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South Sudanese Refugees Warmly Welcomed by Uganda

South-Sudanese-Refugees-Warmly-Welcomed-by-UgandaSince the onset of ethnically-motivated conflict within South Sudan in December 2013, an estimated 150,000 South Sudanese civilians have fled the violence to neighboring Uganda. Government officials and civilians alike have cited the remarkably acceptant refugee policies exercised by Uganda as catalysts for these migrations.

Refugees who travel to Uganda for asylum are met with an abundance of economic and social opportunities upon their arrival. Unlike many other nations currently experiencing heightened influxes of refugees due to the persistence of several regional conflicts, Uganda does not place newly arrived migrants into refugee camps operated by the UN and other foreign aid organizations.

Instead, refugees who successfully escape their conflict-ravaged homelands for the peace and security of Uganda are presented with the opportunity to move into permanent settlements where they are provided with their own plot of land. Additionally, various UN agencies provide access to food, water, and home construction resources for newly arrived refugees. Localized primary schools and health clinics are commonly accessible in these areas of Uganda, and are responsible for providing valuable resources to newly settled migrant populations.

Titus Jogo, Refugee Desk Officer for the Adjumani District in Northern Uganda, stated in a recent interview regarding the legal statuses of South Sudanese refugees seeking asylum, “They have all the rights that are attributed to any human being, irrespective of their status as refugees.”

The conflict within South Sudan, the newest nation in the world after its founding in 2012, was initially caused by political disputes between President Salva Kiir and his former Deputy Minister Riek Machar. The conflict is largely consistent of multiple tribal factions which include the Neur Tribe, loyal to Machar, and the Dinka group, loyal to President Kiir; both of these tribal groups have been accused by international monitoring groups of committing war crimes and human rights violations, including ethnically targeted massacres and sexual assaults.

The most recent report provided by the UNHCR estimates that over 730,000 people have fled the conflict in South Sudan to neighboring nations such as Uganda, Sudan, Ethiopia, and Kenya. This report also estimates that an additional 1.5 million South Sudanese civilians are currently suffering from internal displacement due to the escalation in ethnic violence. Many of these displaced civilians experience frequent relocations to areas known as ‘protection-of-civilians’ sites, which are coordinated by the UN Mission in South Sudan and provide secure refugee camps for civilians who have fled their homes.

Secretary General of the UN Ban Ki-moon recently explained in a statement regarding conditions within South Sudan, “The violence that has ravaged South Sudan over the past 18 months proves that there can never be a military solution to this conflict. I therefore call on all leaders of South Sudan – particularly President Kiir and former Vice-President Riek Machar – to prove their leadership by investing in a political solution and immediately concluding a comprehensive peace agreement. At the same time, the international community must take decisive steps to help end the fighting.”

The UNHCR recently released an international appeal for increased foreign aid designated for the current mission within South Sudan, noting the mounting number of refugees traveling to neighboring countries has depleted financial resources. While the organization estimates that $99 million US is necessary to continue funding this operation, only 9% of this goal has been raised to date.

The report explained that “Current resources remain insufficient to provide vital life- saving assistance and services, particularly in the areas of health, education and livelihoods and environment. Many South Sudanese refugee children, their country’s hope for the future, face key barriers to education including overcrowding in classrooms, a lack of teachers, and a lack of recreational activities to support constructive social engagement.”

– James Miller Thornton

Sources: The Guardian, Shanghai Daily, UN
Photo: UNHCR

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South Sudanese Refugees Warmly Welcomed by Uganda

Sudanese_RefugeesSince the onset of ethnically-motivated conflict within South Sudan in December 2013, an estimated 150,000 South Sudanese civilians have fled the violence to neighboring Uganda. Government officials and civilians alike have cited the remarkably accepting refugee policies exercised by Uganda as catalysts for these migrations.

Refugees who travel to Uganda for asylum are met with an abundance of economic and social opportunities upon their arrival. Unlike many other nations currently experiencing heightened influxes of refugees due to the persistence of several regional conflicts, Uganda does not place newly arrived migrants into refugee camps operated by the United Nations and other foreign aid organizations.

Instead, refugees who successfully escape their conflict-ravaged homelands for the peace and security of Uganda are presented with the opportunity to move into permanent settlements where they are provided with their own plot of land. Additionally, various U.N. agencies provide access to food, water and home construction resources for newly arrived refugees. Localized primary schools and health clinics are commonly accessible in these areas of Uganda and are responsible for providing valuable resources to newly settled migrant populations.

Titus Jogo, refugee desk officer for the Adjumani District in Northern Uganda, stated in a recent interview regarding the legal statuses of South Sudanese refugees seeking asylum that “They have all the rights that are attributed to any human being, irrespective of their status as refugees.”

The conflict within South Sudan, the newest nation in the world after its founding in 2012, was initially caused by political disputes between President Salva Kiir and his former Deputy Minister, Riek Machar. The conflict has largely consisted of multiple tribal factions, including the Neur Tribe (loyal to Machar), and the Dinka group (loyal to President Kiir); both of these tribal groups have been accused by international monitoring groups of committing war crimes and human rights violations, including ethnically-targeted massacres and sexual assaults.

The most recent report provided by the UNHCR estimates that more than 730,000 people have fled the conflict in South Sudan to neighboring nations such as Uganda, Sudan, Ethiopia and Kenya. This report also estimates that an additional 1.5 million South Sudanese civilians are currently suffering from internal displacement due to the escalation in ethnic violence. Many of these displaced civilians experience frequent relocations to areas known as “protection-of-civilians” sites. These sites are coordinated by the U.N. Mission in South Sudan and provide secure refugee camps for civilians who have fled their homes.

