Keji Janefer
Africa-Press – South-Sudan. The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) recognised South Sudan as one of the most generous countries hosting refugees around the world.
In his last address to the media following the end of his term, the UNHCR representative in South Sudan, Arafat Jamal, said the country exhibits hope as far as handling the humanitarian situation is concerned.
“As the head of the UN refugee agency, the most shining good news story for me is the treatment of refugees in this country,” Jamal said.
“South Sudan is a new nation, it is a nation just building itself, and yet it is a nation that has always welcomed refugees into its territory.”
According to Jamal, the time has come to shift the country’s narrative away from reliance on donations and toward supporting development projects and self-sufficiency.
The UN official praised South Sudan for tolerating refugees, unlike other countries that he says treat them harshly.
“I do think that it is worth highlighting this because not every country, including the much richer and more prosperous countries, treats refugees like South Sudan,” he said.
“I have seen this, and some of you have seen that the people and the government of South Sudan have given refugees land, allowed them to farm, and allowed refugees to work. “So I want to underscore this as the head of UNHCR: as a refugee hosting country, South Sudan is a good news story,” Jamal said.
He said this was recognised by the World Bank through its donation of $98 million for refugees in South Sudan.
The money is intended to benefit both the refugees and the host communities, said Jamal.
He highlighted that the $98 million is meant for health, education, and other essential services for both refugees and host communities in Jamjang and Maban.
South Sudan has about 340,000 refugees; the majority of whom live in the Ruweng Administrative Area and Upper Nile.
According to Jamal, about 94 per cent are Sudanese from the Blue Nile and Kordofan areas, with a smaller number from Central Africa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Ethiopia, and sheltering refugees in settlement camps in Yambio, Yei, Akobo, and Juba.
Upon finishing his contract, he will move to Geneva, the headquarters of the UN refugee agency, to organize the Global Refugees Forum.
The multi-stakeholder conference is expected to bring together different heads of state, religious leaders, and members of civil society.
This meeting will sort of be a COP27 to mobilise more support for refugees.
“My job is to organise that and to engage at the political level to meet with different powers in the world and get them to support refugees and hosting countries,” he said.
That meeting is scheduled for December 2023. Jamal said he has one year for engagement to get more support for refugees.
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