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REGIONAL SITUATION OVERVIEW
As of July 2022, South Sudan has been independent for 11 years. For most of this period, it has had a protracted crisis with the largest refugee displacement in Africa. More than 2.33 million South Sudanese refugees live in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, and Uganda. The crisis continues to be labelled as a children’s crisis, with children constituting over 65% of the refugee population. The 2022 South Sudan Regional Refugee Response Plan (RRRP) included an appeal for USD (US dollars) 1.2 billion for 102 partners (up from 93 partners in 2021) to meet the critical needs of 2.33 million South Sudanese refugees in the five main countries of asylum. By mid-June 2022, the RRRP was only 44.6% funded1 , leaving many of the South Sudanese refugee population’s acute needs unmet. The large-scale displacement of South Sudanese, widespread inflation, and limited access to social services and economic opportunities in countries of asylum exacerbate an already challenging environment for the RRP partners to deliver protection and assistance.
During the period, the 5 countries maintained a prima facie regime for granting refugee status to South Sudanese asylum seekers, generally offering security and facilitating access to humanitarian assistance.
In Kenya, the 2021 Refugees Act came into effect in February 2022. It provides more opportunities, rights, protection and solutions for refugees and asylumseekers in line with Kenya’s commitments under the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF), the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR), the pledges made by the Government at the Global Refugee Forum and other international and regional commitments. In April 2022, the Government announced its intention to transition from camps to integrated settlements under the “Marshal Plan”, now in development. These steps are an important shift from the idea of closing the camps, which the Government had announced in 2021.
Uganda’s borders were re-opened to asylum-seekers in January 2022, after two years of being closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic prevention measures. This allowed asylum seekers to enter the country through official border points. Uganda continues to implement its exemplary approach to local settlement of refugees with the host communities. This is anchored in the legal framework, which allows refugees to enjoy the freedom of movement, the right to work, establish a business, own property, and to access the national education and health systems. About 92% of refugees live in these settlements, but these areas are among the poorest and most underdeveloped in the country.
In Sudan, the Government maintained an open border policy and has continued to receive new arrivals from South Sudan. However, Sudan continues to face multiple challenges, including the deteriorating economy with high inflation rates (149% in June 2022) affecting the refugee response and increasing the vulnerabilities of refugees.
Insecurity in the DRC impeded humanitarian assistance for the South Sudanese refugees. Insecurity in Haut-Uélé and Ituri provinces limited RRP partners’ access to refugees. The new refugee arrivals at the border and the refugees in Meri site, less than 50 km from the border with South Sudan, were relocated to the Bele and Biringi settlements to protect the civilian and humanitarian character of asylum.
In Ethiopia’s Gambella and Benishangul-Gumuz regions, fighting between Government forces and armed rebel groups disrupted security and affected the refugee response. The ethnic-based conflict also affected the peaceful coexistence between refugees and the host community in Pugnido and Okugo camps. Health services almost ground to a halt, with emergency services requiring Federal and Regional police patrols and escorts in the camps.