UNHCR marks World Refugee Day 2018 – calls for renewed commitment to refugees in Sudan

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), and Sudan’s Commission for Refugees (COR) issued a joint statement in Khartoum today to mark World Refugee Day 2018.

The statement calls for solidarity with refugees and other persons of concern. "On this occasion, UNHCR would like to commend the historical and continuous hospitality offered by the people and government of Sudan to the refugees who have been seeking safe haven in the country over the last five decades."

UNHCR’s Representative in Sudan, Noriko Yoshida, said, “With the majority of refugees living out of camps, especially South Sudanese refugees, I would like to recognise the role played by local communities who are often the first to help refugees and returnees upon arrival.”

UNHCR 50^th Anniversary in Sudan

“I also take pride that the commemoration of World Refugee Day this year coincides with UNHCR’s 50th anniversary of serving, supporting and standing with refugees in Sudan. So let me salute the great efforts being exerted by every single worker of UNHCR, COR, UN sister agencies and other partners, in order to alleviate the suffering and finding long-term solutions for those forced to flee war and persecution in their home countries,” Yoshida added.

Statement by UN Secretary-General António Guterres to mark World Refugee Day 2018

The Commissioner of Refugees and UNHCR Representative in Sudan, Eng Hamad El-Gizouli, said, “For decades, Sudan has kept its doors open to people fleeing war, hunger and hardship, motivated by its long-standing tradition of hosting refugees despite the scarcity of its own resources.”

“UNHCR and COR are committed to continue their efforts to support the refugees in Sudan with all available means, in collaboration with the international community, to allow them to live in safety and dignity until circumstances allow them to return to their home countries,” he affirmed.

Two million refugees in Sudan

Sudan is a home of one of the largest number of refugees in the region, including from South Sudan, Eritrea, Syria, Yemen and other countries. According to the government of Sudan, the country is hosting an estimated two million refugees and asylum seekers.

Statement by UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi on World Refugee Day 2018

According to UNHCR’s global statistics, some 68.5 million people have been forcibly displaced worldwide by the end of 2017, including 25.4 million refugees, 40 million internally displaced people and 3.1 million asylum-seekers. Among these were 16.2 million people who became displaced during 2017 itself, either for the first time or repeatedly – indicating a huge number of people on the move and equivalent to 44,500 people being displaced each day, or a person becoming displaced every two seconds.

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