UN: Deal reached to end Sudanese refugee sit-in in Cairo

Dec 18, 2005 (CAIRO) — The U.N. refugee agency said Sunday that it has reached a deal with leaders of 2,500 Sudanese refugees to end a sit-in that began almost three months ago in the Egyptian capital.

But many of the protesters said they rejected the agreement and would continue protesting until the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees helped resettle them to another country.

The protest started after the world body stopped interviewing all Sudanese entering neighboring Egypt earlier this year to determine if they are bona fide refugees. Refugee status is a key requirement for many asylum seekers wanting be resettled to the West.

The freeze on interviews followed the January peace deal ended Sudan’s two-decade long southern civil war.

Sudanese men, women and children have been protesting the freeze since Sept. 29 in a crowded park opposite the landmark Mustafa Mahmoud mosque in western Cairo, nearby the offices of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

The UNHCR said in its statement that the leaders of the sit-in agreed Saturday to end the demonstration after receiving an “undertaking from (the) UNHCR to positively respond to their needs.”

“Considering the best interest of persons of concern to the UNHCR and mindful of the hardship that the sit-in is causing to many of them, we are offering them a variety of solutions appropriate to each individual case,” the statement quoted UNHCR assistant regional representative, Damtew Dessalegne, as saying.

The offer includes providing refugee status determination interviews for all the Sudanese recorded as protesting in the park. One-off financial assistance for housing and assisting people to voluntarily return to their homes in Sudan also form part of the agreement.

But the protesters remained in the park Sunday, with many saying they did not agree to the deal and demanding the UNHCR help them resettle in another country.

(AP/ST)