Sudan’s Commissioner of Refugees: We have started developing plans for the voluntary repatriation of Sudanese refugees..

 

International and donors support do not exceed (20%) of the administration’s need to meet refugee services..

 

Since the beginning of the war, ten million Sudanese have been left their homes, including two million refugees who crossed into neighboring countries..

 

The reduction in the commission staff is based on purely technical grounds without political or regional classification..

 

Any financial losses that the administration will incur due to an administrative error, we will recover the right of the commission..

 

We are now leading a broad and comprehensive campaign to register refugees and regularize their status.

 

 

In this interview with the Sudan News Agency (SUNA), Commissioner of the Refugees Commission, Dr. Musa Ali Atrun, spoke about the issues of asylum and displacement.. and the effects of the war on the actions and performance of his administration, as well as the conditions of Sudanese refugees abroad. He also touches on the response of donors to the commission’s programs, and in particular he talks about the commission’s plans to implement the voluntary repatriation program for Sudanese after the end of the war. He also touched on the Internal conditions of the commission, particularly those related to restructuring and staff reduction operations.
His responses came, through this meeting, comprehensive, systematic and supported by figures and evidence.

Hereunder is the full text of the interview:

 

 

 

Q: First, Mr. Commissioner, we ask about the number of refugees in the country, especially after the war. Have their numbers increased or decreased?

A: The statistics of registered refugees before the war in the country amounted to one million and one hundred and thirty thousand refugees (1,130,000), and this is not the actual number of course. Perhaps the number is double what I mentioned or less due to their not being registered in the electronic registration system shared between us and the United Nations Higher Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), due to the problems in the various stages of asylum, for example, asylum seekers and the collective acceptance of South Sudanese refugees. However, after the war, a change occurred, and I can say honestly that we do not know the actual number of refugees who left the country or who returned again, but refugees are present in large numbers in the White Nile, Al-Gadaref, and Kassala States, as well as in the Darfur States.
For our part, we began since late last August to lead a broad and comprehensive campaign to register refugees and regularize their status by completing their documents, and by the end of the year we can talk about more accurate numbers of the existence of refugees in the country.

 

 

Q: The war also produced Sudanese refugees outside the country. Are there any statistics on their numbers, and are there camps and communications on your part with the countries to which Sudanese citizens have sought refuge?

A: Yes, there are Sudanese refugees, and the war has increased the number of internal and external displacement. According to statistics, the war has led to the displacement of ten million (10,000,000) Sudanese, two million (2,000,000) of whom are refugees in countries (Egypt, Chad, South Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Eritrea), some of whom have acquired refugee status or have been granted residency in that country. Really, the numbers are large.

Let us start with the country of Chad, which has received residents of an entire state, West Darfur State. It can also be said that most of the residents of the Darfur region have sought refuge in eastern Chad. Thus, the statistics have increased over those who were originally present, as their number was about three hundreds thousand (300) refugees from the beginning of the war in Darfur. Then the number has doubled now to reach about one million (1,000,000) refugees in eastern Chad. These are approximate numbers. Also, in Egypt, there are ample numbers, but they do not live in camps, unlike countries such as Ethiopia, Chad, and South Sudan, where Sudanese are present in refugee camps. We have contact with the countries that host refugees, and during the past weeks I visited the neighboring country; Ethiopia, where I have observed the situation of Sudanese refugees. We are also communicating with South Sudan and Uganda, and our plan is to visit neighboring countries to which our citizens have fled, especially since we are now working on preparing and arranging our Commission administration for the voluntary return of Sudanese after the end of the war.. and developing plans and programs to respond to that return. I believe that visiting refugee camps abroad will allow us to more clearly identify and determine the numbers.

 

Q: The experience of Sudanese asylum in a country like Ethiopia witnessed great difficulties and cruelty to the point that it forced them to repatriate. How do you evaluate their situation and their return..?

 

A: It is true that there are Sudanese who crossed into Ethiopia and were received in two camps, “Komer” and “Wulala”. According to the Ethiopians, the camps were placed by mistake in unsafe areas. This matter created two options for the Sudanese refugees: either to stay in a new camp that was established.. while about three thousand (3000) chose to return to their country. In fact, I visited them in the city of Al-Gallabat. As for talking about their exposure to violence, this becomes a relationship between two countries… From here, I extend my thanks to the Basanda Locality, which provided a great service in receiving the returnees.

