As the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights prepares to meet next month, Amnesty International and human rights defenders from across East Africa and the Horn of Africa expressed fears that progress made during the last two years could be lost in political negotiations. Over 60 grassroots activists from Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Somaliland, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda will be participating in a conference taking place in Entebbe, Uganda from 31 October to 04 November 2005. The talks have been organized by Amnesty International and the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders' Project (EHAHRDP).

The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, has said it could reduce, or even suspend, its voluntary repatriation of Burundian refugees from Tanzania unless it receives the money required to help hundreds of thousands of the refugees to return home. "It is the largest ongoing voluntary repatriation operation anywhere in the world after Afghanistan," UNHCR said. "Nevertheless, there are still at least 400,000 Burundian refugees in neighbouring Tanzania alone, many of whom wish to go home.

In October, the UN refugee agency has been holding a series of meetings with refugees and asylum seekers in some 40 countries throughout the world. This is part of the Gender Age and Diversity (GAD) roll-out, a new global exercise designed to improve understanding of the concerns of refugees themselves. On six continents, teams made up of the same triumvirate of actors – UNHCR, NGO and government representatives – met with refugee and asylum seeker groups of both genders, and different ages and ethnic backgrounds, to hear what they had to say about their lives.

Last week Pambuzuka News carried the story, Sudanese Refugees In Cairo: We'll Wait Here, We’ll Die Here’ (http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?id=29957), describing a sit-in demonstration near the Cairo office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The refugees continue to reiterate their demands, and their numbers show no sign of decreasing. In fact, the sit-in has now been joined by a few Ethiopian refugees.

This week, we promised to include our interview with UNHCR’s Senior External Relations Officer, Leila Nassif, about the demonstration. Ms. Nassif was formerly a Protection Officer and has been with UNHCR for more than ten years with posts in Saudi Arabia, elsewhere in the Middle East, Timor, Rwanda and Sudan. She has been in Cairo for 16 months. She was cooperative in answering questions, but had concerns of bias in an article being published in two parts and not including UNHCR’s point of view first. Although she had not visited the sit-in, she speculated that many demonstrators may not even be refugees. Since no demonstrators have identified themselves to UNHCR, they cannot confirm that any is a refugee known to their office

Question: What is UNHCR’s policy of providing assistance to families and how many children are required in order to receive aid? Refugees have told us families of fewer than six are not considered.

Answer: UNHCR’s priority is to assist the most vulnerable among both refugees and asylum seekers (single heads of households—male and female, unaccompanied minors, the elderly, torture victims and the ill/sick). We assist over 7000 people through our partners and help over 5000 children to attend school. CARITAS provides medical treatment to approximately 150 persons daily. We want to help as many as possible in the best way possible. Our guidelines to assist recognized refugees are based on worldwide HCR guidelines for refugee assistance in urban areas

Question: Refugees accuse UNHCR of neglecting unaccompanied minors, the elderly, and handicapped. Do you feel this is justified?

Answer: This is a general question and allegation. If there is a particular neglected case, UNHCR has a stated method to address or appeal this situation and UNHCR's doors are always open to such recourse. We help the most vulnerable first. The rumors circulating about abuses may not even refer to refugees per se but other Sudanese living in Egypt.

Question: A number of the refugees say they reject “compulsory voluntary repatriation.” Could you comment on their obvious fears of involuntary repatriation?

Answer: This is a contradiction in terms. Voluntary means voluntary and we do not force any person to return against his or her will. Every refugee repatriating with UNHCR's help is requested to complete a voluntary return form and to sign it voluntarily in the presence of a UNHCR officer. Most refugees are from the South and the situation there appears to be changing. Repatriation is not compulsory, but earlier this year we began a dialogue and dissemination of information. Many are unhappy because of the implications of return for their expectations. UNHCR and others have increased their presence and programs in the South. Statistics indicate 750,000 have already returned between 2004 and July of this year with an estimated 1 million to return in 2006, mostly IDPs and others from Central African Republic, Ethiopia and the DRC. The process is voluntary and if a person has any fear he/ she is not forced to return. UNHCR is facilitating persons who wish to return with small funds and travel allowances as far as Khartoum.

Question: To what extent do you feel their fears are justified that the Four Freedoms legislation will undermine their status as refugees?

