Closure of UNMIS

UNMIS wound up its operations on 9 July 2011 with the completion of the interim period agreed on by the Government of Sudan and Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), signed on 9 January 2005.

The mission ended its six years of mandated operations the same day South Sudan declared independence, following a CPA-provided referendum on 9 January 2011 that voted overwhelmingly in favour of secession.

In support of the new nation, the Security Council established a successor mission to UNMIS – the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) – on 9 July for an initial period of one year, with the intention to renew for further periods as required.

42 million refugees remembered in Khartoum

20 Jul 2009

42 million refugees remembered in Khartoum

With several bands providing a musical backdrop in the garden of Khartoum's National Museum, World Refugee Day was celebrated on June 20 with exhibitions of photos and handicrafts and a performance by children.

Sudan is host to an estimated 185,000 Eritrean refugees, 16,500 refugees from neighbouring Ethiopia and several thousand more from other countries in the region.

One of those refugees is Dinkanesh, a woman from Ethiopia who came to Khartoum in 2006 and was selling two dishes from her native land called shiro and injera at a food stall in the museum garden. "I have three sisters but had no work," she said, explaining why she came to Sudan. "My family is poor."

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) official Sunil Thapa praised Sudan for accepting approximately 280,000 people from other countries in spite of the enormous challenges and shortages facing its own citizens.

"Despite its own problems, Sudan has been trying to host and accommodate refugees," said Thapa, a senior liaison officer with UNHCR.

Mr. Thapa announced plans by UNHCR to launch a self-reliance programme in eastern Sudan later this year. He said the programme is designed to address livelihood problems and improve the refugees' economic prospects "so that refugees living in the camps can sustain themselves and don't need to seek external assistance."

The motto of this year's World Refugee Day was "Real people, real needs," a reference to the global refugee population of approximately 42 million. The event featured a photo exhibition that displayed refugees living in various parts of Sudan, a video message from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres, and speeches delivered by representatives of UNHCR and the Sudanese government agency Commissioner for Refugees.

A theatrical performance by Ethiopian and Eritrean children closed the event and highlighted the basic rights of refugees to health, housing, education, opportunities, compassion and protection.