Khartoum/Washington, DC – As the final results of South Sudan’s referendum for independence are confirmed, 22,000 southerners are stranded on the side of the road in and around Khartoum still waiting for transportation to the South. On the eve of this historic moment, RI staff members inside Sudan have met with people camped out in the open air for weeks. After Sudan splits, they are afraid they will become refugees in a foreign land and that their rights will not be protected. Refugees International (RI) reiterates its call for the governments of north and south Sudan to formalize an agreement to ensure that southerners in the north and northerners in the south are protected and not stripped of their nationality.

“We are on the cusp of the birth of a new nation, but tens of thousands of people have been abandoned during this historic moment,” said Limnyuy Konglim, a Refugees International Advocate currently in Sudan. “People gave up their homes in November and December because the Government of South Sudan assured them there would be transportation south. Now they are sleeping out in the open, surrounded by their luggage. They have no access to latrines or proper health services, and no protection from thieves. Women are giving birth out in the open. The only assistance they’ve received is from a church who brought blankets for children during the cold night.”

The South Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Commission helped many people return to south Sudan from the North at the end of 2010, but in late December the process effectively ground to a halt. Many staff left for Juba in order to vote in the referendum and have not returned. Convoys were also attacked and looted, but the road has since been secured and others are now resuming travel along that route. In the overcrowded transit facility of Kosti, south of Khartoum, another 5,000 people have been waiting for weeks to be transported south.

In order to reduce fears and end the harassment against these people, Refugees International is calling for a formal agreement between the governments of north and south Sudan that protects citizenship rights. This issue is one of many key components of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement that must be resolved. The UN and international aid agencies must also assist the Government of Southern Sudan in providing basic services and security for the more than 200,000 people who have recently returned home to the south.

“We know that people throughout south Sudan are struggling in equally dire circumstances as they try to make their way home,” continued Konglim. “Some are stranded and are still trying to get to their home communities, while others have returned to villages that have minimal food, water, housing, and other basics. The people of South Sudan will continue to need international support to rebuild their lives long after the results of the referendum are confirmed on Monday.”

Refugees International is a Washington, DC-based organization that advocates to end refugee crises and receives no government or UN funding. Since 2004, RI has been challenging policy makers and aid agencies to improve the lives of displaced people in Sudan. For more information, go to www.refugeesinternational.org.

NOTE: Refugees International staff Limnyuy Konglim and Andrea Lari are in Khartoum and available for interview.

For Immediate Release: February 5, 2011
Contact:
Limnyuy Konglim (in Khartoum), Limnyuy@refugeesinternational.org
Megan Fowler (in Washington, DC), megan@refugeesinternational.org