Highlights
- WFP is prepared to provide general food assistance to 101,000 DPs once the camp profiling exercise starts in Kalma IDP camp.
- As of 9 September, 2,173 refugees from Khor Omer had moved to the new Kario camp in East Darfur.
- According to UNHCR, as of 31 August, the total number of South Sudanese refugees in Sudan had exceeded 247,000.
Food distribution and camp profiling in Kalma IDP camp, South Darfur
On 5 September 2016, representatives from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the UN-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) met with the camp leadership (sheikhs, youth representatives and women's groups) at Kalma internally displaced persons (IDP) camp near Nyala, capital of South Darfur State, to address recent concerns over food distribution and camp profiling.
One of the main concerns of the IDP community in Kalma camp, which hosts 128,000 individuals (according to the International Organization for Migration) and was set up in February 2004, is the temporary suspension of World Food Programme (WFP) food rations for July and August. This suspension was a result of a demonstration by a Kalma IDP youth group, expressing their rejection of the WFP camp profiling exercise, which had been officially accepted by the camp leadership. While the profiling was scheduled to start mid-June it is yet to begin due to the youth demonstrations.
The concerns the IDPs raised were mostly related to the camp profiling exercise procedures. The questionnaire was perceived as containing sensitive questions considered irrelevant to the IDP situation. In addition, the implementation timeline of the camp profiling exercise is considered problematic as many IDPs had left Kalma camp to work in agricultural activities in different parts of the state. In addition, some community leaders also refused to participate in the data collection exercise.
In June, WFP provided food rations to all IDPs in Kalma amp, and started negotiations with the community members to start the camp profiling exercise, which is underway in other IDP camps in Darfur. However, monthly food distributions for July and August in Kalma IDP camp were postponed, as per protocol, pending the anticipated favourable conclusion of negotiations. WFP is on standby to provide general food assistance to 101,000 protracted IDPs once the camp profiling exercise starts, as previously agreed with the IDP community in Kalma.
In the meantime, WFP safety net activities (nutrition support, school feeding, etc.) are still ongoing. WFP has engaged in extensive sensitisation activities with Kalma IDP sheikhs, youth groups and community leaders and continues to liaise with the community representatives to address concerns and ensure support is provided to the most vulnerable IDPs.
Over 2,000 South Sudanese refugees relocated from Khor Omer to Kario camp in East Darfur
The relocation of South Sudanese refugees from Khor Omer camp in Ed Daein, capital of East Darfur State, to the new Kario site started on 20 August and as of 9 September, 2,173 refugees from Khor Omer camp had moved to the new camp. Kario is located in Bahr Al Arab locality, about 45km south of Ed Daein.
The new camp was selected by the authorities to host the refugees coming from the Northern Bahr el Ghazal area of South Sudan. The relocation will help decongest Khor Omer and ensure better access to basic services including access to water, sanitation and health services and other assistance in Kario. The relocated refugees have also received shelter materials.
According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), as of 31 August the total number of South Sudanese in Sudan had exceeded 247,000. Fluctuating figures in some refugee hosting locations is due to the internal movement of refugees within Sudan, particularly in East Darfur and the Kordofan states where refugees have been seeking seasonal labour.
In Khartoum, on 18-19 August, over 6,000 South Sudanese were moved by the local authorities from three open areas in Jabrona sites, located in Ombeda locality (Omdurman) to a new site in Nivasha, 15km from the Jabrona. UNHCR, which was not consulted on the relocation, has expressed concern over this new development and is monitoring the situation closely.
In other developments, UNHCR has been engaged in dialogue with the Federal Civil Registry to promote the issuance of birth certificates for South Sudanese children born in Sudan. Authorities in White Nile and South Kordofan States have indicated they are ready to issue certificates, which UNHCR welcomes. The Agency is currently following up with the authorities at the state level.