Africa-Press – South-Sudan. Last week, the government of Uganda called on South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo to mobilise resources to start funding their refugees’ response in Uganda.
The Daily Monitor reported that Esther Anyakun Davina, Uganda’s Minister for Relief, Disaster Preparedness, and Refugees, said it was time for the countries whose citizens have been forced to flee to Uganda to start supporting them across the borders.
Of the 1,595,405 refugees living in Uganda, 964,960 of them are from South Sudan.
Esther was speaking during a meeting with the steering group of the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF) on Wednesday in Kampala last week.
“South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo must begin to mobilise resources and send it to Uganda because it is we who are keeping, feeding, and hosting these refugees.” “It is us, Uganda, doing everything, so these countries must start mobilising resources and send them to Uganda for the refugee response,” she said.
According to Article 1A of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, protecting refugees is the primary responsibility of states. The countries that have signed the 1951 convention are obliged to protect refugees on their territory and treat them under internationally recognised standards.
Although it is the responsibility of the host country and the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) to provide services to the refugees, the countries of the refugees’ origin must also demonstrate some moral support to their citizens in the diaspora. These are people who are so desperate because they have been forced to leave their homes and seek refuge thousands of miles away from home. They deserve moral support from their leaders.
Uganda’s government might be more concerned about South Sudan’s financial contributions to the refugee response, but they cannot ask that directly. Apart from providing security and land, it is the UNHCR that takes care of all the needs of the refugees. Uganda, as a host country, does not have any right to ask a country to fund the refugees they are hosting.
However, at some point, the leaders have the moral obligation to visit their refugees to find out for themselves the situation their people are living in, especially those who are living in the neighbouring countries.
Some of you may recall that in 1999, the late Dr. John Garang de’ Mabior visited the refugee camp in Kiryandong settlement in Uganda, where he addressed thousands of refugees at a primary school.
In his address, Dr. Garang explained to the refugees the cause of the 1992 conflict within the then SPLM/A as well as the current position of the movement. This gave hope, most importantly to those who did not believe that peace would come to southern Sudan. He also united the Acholi and Mad’i by constituting a committee that led to the establishment of the current Magwi County.
Similarly, right after the formation of the Revitalised Transitional Government of National Unity, the parties to the peace agreement should have gone around the region where the refugees have been sheltering to disseminate the peace agreement to them. We have South Sudanese refugees who are living in Uganda, Kenya, Sudan, and Ethiopia who need to be educated on the progress of the peace implementation to persuade them to return home.
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