UNHCR Commissioner Concerned About Influx Of S. Sudanese Refugees In Uganda
Charlie Yaxley the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Communications Officer in Uganda has said the international community must influence the warring parties in South Sudan to seize fighting to stop the rising refugee crisis. 19 August 2017 UNHCR Commissioner Concerned About Influx Of S. Sudanese Refugees In Uganda Refugees in Uganda [Gurtong file photo] By Jale Richard JUBA, 19 August 2017 [Gurtong]-Speaking on phone from Uganda, Yaxley said to avert the fastest growing refugee crisis, the international community should put pressure on the South Sudanese government and armed opposition to stop more violence that forces more refugees in to Uganda. “We need the international community with critical influence over the leadership in South Sudan to use that influence to bring the warring parties back to the negotiating table to bring an end to bloodshed,” he said. “Only that way we can prevent the creation of more refuges, and only that way can we create the conditions for those who have already become refugees to return back home.” Yaxlie said the international community should deliver and improve on existing financial commitments to help Uganda to support the refugees it is hosting, “We need to come forward with financial support to Uganda, to support the humanitarian appeals,” he said. This comes after the UN said South Sudanese refugees have reached over one million in Uganda, putting pressure on social services of the host communities. “The number is placing a huge strain on the social services of the host communities. Health clinics don’t have enough doctors, not enough drugs, children taught without classrooms, this is the result of the refugee crisis,” said Yaxley. He said despite the welcoming generosity of Uganda, the humanitarian response has been under funded. “We received just fewer than 20% of the funding we need to assist these refugees.” Amnesty International’s Sarah Jackson, Deputy Regional Director for East Africa, the Horn and the Great Lakes said the one million people should serve as a wakeup call for the international community to act. “This unhappy one-million milestone must serve as a wake-up call to the international community that much more is needed from them. With no resolution to the conflict in South Sudan in sight, refugees will continue to flee to Uganda and the humanitarian crisis will only escalate,” said Sarah Jackson, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for East Africa, the Horn and the Great Lakes. “While the Ugandan government, the UN and NGOs have done a commendable job, they are now struggling to meet even the most basic needs of South Sudan’s refugees, including food, water and shelter, let alone other needs such as psychosocial support for refugees who are deeply traumatized.” At a solidarity summit held in Kampala, in June, hosted by the Ugandan government and the UN, donors including the EU, the UK and Canada pledged to provide Uganda with greater support in responding to refugees’ immediate and longer-term needs. The summit raised US$358.2 million of the US$ 2 billion requested; including US$960 million for humanitarian needs, but much more is needed. “It is time for other countries to bear their share of responsibility and do much more to alleviate the unsustainable pressure being placed on Uganda. Failure to do so undermines Uganda’s progressive refugee policy and could result in an even worse humanitarian crisis than we are currently witnessing,” said Sarah Jackson. She said to stop the flow of refugees from South Sudan international and regional actors must also take measures to stop violations against the civilian population in South Sudan. Since South Sudan conflict begun in 2013, About 4 million people have been forced to flee their homes, more than half of them are children. Almost 2 million people have been internally displaced, and about 2 million are refugees in neighboring countries, according to the United Nations. Uganda hosts over 1.3 million refugees in total, who are fleeing countries including DR Congo, Burundi and Somalia. Posted in: Home, Humanitarian -- To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/d/forum/southsudankob View this message at https://groups.google.com/d/msg/southsudankob/topic-id/message-id For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "South Sudan Info - The Kob" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/SouthSudanKob. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/SouthSudanKob/CAJb14oqi0tHkHkW2p%2Bs-8OHGDs7_DXUv-%3Dyv5hdQDvpUJLg2GQ%40mail.gmail.com. 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