SUDAN - IOM AND DONORS MONITOR RETURNS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 000329 SIPDIS AIDAC SIPDIS STATE FOR AF/SPG, PRM, AND ALSO PASS USAID/W USAID FOR DCHA SUDAN TEAM, AFR/SP NAIROBI FOR USAID/DCHA/OFDA, USAID/REDSO, AND FAS GENEVA FOR NKYLOH NAIROBI FOR SFO NSC FOR PMARCHAM, MMAGAN, AND TSHORTLEY ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU USUN FOR TMALY BRUSSELS FOR PLERNER E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID PREF PGOV PHUM SOCI SU AU EARG SUBJECT: SUDAN - IOM AND DONORS MONITOR RETURNS KHARTOUM 00000329 001.2 OF 002 -------------- SUMMARY AND COMMENT -------------- ¶1. From January 22 to 27, the USAID Senior Humanitarian Advisor (SHA) and representatives of five European countries participated in a donor mission at the invitation of the International Organization of Migration (IOM). The group assessed registration and departure preparations in Khartoum-area internally displaced person (IDP) camps and a way station for returning IDPs in Northern Bahr el Ghazal State. The airlift of returning refugees from the Central African Republic to Western Equatoria State was well planned and executed. Major challenges are expected in communities where physical and social infrastructure may be inadequate to absorb high numbers of returnees. USAID is currently assessing such communities and plans to recommend additional funding for the return operation, including the establishment of an Emergency Response Fund at IOM to rapidly address infrastructure gaps. End summary. -------------- TOUGH DECISIONS AND CONDITIONS FOR RETURNEES -------------- ¶2. At the invitation of IOM, the USAID SHA and representatives of Austria, Germany, Sweden, The Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the European Commission Humanitarian Office (ECHO) observed preparations for IDP returns from Khartoum-area camps to Northern Bahr el Ghazal State and the return of refugees from Mboki, Central African Republic, in Tambura, Western Equatoria State. The Government of National Unity did not issue a visa in sufficient time for a Department of State Bureau for Population, Refugees and Migration (State/PRM) representative to participate. (Note: State/PRM supported IOM's refugee return program with USD 1 million in FY 2006 and USD 4 million in FY 2007. End note.) The itinerary included visits to the registration and departure centers in Khartoum; the arrival in Tambura, Western Equatoria State, of an aircraft carrying 52 returning refugees; preparations for barge transport on the Nile River from Juba, Central Equatoria State, to Bor, Jonglei State; and a visit to a way station along the route for IDPs returning from Khartoum to Northern Bahr el Ghazal State. ¶3. In Juba, the UN Deputy Humanitarian/Resident Coordinator noted that unstable security conditions and lack of physical and social infrastructure are challenges for the reintegration of returnees in Southern Sudan. He stated that the entire region does not meet Sphere standards, the humanitarian community's minimum goals in emergency response. In addition to return packages of food and household items for each family, the UN Common Humanitarian Fund (CHF) provides funding for water systems, health centers, and schools for receiving communities. Based on the IOM IDP Intentions Survey conducted in September 2006, more than 58 percent of the IDPs wish to return to communities in Southern Kordofan and Northern Bahr el Ghazal states. The survey provides a wealth of demographic information on the IDPs based on interviews with more than 6,400 households. Contrary to popular assumptions, the majority (51 percent) of the IDPs are male. Twenty-five percent of the interviewees reported that they wanted to remain in Khartoum and almost two-thirds of the IDPs wish to return home. ¶4. The donor group witnessed the arrival of an IOM/Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees-operated airplane with 52 returning refugees, including mothers with young children, elderly, and handicapped adults. In collaboration with the Southern Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (SSRRC),IOM registered the returning refugees and distributed a three-month food ration and a household kit that included a bucket, kitchen set, two sleeping mats, two blankets, a packet of eggplant seeds, a machete, and a hoe. Females above 13 years of age received a toiletry kit and a four-meter long piece of soft cloth for their personal needs. Pregnant women received a safe delivery kit. The International Medical Corps provided medical screening for the returnees. The entire process was remarkably calm, without tension or shoving. ¶5. The chairman of the local SSRRC commended IOM and its partners for the outstanding collaboration among agencies and with local authorities. The chairman noted that the food rations may not be adequate for families returning early in the year since they cannot expect a first harvest of short-cycle crops until July at the earliest. (Note: The UN World Food Program (WFP) is prepared to conduct food-security assessments in return communities and intervene with additional food rations where needed. In addition, KHARTOUM 00000329 002.2 OF 002 WFP is planning targeted programs such as infrastructure rehabilitation, agricultural recovery, and emergency school feeding for all community residents who need assistance after their initial ration is consumed. End note.) -------------- PREPARATIONS FOR IDP RETURNS -------------- ¶6. Approximately 400,000 IDPs in the Khartoum camps and the northern states have registered to return to Southern Sudan and the Three Areas. As part of convoy preparations, IOM conducts a verification exercise to determine whether people who had registered to return still wish to relocate. The verification process includes distribution of printed materials that detail the conditions the returnee will find in the community of return. In addition, HIV/AIDS and mine-awareness messages are included in the pictorial information packet, as is guidance on how to avoid malaria, treat a child with diarrhea, and prevent cholera. At the end of each travel day, returnees rest in a way station such as the one the donors visited in Warawar, Northern Bahr el Ghazal State. The facilities included community tents, latrines, and showers. The latter two were not ready at the time of the visit, but another donor reported that they have since been completed. -------------- Challenges and Conclusions -------------- ¶7. While organizing and executing the return of 200,000 IDPs and 102,000 refugees is a momentous task for IOM and UNHCR, settlement and reintegration are far more difficult and require careful monitoring. IOM has established teams to monitor the reintegration process and conduct community assessments in areas of high return. The teams will alert IOM and partners when communities fail to absorb returnees. All agencies involved in the returns aim to prevent returnees from becoming discouraged and returning to displacement camps or establishing squatter areas. Similarly, WFP plans to send assessment teams to high return areas to monitor food security and prepare for interventions as needed. ¶8. USAID is assessing return communities in Northern Bahr el Ghazal and Southern Kordofan states and identifying communities lacking basic infrastructure, particularly water systems, to absorb returnees. USAID is preparing to recommend additional funding to IOM for IDP returns, with the possible inclusion of an emergency response fund that would allow IOM to respond directly with technical staff to meet urgent needs in receiving communities. Alternatively, IOM could contract with non-governmental organizations for interventions where appropriate. USAID has successfully applied this model in the IDP return program in Liberia. Discussions within USAID on how to structure such a fund for Sudan are ongoing. HUME