Secretary General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon recently explained in a statement regarding conditions within South Sudan, “The violence that has ravaged South Sudan over the past 18 months proves that there can never be a military solution to this conflict. I therefore call on all leaders of South Sudan – particularly President Kiir and former Vice-President Riek Machar–to prove their leadership by investing in a political solution and immediately concluding a comprehensive peace agreement. At the same time, the international community must take decisive steps to help end the fighting.”

The UNHCR recently released an international appeal for increased foreign aid designated for the current mission within South Sudan, noting the mounting number of refugees traveling to neighboring countries has depleted financial resources. While the organization estimates that $99 million is necessary to continue funding this operation, only nine percent of this goal has been raised to date.

The report explained that “Current resources remain insufficient to provide vital life-saving assistance and services, particularly in the areas of health, education and livelihoods and environment. Many South Sudanese refugee children, their country’s hope for the future, face key barriers to education including overcrowding in classrooms, a lack of teachers, and a lack of recreational activities to support constructive social engagement.”

– James Miller Thornton

Sources: The Guardian, Shanghai Daily, UN
Photo: Flickr

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UN Begs End to South Sudan Crisis

south sudan crisis
Stability continues to evade citizens of the world’s newest country, South Sudan, as tensions rise and fear floods through the streets. From the declaration of statehood on July 9, 2011, South Sudan struggled to form internal peace, an issue that quickly spiraled into a civil war.

The UN has voiced concern for the situation. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stated, “Those hopes were dashed by the conflict that broke out in December 2013. Thousands of South Sudanese have been killed, and atrocities have been committed against civilians,” underscoring the tragedy that has ruled during the South Sudan crisis. Born from internal political fighting between President Salva Kiir and former Vice President Riek Machar, the conflict escalated into the current situation. Seven million people are on the brink of hunger and disease, and 1.5 million have already been displaced as a result of the brutal fighting.

The upsetting factor in the eyes of the UN is that this is a “man-made crisis.” The longer the warrior mentality imbeds itself in the territory, the worse the possible outcome becomes. South Sudan is currently on the brink of a humanitarian disaster, and should the status quo maintain, there’s no doubt that the situation will worsen to the point of no return.

Al Jazeera journalist Mehari Taddele Maru writes, “the root cause of the current crisis resides in the unwillingness of the SPLM/A [Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army] to transform itself into a democratic political party fit to govern.” These groups have refused to acknowledge the welfare of the people they attempt to control, inherently taking away the peoples’ basic human rights of safety and health.

The sole hope for a brighter future is the concept of a caretaker government, in which individuals who identify with neither government regime take the reigns and serve during a transitional period, during which, national dialogue would develop a permanent plan of action.

There are currently three parties attempting to govern South Sudan; SPLM/A, the rebel group and the eclectic group of former detained SPLM/A leaders. As it stands, it’s unlikely, if not impossible, for either of the three to effectively govern South Sudan in a way that benefits all levels of citizens.

– Elena Lopez

Sources: Global Post, Al Jazeera, ABC
Photo: The Wire

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UN Crisis Response in South Sudan

crisis_response
A recently released report from the U.N. offers a sobering update on crisis response and relief efforts in the conflict-torn country of South Sudan. The report said that the U.N. and its various agencies have only received about $739 million of the approximately $1.8 billion that it needs in order to help rebuild after the devastation that has occurred since the conflict first broke out.

The report comes on the six-month anniversary of the outbreak that started in December of 2013, when then-Vice President Riek Machar was forced out of office by Salva Kiir, triggering racial conflict between Nuer and Dinka people, respectively.

Some of the statistics are quite alarming, considering the already catastrophic amount of destruction that has already happened. Over 1 million people are internally displaced, and at least 366,000 have fled the country, while 3.9 million people are at high risk of hunger or famine. And the prices of staple foods have been steadily increasing.

Furthermore, the entire country has also been plagued by a multitude of public health problems. On May 15, a cholera outbreak was declared in the capital city of Juba, with two other outbreaks being declared in other locations. By the end of the year, 116,000 people across the country could be affected by cholera alone. There have also been documented outbreaks of Hepatitis E, meningitis and measles, not to mention that during the current wet season, outbreaks of malaria and pneumonia are on the rise. Without the necessary aid, these statistics could become even worse, and South Sudan could slip even further into disarray.

Toby Lanzer, Deputy Special Representative of the U.N. Secretary General in South Sudan, said “Men, women and children have fled from their homes and sought refuge in the bush, inside U.N. bases and in neighboring countries…With many communities unable to farm or tend properly to their cattle, the risk of famine looms large. In some particularly hard-to-reach areas of the country, people are already starving.”

But despite many of the grim statistics laid out in the report, there have been some successes. For example, 80 percent of communicable diseases have been responded to within 48 hours, 63 percent of children under the age of 5 with severe acute malnutrition have been treated and 82 percent of people that have been affected by the conflict have been provided with safe water.

Fortunately, there is hope for those living in South Sudan. In the words of Lanzer: “With the continued generosity and solidarity of donors around the world, we can help prevent more unnecessary death and despair. Every dollar counts and makes a difference to people’s lives.”

— Andre Gobbo

Sources: The Guardian, United Nations, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs,  The Borgen Project
Photo: Action Against Hunger