The United Nations refugee agency UNHCR has disclosed the expulsion by Sudan of 20 UN international staff from the country.
The agency said the government refused to disclose reasons for not renewing their work permits.
The expellees were drawn from UNHCR’s Darfur staff.
“The majority of the affected workers are based in El Fasher in North Darfur region” UNHCR spokesperson Melissa Fleming said in a press release on Tuesday.
“The reduction in staff number has forced the agency to scale down its operations and is currently unable to effectively provide protection and assistance to internally displaced people in the North Darfur region”
“Today we are appealing and calling on the government of Sudan to renew the work permits of UNHCR staff based in Darfur,” Melissa urged.
The government had no comment on the UN statement, but the pro-government Alshorroq TV confirmed the expulsion, without giving any more details.
IDP camps
Following the development, the United States has expressed “serious concern” over the humanitarian situation in Darfur.
“This recent tightening of restrictions on humanitarian actors in Darfur, including UN agencies and non-governmental organisations, raises serious concerns about the government of Sudan’s willingness to uphold the promises it made in the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur, and raises questions regarding the viability of this peace accord,” read Tuesday statement from US State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki.
The European Union has also joined the international community in urging the Sudanese government to review its position. The EU called on Khartoum to immediately renew the necessary work permits for the twenty UNHCR international staff.
The EU restated that the UNHCR staff had a crucial role in providing humanitarian assistance and protection to hundreds of thousands of people displaced by the conflict in Darfur.
According to UN reports, 1.2 million people are living in the IDP (internally displaced people) camps in Darfur. An additional 300,000 persons have been displaced in the region this year, according to the UN.
NMG
Leave a Reply