UNHCR responds to the Cairo refugee sit-in: An official response

Last week Pambuzuka News carried the story, Sudanese Refugees In Cairo: We'll Wait Here, We’ll Die Here’ (http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?id=29957), describing a sit-in demonstration near the Cairo office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The refugees continue to reiterate their demands, and their numbers show no sign of decreasing. In fact, the sit-in has now been joined by a few Ethiopian refugees.

This week, we promised to include our interview with UNHCR’s Senior External Relations Officer, Leila Nassif, about the demonstration. Ms. Nassif was formerly a Protection Officer and has been with UNHCR for more than ten years with posts in Saudi Arabia, elsewhere in the Middle East, Timor, Rwanda and Sudan. She has been in Cairo for 16 months. She was cooperative in answering questions, but had concerns of bias in an article being published in two parts and not including UNHCR’s point of view first. Although she had not visited the sit-in, she speculated that many demonstrators may not even be refugees. Since no demonstrators have identified themselves to UNHCR, they cannot confirm that any is a refugee known to their office

Question: What is UNHCR’s policy of providing assistance to families and how many children are required in order to receive aid? Refugees have told us families of fewer than six are not considered.

Answer: UNHCR’s priority is to assist the most vulnerable among both refugees and asylum seekers (single heads of households—male and female, unaccompanied minors, the elderly, torture victims and the ill/sick). We assist over 7000 people through our partners and help over 5000 children to attend school. CARITAS provides medical treatment to approximately 150 persons daily. We want to help as many as possible in the best way possible. Our guidelines to assist recognized refugees are based on worldwide HCR guidelines for refugee assistance in urban areas

Question: Refugees accuse UNHCR of neglecting unaccompanied minors, the elderly, and handicapped. Do you feel this is justified?

Answer: This is a general question and allegation. If there is a particular neglected case, UNHCR has a stated method to address or appeal this situation and UNHCR's doors are always open to such recourse. We help the most vulnerable first. The rumors circulating about abuses may not even refer to refugees per se but other Sudanese living in Egypt.

Question: A number of the refugees say they reject “compulsory voluntary repatriation.” Could you comment on their obvious fears of involuntary repatriation?

Answer: This is a contradiction in terms. Voluntary means voluntary and we do not force any person to return against his or her will. Every refugee repatriating with UNHCR's help is requested to complete a voluntary return form and to sign it voluntarily in the presence of a UNHCR officer. Most refugees are from the South and the situation there appears to be changing. Repatriation is not compulsory, but earlier this year we began a dialogue and dissemination of information. Many are unhappy because of the implications of return for their expectations. UNHCR and others have increased their presence and programs in the South. Statistics indicate 750,000 have already returned between 2004 and July of this year with an estimated 1 million to return in 2006, mostly IDPs and others from Central African Republic, Ethiopia and the DRC. The process is voluntary and if a person has any fear he/ she is not forced to return. UNHCR is facilitating persons who wish to return with small funds and travel allowances as far as Khartoum.

Question: To what extent do you feel their fears are justified that the Four Freedoms legislation will undermine their status as refugees?

Answer: In my personal opinion, their fears have no basis whatsoever. Egypt and Sudan have a long history of open borders, and the Four Freedoms will help enhance the status of all Sudanese in Egypt.

Question: We realize that UNHCR has a real crisis in terms of funds to disperse for urban refugee subsistence in general. Do you think this demonstration will help UNHCR to convince donors of the need to provide more funds especially for new arrivals in Egypt?

Answer: UNHCR always needs/relies on donor funding and countries are tremendously generous. But in my personal opinion, this [Cairo] is not the biggest need. There is greater urgency elsewhere. Egypt has tried very hard to fulfill its role, but this may not be appreciated because of its lack of resources. Refugees have the same complaints as less fortunate Egyptians in many cases. With regards to funding for new arrivals in Egypt the answer is “no” because UNHCR does not recognize the demonstrators as refugees.

Question: We would also like to know if the demise of resettlement for the Sudanese is a result of a decision taken by the governments who have been resettling them (US, Australia, Canada, Finland), or a policy decision taken by UNHCR Geneva or Cairo?

Answer: There is no UNHCR policy decision. It is just a statement of fact that the number of people seeking resettlement will naturally diminish. We will continue to submit cases for resettlement as appropriate. I am not in a position to comment on immigration policies of governments.

Question: We are amazed Egyptian security officials and police have permitted the demonstration to go on. Has UNHCR interceded on their behalf?

Answer: They have shown remarkable restraint and should be commended. They have had no prompting from UNHCR.

Question: To your knowledge, outside of Central America, has there ever been such a well-organized demonstration for their rights by refugees?

