The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Sudan: One of largest protection crises, says UN refugee agency
The displacement crisis prompted by ongoing conflict in Sudan continues unabated with nearly six million people forced out of their homes and women and children making up nearly nine in 10 of those uprooted, the UN Refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Wednesday.
“This is one of the largest protection crises that we are faced with today,” said Mamadou Dian Balde, UNHCR’s Regional Bureau Director for the East and Horn of Africa and Great Lakes. “Inside Sudan itself there are a lot of people in urban settings that are affected equally and who do not have the resources to leave.”
In a related development, the UN Human Rights Council on Wednesday voted to set up a high-level probe “to investigate and establish the facts, circumstances and root causes of all alleged human rights violations” in Sudan.
In accordance with the resolution, the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan is mandated to investigate violations of international humanitarian law, including those committed against refugees, and related crimes caused by the ongoing conflict.
In an appeal for a cessation of hostilities, the UNHCR official urged Sudan’s opposing militaries “to have a peace process that will help our brothers and sisters who have been obliged to flee their countries to go back to their countries”.
As a result of the conflict that erupted in mid-April between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and other armed groups in mid-April, the UN agency described how families had faced harrowing journeys and become separated while on the move, amid increasing reports of gender-based violence. Malnourishment among children is now described as a major crisis, along with disease outbreaks.
“I have seen and I have witnessed the level of human rights violations that have happened within Sudan so that what we hear from people who have crossed the borders is really heartbreaking and that’s the protection crisis that we are faced with and it has been ongoing for the past six months,” said UNHCR’s Mr. Balde.
The regional ramifications of the Sudanese emergency are deep, particularly in neighbouring Chad and the Central African Republic (CAR). Both nations are grappling with the influx of refugees fleeing the devastating conflict in Sudan, bringing with them stories of despair, loss, and continued vulnerability.
“In my long career as a humanitarian worker what I have seen in Chad with this new emergency with such a rapid and vast displacement of people is the first time,” said Abdouraouf Gnon Konde, UNHCR’s Regional Bureau Director for West and Central Africa.
According to Mr. Konde, there are over 420,000 new refugees in Chad and near 19,000 in CAR. To put this in perspective, “Chad has hosted more refugees in these mere five months than it has in the past 20 years becoming now undeniably the epicentre of this crisis”.
“In Chad we estimate probably that by the end of the year we will reach unfortunately the number of 600,000 Sudanese refugees who will have just arrived following what’s happening in Sudan,” added Mr. Konde.
The UNHCR official described a recent visit to Chad where testimonies from refugee victims of gender-based violence had been “particularly chilling”, involving sexual assault, rape and forced prostitution.
In response to the emergency in Chad, UNHCR has relocated 42 per cent of refugees away from high-risk border areas, with a focus on protecting the high percentage of vulnerable women and children.
Egypt continues to be the primary host country of Sudanese refugees, with hundreds arriving daily, said Ayman Gharaibeh, UNHCR Regional Bureau Director for the Middle East and North Africa. “We have received over 300,000 Sudanese since the crisis erupted,” he said. “For those who don’t know: in Egypt already pre-crisis there are six million Sudanese. Egypt has been really the safety zone throughout the decades of Sudan turbulent years. A place of safety, for some people almost home.”
-ends-
STORY: Sudan: Displacement update - UNHCR
TRT: 2 min 45s
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 11 October 2023 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
- Exterior medium shot: UN flag alley, UN Geneva
- Wide shot: speakers at the press conference
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Mamadou Dian Balde, UNHCR Regional Bureau Director for the East and Horn of Africa and Great Lakes, and Regional Refugee Coordinator for the Sudan Situation: “This is one of the largest protection crises that we are faced with today. Nearly six month and nearly 6 million people are affected who are leaving. And I would say inside Sudan itself there are a lot of people in urban settings that are affected equally and who do not have the resources to leave.”
- Close up, UNHCR spokesperson taking a photo
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Mamadou Dian Balde, UNHCR Regional Bureau Director for the East and Horn of Africa and Great Lakes, and Regional Refugee Coordinator for the Sudan Situation: “I have seen and I have witnessed the level of human rights violations that have happened within Sudan so that what we hear from people who have crossed the borders is really heartbreaking and that’s the protection crisis that we are faced with and it has been ongoing for the past six months.”
- Wide shot: speakers and attendees at the press conference, screens with speaker
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Abdouraouf Gnon Konde, UNHCR Regional Bureau Director for West and Central Africa: “In my long career as a humanitarian worker what I have seen in Chad with this new emergency with such a rapid and vast displacement of people is the first time.”
- Wide shot, camera operators in control room
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Abdouraouf Gnon Konde, UNHCR Regional Bureau Director for West and Central Africa: “In Chad we estimate probably that by the end of the year we will reach unfortunately the number of 600,000 Sudanese refugees who will have just arrived following what’s happening in Sudan.”
- Medium shot: speaker at the press conference on podium filmed from behind
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Ayman Y. Gharaibeh, UNHCR Regional Bureau Director for the Middle East and North Africa: “ We have received over 300,000 Sudanese since the crisis erupted. For those who don’t know: in Egypt already pre-crisis there is 6 million Sudanese. Egypt has been really the safety zone throughout the decades of Sudan turbulent years. A place of safety, for some people almost home.”
- Medium shot: attendees at the press conference
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Mamadou Dian Balde, UNHCR Regional Bureau Director for the East and Horn of Africa and Great Lakes, and Regional Refugee Coordinator for the Sudan Situation: “We need this to end, we need to have a cessation of hostilities, we need to have a peace process that will help our brothers and sisters who have been obliged to flee their countries to go back to their countries”.
- Medium shot: speakers at the podium
- Medium shot: operator in control room
- Wide shot, attendees in press room
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
Institutionalised forced labour by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea constitutes grave violations of human rights – UN report
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
Time is running out for starving civilians in Sudan, UN humanitarians warned on Tuesday, while talks involving the country’s warring parties continue in Geneva this week.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | WHO , WMO , ILO
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, chaired the hybrid briefing, which was attended by spokespersons and representatives from the World Health Organization, the World Meteorological Organization, and the International Labour Organization.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
DRC faces a severe humanitarian crisis with 25M in need and rising conflict-related issues.
1
1
2
Press Conferences | UNCTAD
Publication of the Digital Economy Report 2024: Shaping an environmentally sustainable and inclusive digital future
1
1
1
Edited News | UNRWA
A gimmer of good news emerged from Gaza on Tuesday as patients returned to at a newly reopened UN health centre in Khan Younis, six months after it was severely damaged and forced to close by heavy fighting, the UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) said.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN condemns attacks on Kyiv hospitals, calls for immediate action to protect civilians.
1
1
2
Edited News | WHO
In Gaza, soaring temperatures, hunger and unsanitary conditions present an ever more deadly threat to a population under constant attack, UN humanitarians warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | OHCHR , WHO , OCHA , UNHCR , WFP
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chairs a hybrid briefing, attended by spokespersons and representatives of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the United Nations Human Rights Office (OHCHR).
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , WMO , IFRC
Hurricane Beryl smashes into Caribbean, turns sights on Mexico As Hurricane Beryl’s destructive path shifted to Mexico on Friday after roiling the Caribbean, UN agencies and partners said that the emergency response was underway, before warning that a very long and damaging hurricane season looks increasingly likely.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | FAO , IFRC , OCHA , WHO
Rolando Gómez of the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, chaired the hybrid briefing, attended by spokespersons and representatives of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the World Meteorological Organization, the Food and Agricultural Organization and the World Health Organization.