Joint statement attributable to the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, and the Representative a.i. for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Su

KHARTOUM, Sudan, February 3, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, Mr Ali Al-Za’tari, and the Representative a.i. for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Sudan, Ms. Angela Li Rosi, welcome the commitment of the Government of sudan to provide international protection and humanitarian assistance to South Sudanese who have fled the conflict in South sudan and the announcement by the Government of Sudan that they will be granted “special privileges”. The United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator and UNHCR welcome the positive response by Sudan to the plight of fleeing South Sudanese nationals. At the same time they encourage the Government of Sudan to further clarify the nature of protection it will extend and the modalities for granting such protection, in line with international instruments ratified by Sudan.

The United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator and UNHCR express concern however about reports of rapidly deteriorating humanitarian conditions in the sites where newly arriving South Sudanese reside and to which UNHCR and other UN Agencies have had limited access so far. In a spirit of international cooperation UNHCR and other UN Agencies stand ready to support the Government of Sudan and national organizations in providing protection and badly needed humanitarian assistance to the new arrivals and call on the Government of Sudan to facilitate sustained direct access to them.