Answer: In my personal opinion, their fears have no basis whatsoever. Egypt and Sudan have a long history of open borders, and the Four Freedoms will help enhance the status of all Sudanese in Egypt.

Question: We realize that UNHCR has a real crisis in terms of funds to disperse for urban refugee subsistence in general. Do you think this demonstration will help UNHCR to convince donors of the need to provide more funds especially for new arrivals in Egypt?

Answer: UNHCR always needs/relies on donor funding and countries are tremendously generous. But in my personal opinion, this [Cairo] is not the biggest need. There is greater urgency elsewhere. Egypt has tried very hard to fulfill its role, but this may not be appreciated because of its lack of resources. Refugees have the same complaints as less fortunate Egyptians in many cases. With regards to funding for new arrivals in Egypt the answer is “no” because UNHCR does not recognize the demonstrators as refugees.

Question: We would also like to know if the demise of resettlement for the Sudanese is a result of a decision taken by the governments who have been resettling them (US, Australia, Canada, Finland), or a policy decision taken by UNHCR Geneva or Cairo?

Answer: There is no UNHCR policy decision. It is just a statement of fact that the number of people seeking resettlement will naturally diminish. We will continue to submit cases for resettlement as appropriate. I am not in a position to comment on immigration policies of governments.

Question: We are amazed Egyptian security officials and police have permitted the demonstration to go on. Has UNHCR interceded on their behalf?

Answer: They have shown remarkable restraint and should be commended. They have had no prompting from UNHCR.

Question: To your knowledge, outside of Central America, has there ever been such a well-organized demonstration for their rights by refugees?

Answer: I do not feel that it is appropriate for me to comment on this because I simply am not sure. I believe the organizers are to be commended for keeping peace.

Question: If there is anything else you consider pertinent, please comment. :

Answer: Leaving aside Darfur, the situation in the South is changing, going back to normal with control, order and rehabilitation. This will have implications for refugees and asylum seekers everywhere since reasons for flight may have ceased and there are international pledges to rebuild ($4.5 billion). In my personal opinion, the demonstration may reflect the changing situation. The decision to stop individual status determination interviews for the Sudanese was done to protect a larger number of Sudanese. It permits a larger number of yellow cards to be issued with the protections associated with yellow cards. We still do not have large numbers coming from Darfur.

There are 22 million refugees and others of concern around the world and resettlement cannot be a solution except for the few since the resettlement quota is a few thousand per year. Further the economic situation in countries hosting refugees often excludes the possibility of local integration on a large scale. This leaves voluntary repatriation as the main solution. UNHCR seeks resettlement as appropriate, but repatriation is most preferred. UN reports are circulated on a regular basis and information is continually updated. I personally observed tremendous hope for sustained peace and aspirations to rebuild from general population, government officials and returnees. Roads have reopened, an airport made functional, and schools and other services have begun again.

I believe the Sudanese in Egypt have an important role to play—none of it is easy, but it can be done. The number seeking resettlement will naturally diminish as fewer and fewer people will meet the requirements. It is only normal to express fears and anxieties, but it is also important to acknowledge the contribution they can make. Of course there will be distrust, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t valid to talk about the changes that are happening.

From my experience as a Protection Officer, Sudanese in Egypt do not face the sort of extreme treatment others experience elsewhere. Egypt tries hard, but of course more can be done in terms of receiving, registering and processing. UNHCR also works at building awareness especially among professionals working with refugees. We are building capacity with the government: over the past year UNHCR has conducted 12 workshops with police, one with members of the People’s Assembly, one with journalists, and one with diplomats. UNHCR has met with representatives from the protest who presented demands. UNHCR tried to explain its limitations and that some things were already at work—specifically the priority of vulnerable groups. (End of interview)

Resettlement from the Embassies’ Viewpoint

We also talked with two representatives of major resettlement countries. Gerard Cheyne, US Regional Refugee Coordinator for North Africa and the Middle East, said, “The US Government supports the goal of voluntary repatriation of the Sudanese who left their homes during the conflict in the south. We will work with UNHCR in Cairo and elsewhere in the region to encourage the Sudanese to return to Sudan. At the same time we will continue to consider for resettlement any Sudanese for whom repatriation is not possible and for whom resettlement is believed to be the best durable solution—as determined by the UNHCR.” Ross Wilkie, Principle Migration Officer for the Canadian Embassy in Cairo had a similar response, “Any decision by UNHCR is one for them to comment on. Our large refugee resettlement program in Africa—which includes significant numbers of Sudanese from Cairo… is continuing.”

