PM receives Assistant UNHCR for operation

Khartoum (SUNA)- The Prime Minister (PM), Abdallah Hamdouk, was Tuesday briefed on the outcome of the tour by Mr. George Okoth-Obbo, UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner – Operations, to the White Nile and North Darfur states as well as the meetings with officials, the refugees, IDPs and Returnees in the said areas.

Okoth-Obbo has stated in a press briefing following his call upon the Prime Minister that Sudan has been hosting over a million refugees as well as 1.8 million internally displaced persons in the different regions of the country.

The commissioner has commended Sudan and its role in hosting his huge number of refugees, saying the dispensations expressed by the government should be used to provide yet more protection for the refugees, the IDP and the returnees in the country.

Mr. Okoth-Obbo has meanwhile called on the international community provide all types of support and assistance to the Sudanese so that it would be able carry on with its role of providing assistance and protection to these vulnerable groups the country is hosting.

The UNHCR official has pointed out in an exclusive interview with the Sudan news agency on Tuesday that although the assistance and help of the international community and donors has continued to help the commission in the Sudan provide assistance to the vulnerable groups, still the budget the commission receives in the Sudan is far less than the actual budget which stands at between 70 to 80 million dollars, while the actual need stands at over 260 million dollars a year.

He also said that although the government is carrying out some good programmes that work well in the displaced persons and returnees fields, still some of those programmes were not working as some challenges related to security of the returnees have to be addressed. He said it was imperative that some of the challenges that could be averted by a little extra effort should not be left to fall back into hardships for those vulnerable groups.

He said the UNHCR would continue its support for the Sudan in its quest to observe the rule of law, good governance, accountability and addressing the grievances.

Okoth-Obbo has appealed in his interview with SUNA to the donors and development partners to help the Sudan programmes devoted to refugees, returnees and internally displaced persons, pinpointing that the country has been shouldering its responsibility of hosting them for decades now.