Italy supports UNHCR to tackle human trafficking in Sudan

Khartoum, 27 November 2014
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Sudan welcomes a contribution of EUR 500,000 from the Government of Italy for its activities aimed at providing protection and assistance to refugees and asylum-seekers in East Sudan and Khartoum.
Activities funded under this contribution focus on health and education and are part of UNHCR’s overall strategy to address human trafficking and smuggling of persons. This phenomenon has become a serious concern to UNHCR, particularly in East Sudan where an average of 1,200 Eritreans seek asylum every month. Asylum-seekers and refugees often resort to smugglers to enter into Sudan and many end up being trafficked or held hostage pending the payment of a ransom. UNHCR has been working very closely with the Government of Sudan and the International Organization for Migration since 2012 to address this phenomenon, in particular to improve the security in the camps, strengthen the assistance provided to victims of trafficking both in the East and Khartoum and raise awareness amongst the communities.
“This contribution from the Italian Government is critical to allow us to fulfil our mandate towards refugees and asylum-seekers. Thanks to this financial support, we will be able to improve the quality of services provided to new arrivals, and therefore limit secondary movements towards other countries”,
UNHCR Representative Mohammed Adar says.
“The measures taken by the authorities, such as the adoption of an anti- trafficking law, and our direct interventions have brought positive results, putting an end to the kidnapping phenomenon from the camps in East Sudan and decrease in the number of trafficking incidents. In 2013, we verified 100 incidents against 338 in 2012. Since the beginning of the year, 74 incidents have been verified”, Adar says.
“Many refugees travel to Italy and risk their lives crossing the Mediterranean Sea. The operation “Mare Nostrum” which saved more than 100.000 people was our humanitarian response to this tragedy. The fight against trafficking and smuggling of human beings is a priority of the Government of Italy. The Conference of Rome on 28 November, organized by the Italian Presidency of the E.U., will finally launch the Khartoum Process* , and will mark a decisive step forward in the cooperation between the countries of origin, transit and

destination along the migratory route form the Horn of Africa and Europe” says His Excellency the Ambassador of Italy to Sudan Armando Barucco says.
UNHCR in Sudan works with the Commissioner for Refugees (COR), the Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC), and other national institutions to protect and assist 273,000 refugees and asylum-seekers, as well over 2 million internally displaced people in Khartoum, the East, White Nile and Darfur. UNHCR has 11 offices in Sudan and its financial requirements for 2014 amount to US$ 165 million.
END
Contact :
Nicolas Brass, UNHCR Sudan, Mobile +249 912 179 443, mailto:[email protected]@unhcr.org
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Khartoum process :
* Khartoum Process is the name given to the EU process of dialogue and financed projects to stem the flow of migrants from Egypt, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Sudan with other countries as partners. It was launched in Khartoum with the beginning of the EU- Horn of Africa Migration Route Initiative, initiated at the AU regional conference on trafficking in Khartoum this October, and will be officially endorsed by all parties in Rome on 28 November 2014.

UNHCR Sudan
Ahmed Keir Street P.O. Box 2560 Khartoum, Sudan
Tel +249 183 47 1101 Fax +249 183 47 3101 http://http://www.unhcr.orgwww.unhcr.org @RefugeesMedia


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