US announces $18 million donation for Sudanese refugees

WASHINGTON, May 18, 2005 (AP) — The United States is giving an additional $18 million (euro14.25 million) to the United Nations’ refugee agency to help repatriate Sudanese who fled to Kenya during Sudan’s long north-south civil war, the State Department said Tuesday.

Sudanese men unload sacks of sorghum during a delivery of aid from the World Food Program in Kalma Camp, near Nyala town, Darfur. (AFP).

Spokesman Richard Boucher said the United States already has committed more than $1.6 billion (euro1.25 billion) to Sudan since 2003 for humanitarian aid; conflict resolution in Darfur, the embattled Western desert region; reconstruction and development; and support for implementation of the peace agreement that has stopped fighting in the civil war.

The new money for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees is part of a commitment made last month by Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick at a donors’ conference in Oslo, Norway, Boucher said.

He said Sudanese refugees are expected to begin returning by late this year. “This contribution will allow UNHCR to address the immediate needs of returning refugees while in transit and after arrival at their final destination,” he said.

Boucher said around 150,000 Sudanese refugees will be helped by UNHCR in the first 18 months of the repatriation and reintegration program.