UNHCR claims to have made no explicit policy decision on the issue of resettlement of the Sudanese. In Ms. Nassif’s words, it is “just a statement of fact…that the number of people seeking resettlement will naturally diminish.” This blatantly contradicts the aspiration of the protestors expressed in one banner at the sit-in, “Fix our problems or send us to another country.”

Change in the air?

Last week, UNHCR held a meeting with various NGOs concerned about the on-going demonstration. Overall, the general attitude appears to have been one of disapproval. Fears were expressed that the organizers of the demonstration are encouraging parents to take their children out of schools, but we saw only very young children and babies at the protest. Another rumour cited was that leaders were encouraging people to join the protest by telling them they will receive $25 from the UNHCR for their presence at the demonstration. Since UNHCR clearly has insufficient funds for subsistence for the most vulnerable, what refugee would believe such a rumour?

Nevertheless, there is an eminent crisis. The refugees are in the park in front of a popular mosque where very large numbers of people come to pray at Eid el-Fitr, the feast celebrating the end of Ramadan. The police guarding them assume that the demonstrators have to be out by then. On the other hand, the refugees feel some security because the police are themselves upper Egyptians and feel a closer cultural bond with the protestors and tend to be more sympathetic. But this may not save the protest if the government takes the position it is expected to take.

Early mornings at the site now find refugees huddled together under blankets. As the weather turns increasingly cold, perhaps the elements themselves may decide the fate of the demonstration.

* This article was compiled by Alex Gomez, Themba Lewis, Martin Rowe, Assad Khalid Salih, Leslie Sander, Stacy Schafer and Helen Smith. They are students at the Forced Migration and Refugee Studies Programme in Cairo, Egypt.

* Please send comments to

In the scorching heat of Kakuma refuge camp, in north-west Kenya, Sudanese refugees are upbeat about returning home. The majority of them have been living in this camp for more than a decade. Most of the children have never set foot in their home country. They only hear about Sudan from stories repeated by their parents and older brothers and sisters.

The Global IDP Project says Northern and eastern Uganda is seeing a resurgence of attacks against civilians by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), even in areas that had experienced relative calm for over a year, raising fears that the 19-year conflict with the Ugandan government may be far from over. In one recent attack in the Katakwi district of eastern Uganda, the LRA burned huts and looted food stocks, causing nearly 600 residents of a nearby IDP camp to flee in fear of further attacks.

This journal focuses on issues concerning refugees and internal displacement.

Burundi's human rights watchdog, Iteka, has expressed concern over increased attacks on civilians by the rebel Forces nationales de liberation (FNL) and human rights violations committed by the rebels and the country's defence forces. The government must act quickly to prosecute any element of the police and other security forces involved in "extrajudiciary executions, torture and inhuman treatment", Jean-Marie Vianney Kavumbagu, the leader of Iteka, said in a report issued on Wednesday in the capital, Bujumbura.

The former director of the cabinet in the Rwanda's Ministry of Defence and alleged architect of the 1994 genocide began his testimony on Monday before the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in the northern Tanzanian town of Arusha. Col Theoneste Bagosora, 64, denied that he masterminded the killings in Rwanda, which claimed the lives some 937,000 Tutsis and politically moderate Hutus.

For someone who just turned 90, Amamiya Akera has big plans for the future of his Acholi community. He sees rolling hills of maize, simsim and cassava. He sees school children walking on the road with full stomachs while shiny tractors traverse the green goldmine that surrounds them. Security and agricultural growth in the region may not be far away, reports the Daily Monitor. "The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) has retreated into the Congo (where UN is sending soldiers to defeat them) and Sudan (where the US is supporting joint Ugandan-Sudanese military operations against them), says the report.