 

Q: To what extent was the Refugee Commission affected by the war; in terms of providing its services and performance, and the volume of the damage it underwent?

 

It will not be an exaggeration if I say that we lost everything in terms of property. On the other hand, there are safe areas where we were able to continue working and we still do. For example, in Khartoum, we lost everything related to property and documents. Also, in the states of Kordofan, we had offices in Al-Obied, Kadugli and Al-Fula. We lost the largest part of these offices. In Darfur, we lost everything except our office in the “Al-Liayit” area. The impact is great, and the biggest is in the workers. With the reduction, we started again to accommodate small numbers of workers, given that we work in specific areas and certain tasks, which affects performance. In addition to the assets, the budgets have become limited. Even donors, in order to be able to spend on an emergency situation, this takes a long time. The ongoing establishment in the administrative capital, Portsudan, is small in size compared to what we have previously had, in terms of structures and headquarters, but we are moving forward and trying until we get out to safety.

 

Q: There are accusations against refugees who participated with the rebel Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia in the war..?

 

A: I have often answered this question in various media outlets, and it is unacceptable to us to accuse refugees in this way. It is possible to confirm the accusation of foreigners participating in the war, but as for refugees, this matter requires investigation and scrutiny. Therefore, we are conducting this investigation, in order to identify the reasons for their participation. The RSF militia forced citizens to participate with it in the fighting, and it is also possible that they were forced refugees, and despite the slowness of the investigation into this matter, it is now proceeding, and in the end a report will be issued on the participation of foreigners, whether they were refugees or not, and if that is proven, we will strip those who participated of their refugee status because the matter is related to state security.

 

Q: Support for refugee services by donors, has it decreased or increased..?

 

A: Funding humanitarian work in the world has shrinked, and it is materialized here in Sudan, and our country also has major intersections with the international community and there are countries that impose an economic boycott on it; therefore there are donors who have opinions about the support and how it is spent. But in general, the amount of support from donors does not cover (20%) of the cost of sheltering refugees and providing services to them here in Sudan, according to statistics we conducted here in the agency.

 

Q: There is talk about restructuring the administration, has it been done or are they still just proposals..?

 

A: The direct answer is that the restructuring has not been completed, for many reasons, as the restructuring must occur in parallel with a strategic plan. We have a five-year plan that we had put in place before the war, which was replaced by the emergency situation that our country went through. We are now developing a strategic plan to align it with the restructuring that was delayed. It is true that in December of last year, we terminated the service of contractors of work contracts with the commission through “termination of service” and kept those appointed with the first chapter. Then we started again by assigning some from both sides of the first chaper or project jobs according to need. Those who were not assigned have now been the reduced. Of course they have entitlements, and from our side, we have not forgotten their rights. We are now working to pay them their entitlements. The full talk will come in the due time.

 

Q: There was a court decision in favor of a number of (400) administration teachers, and it cost the commission a huge amount as arbitrary dismissal dues. How is this case proceeding now..?

 

Q: It is true that the Court of Appeal decided that the commission pay the dues for the arbitrary dismissal of those teachers, but we also appealed the decision. In the end, if the court decided a final judgment, we will be committed to implementing it. But in return, we will not abandon the rights of the commission. We will pursue those who committed the mistake in that dismissal. Now we will not talk about any details until we reach the final decision.

 

Q: Since all these things did not happen and even the reduction itself has already been done. In your opinion, why do you think these media campaigns against the commission and its leadership that there is a political liquidation..?

 

A: I think the answer to this question depends on those who are running and standing behind these campaigns. From our perspective, we do not see any hostility or liquidation on a political basis or any other classification. These opinions come from a specific party. For example, in Darfur there were (200) employees, of whom only (30) are present now. In the headquarters of the commission in Khartoum there were (88) employees and workers, of whom the workers now do not exceed half the number. The same thing is in Kordofan and the Eastern Sudan. We always hear these voices. There is no political liquidation, but rather they are the estimates of the administration.
In fact, the reduction came for financial reasons and shortage in funding the jobs.
There are absolutely no classifications on a political or regional basis, but rather they are technical and administrative estimates.