Sudan participates in 6th virtual Arab regional consultation mechanism

Khartoum, (SUNA)       The Sudan has participated in the 6th virtual Arab regional consultation mechanism on the effects of the Corona pandemic on migrants and refugees, which was organized today in Cairo by the Department of Refugees, Expatriates and Immigration of the Arab League Organization.

The Secretary-General of the Organ for Sudanese Abroad Affairs, Makeen Hamid Tayrab, noted during his address to the meeting, that the meeting took place in exceptional circumstances in the world history, in which the corona pandemic , which the world had never been seen, had major negative effects on migrants, refugees and displaced people, who most of them lost their jobs, the decrease of their wages, the additional restrictions on the movement of migrants at airports and ports, and the loss of some basic and human rights for migrants, refugees and displaced persons, something that directly led to the suspension of settlement operations, in addition to the weak contribution of the migrants in supporting development operations in both the distant countries or the source, and more other negative effects.

Tayrab underlined the Sudan’s experience and great legacy of hosting refugees on its lands, noting that Sudan has made and is still making great efforts in hosting refugees and interacting with their issues, revealing that numbers of refugees in Sudan is more than five million refugees, which exceeds the country’s economic potential, pledging to the international community to expedite provision of the necessary assistance to help Sudan carry its responsibilities towards the displaced and refugees.

In his address to the Arab regional consultation mechanism on the Corona pandemic, the Secretary-General Tayrab pointed to the Arab region in which the effects of the Corona pandemic may appear in more than other region due to the great immigration movement and its scope, in addition to its being the most regions that witness movement of refugees and displacement, a matter that increased the number of stranded people, more than 20,000 citizens have lost their jobs, and the suffering of the displaced people in the camps has increased.

Makeen asserted that the Sudan’s government has been working in cooperation with friends and the international community to alleviate the effects of the pandemic on the displaced and refugees, and to return the stranded and those willing to return to the country, stressing on the need for the region joint cooperation to overcome pandemic.

This meeting was held with the participation of the member states of the ALO, the international community organizations and the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA).