is host to some 4,600 Ethiopian refugees from the Anuak ethnic group. They originate from the Gambella region
of Ethiopia. The first group arrived in 2003 and was followed by a second in 2005. They cited insecurity, ethnic persecution and

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disputes over land ownership. They are currently settled in Lologo, Juba (Central Equatoria State), Pochalla (Jonglei State) and
Malakal and Renk (Upper Nile State). They have been recognized in Sudan as prima facie refugees.
Current UNHCR estimates put the numbers of refugees who fled the LRA attacks in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the
Central African Republic at about 12,500. Statistics are fluid because of frequent arrivals and departures depending on the security
situation. They are located in Western and Central Equatorial States.
Assistance is provided in all three established settlements (Makpandu, Ezo, and Lasu). UNHCR and other actors maintain
registration records, conduct protection monitoring and provide basic assistance. WFP provides food. Non-food assistance offered
at formal refugee sites includes potable water, sanitation facilities, basic health care and primary education. A very limited
assistance, especially provision of food, has been provided to the Congolese and CAR refugees living outside these three
settlements when feasible.
Beyond the logistical challenges, there are concerns about security and access especially for the refugees along the border in
Western Equatoria where the LRA occasionally continues its campaign of terror, raiding for food provided to refugees and
internally displaced persons. The relocation exercise was embarked between late 2008 and early 2009 to transfer the refugees
from the border areas to Makpandu. A similar exercise is currently being planned for the refugees in Source Yubu. Access is
also a major challenge for another refugee group of 3,313 Ethiopian Anuaks in Pochalla, Jonglei State.
The formal recognition of refugee status in Southern Sudan is complicated by the absence of a mandated Government Agency to
oversee refugee affairs since the issue of the refugees is considered a national matter. South Sudan Rehabilitation and Recovery
commission (SSRRC), UNHCR main government counterpart in South Sudan, does not have the mandate to deal with the legal
aspects of refugee matters.

Internal Displacements:
A fragile security situation prevails in Southern Sudan. In 2009, intertribal clashes and attacks on civilians by armed militia claimed
the lives of more than 2,000 people, and displaced some 400,000 others at the peak. Conflict between the Sudanese People’s
Liberation Army (SPLA) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) erupted in Malakal in 2007 and again in early 2009. Similar
conflict erupted in the oil rich Abyei in May 2008 causing widespread displacement. Attacks by the Ugandan rebel faction, the
Lord’s Resistance Army, have provoked the displacement of refugees from the Central African Republic and the Democratic
Republic of Congo, alongside 68,000 IDPs in adjacent border areas in Western and Central Equatorial States. UNHCR
involvement in IDPs has been so far limited. UNHCR, however, has participated in various joint assessment missions of the IDPs
and in advocacy efforts especially through the protection working groups. In addition, UNHCR has been providing non food items
(NFIs) such as plastic sheets for emergency shelter.

Future Outlook:
Since repatriation operations reached their peak in 2007-2008, UNHCR has gradually shifted its emphasis towards protection and
reintegration. On protection and reintegration activities, UNHCR is strengthening partnerships with GoSS bodies particularly
South Sudan Human Rights, Peace, Rehabilitation and Recovery as well as the AIDS Commission to enhance the ownership of
the Government. Meanwhile, protection and assistance activities for the refugees will continue with emphasis on self-reliance until
the situation in their countries of origin becomes conducive for their return. UNHCR will also take a lead role with regard to the
protection and durable solutions for IDPs in the light of the ongoing discussions on the introduction of the cluster approach in
Southern Sudan. In relation to the forthcoming referendum, contingency planning on possible population movements is essential.
To this end, UNHCR in tandem with neighbouring countries and other UN agencies is putting in measures to deal with possible
scenarios of displacement.

For more information: UNHCR Office of the Deputy Representative, Juba, Sudan
Public Information Unit
Email: sudju@unhcr.org
Website: http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/southsudan
Tel: +41227397554; +249 18347110