No turning back: A review of UNHCR’s response to the protracted refugee situation in eastern Sudan

Eastern Sudan has hosted refugees from neighbouring Eritrea since the late 1960s,
making this refugee situation one of the most protracted in the world. Peaking at
around 800,000 in 1990, the refugee population currently stands in the region of
80,000, the majority of them living in camps.
As in many protracted refugee situations, UNHCR’s room for manoeuvre in eastern
Sudan is very limited. The Eritreans are not prepared to repatriate in view of the
human rights situation in Eritrea and their opposition to the country’s government.
While there is a growing interest in resettlement, few of the refugees have access to
this solution.
In such circumstances, the only viable solution is that of local integration. And in that
respect, the environment is in several respects a favourable one. Most of the refugees
who arrived before 2001 have the same ethnicity, language, culture and religion as
their Sudanese hosts. Many were born or brought up in Sudan and consider it to be
their home. While the refugees continue to be assisted by UNHCR, food distribution
has been reduced and many refugees appear to have found a way of sustaining
themselves, often by means of agriculture or informal labour. Some have even
managed to acquire Sudanese identity documents.