Repatriation of Sudanese refugees from Chad to resume in November
September 17, 2018 (KHARTOUM) – The tripartite committee among Sudan, Chad and the United Nations has decided to resume the voluntary repatriation of Sudanese refugees from Chad in November.
At the conclusion of a three-day meeting in N’djamena, the committee also decided to hold a meeting to provide the funding for the voluntary return operations according to the provisions of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD).
On the other hand, the meeting decided to resume the voluntary repatriation of Chadian refugees from Sudan in December.
Darfur Commissioner for Voluntary Return and Reconstruction, Taj al-din Ibrahim al-Tahir said the meeting discussed the progress made in the repatriation of Sudanese and Chadian refugees.
He added the meeting also discussed activities of the Sudanese government including the exchange of information and visits to refugee camps in eastern Chad and its impact on the implementation of the tripartite agreement on voluntary return programmes.
On 31 May 2017, Sudan, Chad and the UNHCR signed two separate tripartite agreements on the voluntary return of Sudanese refugees from Chad and Chadian refugees from Sudan.
Also, the three parties in January 2018 signed an operational plan for the repatriation of 20,000 Sudanese refugees from Chad to Darfur region during this year.
UN reports say the security situation in Darfur has largely improved but stress that the lack of infrastructures and services prevent the return of refugees and displaced persons to their areas of origin.
Chad hosts over 300,000 Sudanese refugees residing in the eastern region of the neighbouring country not far from the border with Chad.
The Sudanese army has been fighting a group of armed movements in Darfur since 2003. UN agencies estimate that over 300,000 people were killed in the conflict, and over 2.5 million were displaced.
(ST)