UNHCR, COR and DPI sign MoU on the registration and documentation of South Sudanese population in S

Press Release

Khartoum, Sudan, 21 December 2014 (UNHCR): The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Sudan this morning has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Commission for Refugees (COR) and the Directorate General of Passports and Immigration (DPI) of the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of the Sudan, on the registration and documentation of South Sudanese citizens in Sudan.
The MoU was signed by General Ahmed Atta Al-Manan, General Director of the DPI, Eng. Hamad El-Gizouli Morowa, Commissioner of Refugees and Mr. Mohammed Adar, UNHCR Representative in Sudan.
“This MoU will benefit some 500,000 South Sudanese citizens in Sudan, including those who have been stranded here before the outbreak of violence in South Sudan in December 2013. It provides them with a package of rights, including permission to enter, reside and work legally,
an access to services and freedom of movements according to the directives of the President of the Republic of Sudan, that South Sudanese are brothers and sisters and would be granted the same treatment as the Sudanese citizens,” UNHCR Representative in Sudan, Mr. Mohammed Adar, said after the signing ceremony.
In the course of the next 18 months, UNHCR will provide support to the DPI in order to implement the registration and documentation exercise of the South Sudanese population all over Sudan.
Under this MoU, the registered South Sudanese will be given identity cards free of charge issued by the registration authorities, which will be valid for their entire period of stay in Sudan.
“This is an important step. UNHCR looks forward to increasing our cooperation with the Civil Registry for the documentation of our persons of

concern,” Adar reiterated.
By 21 December 2014, an estimated 115,500 new arrivals from South Sudan had sought refuge in Sudan since the outbreak of hostilities in South Sudan last year, including an estimated 62,000 persons in White Nile State, 32,000 people in Khartoum State and 14,200 in South Kordofan State. There are also an estimated 350,000 South Sudanese who have remained in Sudan after the secession of South Sudan from Sudan in 2011.
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For more information please contact Mr. Mohamed El-Naiem, Assistant Public Information Officer, UNHCR Khartoum Tel: +249 183 471 101, Cell: +249 9123 08842 , Email: mailto:[email protected]@UNHCR.org