UN agencies, EU launch project to strengthen resilience for displaced persons in South Sudan

By Denis Elamu

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), in partnership with the UN International Organization for Migration (IOM) on Friday launched a project aimed to strengthen community adaptability and resilience for displaced and host populations in South Sudan.

The project funded by the European Union (EU) to a tune of 11 million euros for South Sudan, is part of 23 million euros regional intervention to support countries affected by the influx of refugees and returnees that also include Chad and Ethiopia.

Marie-Helene Verney, UNHCR representative in South Sudan the support from the EU is essential to promote inclusion and resilience, offering a path toward greater stability for both displaced and host communities.

“When we talk about housing, land and property its about people coming back and being able to access the land that they had before getting documents for this land, and this is one of the components of the project that we all believe is extremely important,” Verney said during a press conference in Juba, the capital of South Sudan.

She noted that the project will enable returnees who lack national identity cards to access services particularly those living in urban centers in Juba and Upper Nile State.

Verney noted that the highest number of the 1.2 million returnees and refugees are settled in Upper Nile State alone.

“We are trying to do several things at the same time, it is not just integration of returnees but how can we help the internally displaced persons (IDPs), in the same area to find solutions so that they don’t depend on humanitarian assistance which is getting less and less,” she disclosed.

The overall objective of the project is to strengthen stabilization and resilience efforts in South Sudan, particularly in areas heavily affected by the Sudan crisis and the resulting displacement.

It supports the government’s integrated settlement approach, which seeks to expand housing options and deliver basic services to communities with large numbers of refugees, returnees, and IDPs.

Asar Mohammad, Deputy Chief of Mission of the IOM in South Sudan noted that the fundamentals of this project is beyond emergency response as it includes resettling people in the host communities and areas of settlement they choose if they are not going back to the area of origin.

“And for that, it is important that they have access to basic services and in terms of continuity  of their living in an enabling environment is to provide livelihood, housing,  land, property support and access to water and education,” Mohammed said.

Mohammed added that the program also aims to relieve the pressure on the host communities by providing to them the same kind of access that the returnees are having, adding that this helps to bring community cohesion and avoids any conflict.

Lothar Jaschke, Deputy Head of the EU Delegation in South Sudan emphasized that this intervention is based on the vital principle of integration, adding that it aims to foster the inclusion of forcibly displaced populations by improving access to basic services for the new arrivals and the communities that welcome them.

“In South Sudan, perhaps more than anywhere else, we see how the challenges faced by the displaced persons often mirror those faced by local communities. The needs are vast ranging from healthcare and education to livelihoods, peacebuilding and support for survivors of violence, including gender-based violence, as well as access to identity documents, housing and land,” he said.

Jaschke commended South Sudan’s open policy for refugees despite the challenges the youngest nation is experiencing amid massive influx of returnees and refugees fleeing conflict in neighboring Sudan since April 2023.

He disclosed that the intervention in South Sudan is a multi-layered approach that includes rehabilitation of schools and health clinics, training in healthcare, education, agriculture, conflict resolution and support for survivors of gender-based violence.

In addition, he said that it includes the provision of legal assistance to help people secure access to land, property and identity documents, which are essential foundations for a stable and dignified life.