African Rights welcomes the news that Désiré Munyaneza, a Rwandese citizen who played a significant role in the 1994 genocide, was arrested in Canada on Wednesday, 19 October. Munyaneza, arrested in Toronto and accused of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, is the first person to be charged under Canada’s Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act passed five years ago. African Rights, which has long campaigned for genocide suspects to be tried in the country of asylum, commends the Canadian government’s decision to prosecute Munyaneza in Canada, rather than to deport him or to transfer him to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in Arusha, Tanzania.

Eritrea is denying widespread speculation that its recent rapprochement with neighboring one-time foe Sudan is aimed at securing its western border in the event of new war over its southern frontier with arch-rival Ethiopia. Instead, a senior Eritrean official said the warming of Eritrea-Sudan relations after a decade of active hostility is merely a reflection of new realities on the ground after the end of Sudan’s long-running north-south civil war this year.
* Related Link
Eritrea accuses Ethiopia of "duplicity" as border conflict rises
http://www.sudantribune.com/article.php3?id_article=12175

Years of civil war in the Republic of Congo (ROC) has resulted in massive population displacement, food shortages and an increase in severe malnutrition, a government official said on Wednesday. "The situation has caused an increase in severe cases of malnutrition among both children and adults," Jean-Ignace Tendelet, the director of cabinet in the Ministry of Health and Population, said in the capital, Brazzaville.

The African Union's (AU) intervention in Sudan's Darfur region tests the effectiveness of its own peace and security structures and those of the European Union (EU), says the International Crisis Group. "The AU has taken the lead both in the political negotiations between the government and the rebels and in deploying a peace-monitoring mission, the AU Mission in Sudan (AMIS). It has had to rely on outside support for AMIS, with nearly two thirds of its funding coming from the EU's African Peace Facility. The results are mixed. If Darfur is to have stability anytime soon, and the two organisations are to fulfil their ambitions to be major players in crisis prevention and crisis resolution, AMIS must get more troops and a more proactive, civilian-protection mandate, and the EU needs to find ways to go beyond the present limitations of the African Peace Facility in providing assistance."

The Sudan Organisation Against Torture (SOAT) reports that on 23 October 2005, fifty armed men reportedly the Janjaweed, attacked and abducted nine Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from Kalma IDP camp, Nyala, Southern Darfur State. The IDPs were travelling from Kalma Camp to outside the camp by carts when they were attacked. The militias beat the IDPs with the butts of their guns and flogged them. The militias also looted six carts.

Despite being integral to the grassroots peace building process, women are all but excluded from formal negotiations and political decision making. There is no peace, security, or justice unless both genders are fully involved in all stages of the peace process, says researcher Elisabeth Porter.

Sudan's January's peace deal stipulates that oil wealth is to be shared by government officials and former rebels of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) from the south, reports Inter Press Service (IPS). This area will now enjoy autonomy under the guidance of a regional government; the rebels also form part of a national transitional government. However, control of the key Ministry of Energy and Mining, which deals with oil production and revenue, was awarded to President Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir's National Congress Party (NCP). This decision outraged many in southern Sudan, where most of the oil resources are located.

On October 12, 2005, the President of Angola's National Assembly accused local independent media of instigating a new civil war in the country. Roberto de Almeida said independent newspapers and radio stations should be blamed for what he considered as instigation to the return of the war in Angola. Speaking to the government-controlled National Radio of Angola (NRA), De Almeida accused the media of irresponsibility and having a politic agenda focused on "bringing a new war among the Angolans."

In response to strong public protests, President Maumoon Gayoom of the Maldives has committed his government to bring about constitutional reform. However, despite these promises, international human rights and democratic norms continue to be regularly breached in the Maldives. The Director of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, Ms. Maja Daruwala stated: "While it is positive to note that international players, including the Commonwealth Secretariat, are providing assistance behind the scenes, there is a disappointing lack of public statements condemning negative events in the Maldives. Continued silence implies acceptance of violation of human rights and risks damaging the Commonwealth's reputation whose membership is dependent on adherence to the principles of democracy and human rights articulated in the Harare Declaration."

The recent Darfur crisis raises the isse of colonial race legacies in Africa. The issue is that many topics and subjects are covered daily, but that of racism seems to be more sensitive. However, inherent aspects of race keep coming up in communinities across Africa. Is it about time that more discussions are had about race and racism in Africa?