Answer: I do not feel that it is appropriate for me to comment on this because I simply am not sure. I believe the organizers are to be commended for keeping peace.

Question: If there is anything else you consider pertinent, please comment. :

Answer: Leaving aside Darfur, the situation in the South is changing, going back to normal with control, order and rehabilitation. This will have implications for refugees and asylum seekers everywhere since reasons for flight may have ceased and there are international pledges to rebuild ($4.5 billion). In my personal opinion, the demonstration may reflect the changing situation. The decision to stop individual status determination interviews for the Sudanese was done to protect a larger number of Sudanese. It permits a larger number of yellow cards to be issued with the protections associated with yellow cards. We still do not have large numbers coming from Darfur.

There are 22 million refugees and others of concern around the world and resettlement cannot be a solution except for the few since the resettlement quota is a few thousand per year. Further the economic situation in countries hosting refugees often excludes the possibility of local integration on a large scale. This leaves voluntary repatriation as the main solution. UNHCR seeks resettlement as appropriate, but repatriation is most preferred. UN reports are circulated on a regular basis and information is continually updated. I personally observed tremendous hope for sustained peace and aspirations to rebuild from general population, government officials and returnees. Roads have reopened, an airport made functional, and schools and other services have begun again.

I believe the Sudanese in Egypt have an important role to play—none of it is easy, but it can be done. The number seeking resettlement will naturally diminish as fewer and fewer people will meet the requirements. It is only normal to express fears and anxieties, but it is also important to acknowledge the contribution they can make. Of course there will be distrust, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t valid to talk about the changes that are happening.

From my experience as a Protection Officer, Sudanese in Egypt do not face the sort of extreme treatment others experience elsewhere. Egypt tries hard, but of course more can be done in terms of receiving, registering and processing. UNHCR also works at building awareness especially among professionals working with refugees. We are building capacity with the government: over the past year UNHCR has conducted 12 workshops with police, one with members of the People’s Assembly, one with journalists, and one with diplomats. UNHCR has met with representatives from the protest who presented demands. UNHCR tried to explain its limitations and that some things were already at work—specifically the priority of vulnerable groups. (End of interview)

Resettlement from the Embassies’ Viewpoint

We also talked with two representatives of major resettlement countries. Gerard Cheyne, US Regional Refugee Coordinator for North Africa and the Middle East, said, “The US Government supports the goal of voluntary repatriation of the Sudanese who left their homes during the conflict in the south. We will work with UNHCR in Cairo and elsewhere in the region to encourage the Sudanese to return to Sudan. At the same time we will continue to consider for resettlement any Sudanese for whom repatriation is not possible and for whom resettlement is believed to be the best durable solution—as determined by the UNHCR.” Ross Wilkie, Principle Migration Officer for the Canadian Embassy in Cairo had a similar response, “Any decision by UNHCR is one for them to comment on. Our large refugee resettlement program in Africa—which includes significant numbers of Sudanese from Cairo… is continuing.”

UNHCR claims to have made no explicit policy decision on the issue of resettlement of the Sudanese. In Ms. Nassif’s words, it is “just a statement of fact…that the number of people seeking resettlement will naturally diminish.” This blatantly contradicts the aspiration of the protestors expressed in one banner at the sit-in, “Fix our problems or send us to another country.”

Change in the air?

Last week, UNHCR held a meeting with various NGOs concerned about the on-going demonstration. Overall, the general attitude appears to have been one of disapproval. Fears were expressed that the organizers of the demonstration are encouraging parents to take their children out of schools, but we saw only very young children and babies at the protest. Another rumour cited was that leaders were encouraging people to join the protest by telling them they will receive $25 from the UNHCR for their presence at the demonstration. Since UNHCR clearly has insufficient funds for subsistence for the most vulnerable, what refugee would believe such a rumour?

Nevertheless, there is an eminent crisis. The refugees are in the park in front of a popular mosque where very large numbers of people come to pray at Eid el-Fitr, the feast celebrating the end of Ramadan. The police guarding them assume that the demonstrators have to be out by then. On the other hand, the refugees feel some security because the police are themselves upper Egyptians and feel a closer cultural bond with the protestors and tend to be more sympathetic. But this may not save the protest if the government takes the position it is expected to take.

Early mornings at the site now find refugees huddled together under blankets. As the weather turns increasingly cold, perhaps the elements themselves may decide the fate of the demonstration.

* This article was compiled by Alex Gomez, Themba Lewis, Martin Rowe, Assad Khalid Salih, Leslie Sander, Stacy Schafer and Helen Smith. They are students at the Forced Migration and Refugee Studies Programme in Cairo, Egypt.

* Please send comments to