SUDAN - SURGE IN RETURNS EXPECTED PRIOR TO CENSUS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 000481 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 BPITTMAN ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU USUN FOR FSHANKS BRUSSELS FOR PBROWN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID PREF PGOV PHUM SOCI UN SU SUBJECT: SUDAN - SURGE IN RETURNS EXPECTED PRIOR TO CENSUS KHARTOUM 00000481 001.2 OF 002 -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. In a March 27 meeting in Khartoum, a UN Mission in Sudan Returns, Reintegration, and Recovery (UNMIS RRR) official identified a new and potentially troubling trend of return convoys organized by the Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS). According to UNMIS RRR, the first GOSS-organized movement began on March 15 and has transported an estimated 10,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) from northern states to Southern Sudan. UNMIS RRR expects the GOSS to continue these types of movements leading up to the census in mid-April. UNMIS RRR noted that the level of voluntariness of the IDPs returning home in the GOSS-organized convoys cannot be accurately determined because the GOSS has not shared convoy departure dates or destinations with the UN return organizations. The UN is working to encourage the GOSS to coordinate the movements with returns agencies in order to facilitate provision of appropriate assistance, including food rations and other relief items, at arrival areas. End Summary. -------------- NEW TREND: GOSS-ORGANIZED RETURN CONVOYS -------------- ¶2. In recent weeks, the UN has learned that the GOSS has initiated its own operation to return IDPs from northern states to Southern Sudan prior to the census. According to UNMIS RRR, the GOSS has resources for the return operation, has tendered transportation bids, and conducted its own registration of IDPs. The GOSS has decided to fund its returns program through the 10 states and not centrally through the Southern Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (SSRRC). The decentralized approach exacerbates problems in linking with UN and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) because the GOSS has 10 separate points of management instead of one central focal point that could easily link to existing coordination mechanisms. Beginning on March 15, the GOSS convoys began transporting IDPs home and have moved an estimated 10,000 IDPs to date. UNMIS RRR expects that this trend will continue until mid-April. ¶3. While the international community understands the GOSS' urgency to bring people home before the census, the recent surge in returns of this sort raises concerns over potential use of coercive tactics and misinformation on support that IDPs will receive upon return. An additional concern for the international community is that the IDPs will be dropped off in towns in Southern Sudan without resources or provided with assistance to travel to their home villages. UNMIS RRR stated that a major concern over these convoys is the potential for "backflow" of returnees, who decide to return to the north because their expectations are not met upon arrival or because their livelihood options are minimal. From 2004 to 2007, the returns operation has only recorded a minimal level of backflow to Khartoum and oternorthern areas and aid agencies hope to maintain this positive record. ¶4. In response, UNMIS RRR has activated tracking posts at Kosti, White Nile State, to operate 24 hours a day. The increased tracking at Kosti will help the UN to count the nighttime convoy movements passing through this strategic point en route to Southern Sudan. The UN is strongly urging the GOSS to share information on convoy departure times, routes, and destinations with the agencies coordinating returns. -------------- STATUS OF RETURNS TO DATE -------------- ¶5. UNMIS RRR also presented an overview of the returns trends from 2004 to 2007. As of the end of December 2007, nearly 2 million IDPs and refugees had returned to Southern Sudan and the Three Areas. Of this total, an estimated 19 percent, or nearly 390,000 IDPs, returned to the Three Areas during this time period, with 290,000 going to Southern Kordofan State, 60,000 going to Abyei, and 32,800 going to Blue Nile State. In Southern Sudan, 1.6 million people returned to the region, with Northern Bahr el Ghazal recorded as the state with the highest total returns. ¶6. TRENDS IN THE SOUTH: Most of the 1.6 million returnees to the south arrived in 2004 and 2005 without assistance from the international community. During this time, an estimated 90 percent KHARTOUM 00000481 002.2 OF 002 of all IDPs went home spontaneously, and an estimated 54 percent of refugees also returned spontaneously. According to UNMIS RRR, Northern Bahr el Ghazal received the most returnees largely due to the push factor of the Darfur conflict, which prompted displaced populations in Darfur from Northern Bahr el Ghazal to return quicker than populations in other areas of displacement. ¶7. TRENDS IN THE THREE AREAS: In 2006, Southern Kordofan State saw a dramatic increase in return levels and currently is the state with the second highest returnee numbers. The UNMIS RRR official commented that many IDPs from Southern Kordofan gained confidence in the security situation, road accessibility, and other factors as many communities returned to Southern Sudan and sent positive accounts back to communities remaining in areas of displacement. Blue Nile State has received the least amount of returnees since ¶2004. -------------- HOW MANY MORE WILL RETURN? -------------- ¶8. In March 2005, the Joint Assessment Mission (JAM) estimated that a total of 4.5 million Sudanese had been displaced from the Three Areas and the South. UNMIS RRR estimated that more than 1.8 million have returned, that 1.2 million will choose not to return and will integrate into the communities where they have been displaced, and that 1 million people still plan to return to Southern Sudan and the Three Areas. UNMIS RRR noted that the estimate that 1.2 million people will locally integrate in areas of displacement both in the north and south is politically sensitive for the GOSS, which wishes all southerners to return to the region. UNMIS RRR predicts that organized returns numbers, particularly the GOSS-sponsored returns operations, will spike prior to the census, elections, and referendum. Spontaneous returns are likely to remain steady over the course of the next year. -------------- COMMENTS -------------- ¶9. The new trend of GOSS-organized returns operations that are organized outside of existing coordination mechanisms are cause for concern among humanitarian agencies. The USG will encourage GOSS counterparts to share information with the UN agencies on departure dates, routes, and destinations in order to best assist those arriving in Southern Sudan and the Three Areas. Further, we should request that the GOSS allow return experts from UNMIS RRR and the International Organization for Migration to observe the returns registration and selection process to ensure that all travelers are returning voluntarily and protection risks are minimized. ¶10. We will continue to monitor this issue and liaise with NGOs in areas that have received GOSS-organized returnees to assess population needs and assistance provided. ¶11. Looking at the UNMIS RRR numbers, we are two-thirds of the way through an enormous and complicated return operation. However, the remaining 1 million returnees that Southern Sudan and the Three Areas can expect to receive in the coming years will continue to necessitate a significant humanitarian presence. USAID, other donors, and implementing partners will need to continue to balance provision of humanitarian assistance as they simultaneously move towards early recovery and longer-term development activities. At the meeting, a UN World Food Program official told the group that it takes an average of five years for a returnee family to rebuild household and livelihood assets to levels equal with host communities. In Sudan, we still have a long road ahead. FERNANDEZ