Sudan tells South Sudanese refugees to update data to receive aid

July 4, 2026 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan’s Commission for Refugees (COR) on Saturday ordered all South Sudanese refugees in Khartoum State to immediately update their personal data under a new registration system or risk losing access to basic services and humanitarian assistance.

Sudan hosts 644,000 South Sudanese refugees out of a total refugee population of 868,000, according to United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) data from late May.

“Data updates and the renewal of identity cards are mandatory procedures to ensure that refugees benefit from the services and aid provided by humanitarian organizations,” the Ministry of Interior body said in a statement.

The commission said the new “foreign national number” system is required to protect refugee rights under the country’s 2014 Regulation of Asylum Act.

Authorities instructed refugees to travel to designated camps and centres in White Nile State, which shares a border with South Sudan and already hosts the largest concentration of refugees at 413,000 people.

The registration drive follows moves by Khartoum State authorities in recent months to relocate groups of refugees to border camps. The relocations came amid accusations that some refugees, particularly South Sudanese nationals, fought alongside the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) against the Sudanese army.

COR urged compliance with the directive, stating that regularizing registration status was essential to maintain legal residency standing in the country.

UNHCR figures show that about 117,000 South Sudanese refugees in Sudan, roughly 18% of the total, remain unregistered, while 36% of the South Sudanese population in the country lives outside of formal camps.