Executive Summary

Under the co-leadership of the Sudan Commission for Refugees (COR) and UNHCR, the Sudan CRP provides strategic guidance to the inter-agency refugee response, lays out the refugee coordination structure and estimates the financial requirements to respond to the identified needs. It provides a platform for facilitating partnerships that combine and leverage resources by working together in a transparent, respectful, and mutually beneficial way according to the Principles of Partnership of the Global Humanitarian Platform. Refugee response coordination follows the UNHCR Refugee Coordination Model (RCM) and works alongside and in complementarity with the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) coordination structure under the Humanitarian Coordinator as outlined in the Joint UNHCR – OCHA Note on Mixed Situations. The Sudan country refugee response is also highlighted in the Sudan Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP), which includes a dedicated chapter on refugees led by UNHCR. The response to South Sudanese refugees hosted in Sudan is also reflected in the South Sudan Regional Refugee Response Plan in a dedicated country chapter.

With almost 1 million refugees, Sudan hosts the second highest number of refugees in Africa and the country has provided protection for refugees and asylum-seekers from South Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Central African Republic (CAR), Chad, Syria, Yemen, and other countries (such as Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)) since 1965. While some refugees, such as the Ethiopians fleeing the conflict in Tigray, arrived recently, others, such as the Eritreans, fled their home country decades ago. Additionally, Sudan is one of the main hosting countries for South Sudanese refugees, with currently over 800,000 persons in the country. Khartoum and White Nile States continue to host together more than half of all refugees in Sudan.

Refugee affairs are governed by the Government of Sudan (GoS) according to its Asylum (Organization) Act 2014. As Sudan follows an encampment policy, approximately 38 per cent of Sudan’s refugee populations live in 25 camps across the country, mostly in Kassala, Gedaref, White Nile and East Darfur. The remaining 62 per cent live outside of camps, amid local communities that are hosting refugees in towns and villages. This includes refugees in urban areas, including the “open areas” outside of Khartoum, and more than 100 settlements across the country, including large collective selfsettlements where thousands of refugees live in “camp-like” areas adjacent to reception centres, as well as smaller dispersed settlements where refugees live integrated with host communities. Many out-of-camp settlements are in remote and underdeveloped areas, where resources, infrastructure and basic services are extremely limited.

Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees