REPRESENTATIVE OF SECRETARY-GENERAL FOR NTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS CONCLUDES VISIT TO SUDAN

19 September 2001



At the invitation of the Government of Sudan, the Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Internally Displaced Persons, Francis M. Deng, undertook an official visit to Sudan from 11 to 18 September.

In Khartoum, Mr. Deng held official meetings with President Omar al-Beshir, Ali Osman Mohamed Taha, the First Vice-President, and a large number of Ministers and senior officials. He also met with representatives of United Nations agencies and other international organizations and non-governmental organizations, as well as representatives of the diplomatic and donor community. The programme included visits to settlements of displaced persons in the capital Khartoum as well as to Ed Daien, Abyei and Atbara, during the course of which he met with local authorities and internally displaced persons themselves.

Mr. Deng discussed with the Government the development of a national policy and strategy on internal displacement, including the establishment of a national focal point and institution with an express mandate for meeting the needs of all those affected. Members of the Government expressed support for this approach and agreed to undertake a comprehensive study which would review current Government policy and develop cooperative strategies in light of the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement and United Nations institutional arrangements. The Government agreed also to use the study as the background document for an international conference to be held next year in Khartoum which would provide a forum in which the Government, United Nations agencies, international and non-governmental organizations, the donor community and the internally displaced themselves could discuss, in a constructive and cooperative spirit, the national response to internal displacement and develop ways of enhancing that response with the support and collaboration of the international community.

With an internally displaced population currently estimated to be in excess of 4 million people, Sudan has not only the largest displaced population in Africa but in the world. In his discussions with Government officials the Secretary-General's Representative, who is himself Sudanese, noted that as the country most affected by internal displacement, Sudan has much to gain from being seen to be taking the lead on this issue, both at the international level in advocating for the cause of the internally displaced, and in particular at the national level, in responding to the protection and assistance needs of its own uprooted citizens. Moreover, he felt that express and enhanced commitment to the issue by the Government would likely stimulate a similar response from the donor community.

The approach taken by the Secretary-General's Representative in this and all his country missions rests on the recognition that internally displaced persons fall within domestic jurisdiction and therefore the national sovereignty of the States concerned. It is also based on the fundamental assumption that national sovereignty carries with it responsibilities towards the citizens and that under normal circumstances Governments discharge that responsibility. The crisis of internal displacement, however, creates certain problems which may prevent Governments from providing their citizens with adequate protection and assistance. Under those circumstances Governments are expected to invite, or at least welcome, international cooperation to supplement or complement their own efforts.

Building upon these notions of respect for sovereignty and recognition of the responsibilities associated with it, Mr. Deng aims to discharge his mandate in a spirit of cooperation with Governments, to try to understand the problems of internal displacement, the obstacles to providing adequate protection and assistance, and what needs to be done both by the country concerned and the international community to remedy the situation.

Mr. Deng will elaborate upon the findings of his mission in a report which will be presented to the Commission on Human Rights at its next session and will be made publicly available. He will also share the findings of his mission with the Secretary-General and the Inter-Agency Standing Committee, composed of all the major human rights, humanitarian and development organizations.

Mr. Deng has been the Representative of the Secretary-General for Internally Displaced Persons since the position was created by the Commission on Human Rights in 1992. This was his second mission to Sudan, having previously visited the country in 1992.

For further information, contact Marlene Alejos or Simon Bagshaw at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Geneva: tel. +41 22 917 9280/9160.



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