Joint statement on behalf of the Government of Uganda and UNHCR: ‘Breaking Point’ imminent: Government of Uganda, UNHCR say help for South Sudan refugee inflow urgently needed (23.03.2017)

This year alone, more than 172,000 South Sudanese refugees have fled to Uganda, with new arrivals in March averaging more than 2,800 daily.

GENEVA, Switzerland, March 23, 2017 – The Government of Uganda and UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi today jointly appealed to the international community for urgent and massive support for the thousands of South Sudan refugees who continue to arrive to Uganda every day, fleeing brutal conflict, compounded by the limited availability of food.

Uganda currently hosts more than 800,000 South Sudanese refugees. Among them are some 572,000 new arrivals who have poured into Uganda in desperate need of safety and help since 8 July 2016. With present rates of arrival, that figure will surpass a million before mid- 2017. This year alone, more than 172,000 South Sudanese refugees have fled to Uganda, with new arrivals in March averaging more than 2,800 daily.

“Uganda has continued to maintain open borders,” said Rt. Hon. Ruhakana Rugunda, Prime Minister of Uganda. “But this unprecedented mass influx is placing enormous strain on our public services and local infrastructure. We continue to welcome our neighbours in their time of need but we urgently need the international community to assist as the situation is becoming increasingly critical.”

“We are at breaking point. Uganda cannot handle Africa’s largest refugee crisis alone,” said UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi. “The lack of international attention to the suffering of the South Sudanese people is failing some of the most vulnerable people in the world when they most desperately need our help.”

Chronic and severe underfunding has reached a point where critical life-saving help risks becoming dangerously compromised. Transit and reception facilities are rapidly becoming overwhelmed. Significant challenges are being faced in providing refugees with adequate food rations, health and educational services, and sufficient clean water; a dire situation further compounded by the onset of heavy rains. Currently, UNHCR urgently needs more than a quarter of a billion US dollars to support South Sudanese refugees in Uganda in 2017.

Uganda’s approach to dealing with refugees has long been among the most progressive anywhere on the African continent. Upon receiving refugee status, refugees are provided with small areas of land in settlements integrated within the local host community; a pioneering approach that enhances social cohesion and allows both refugees and host communities to live together peacefully. In Uganda’s Mid and South-West, land for these settlements is provided by Government. In northern Uganda, where the vast majority of South Sudanese refugees are being hosted, the land has been donated by the local host community, an outstanding display of generosity towards people fleeing war and conflict.

As a result Uganda was chosen as a role model for pioneering a comprehensive approach to refugee protection that complements humanitarian responses with targeted development action, benefiting both refugees and the communities hosting them. This was adopted as part of the New York Declaration on Refugees and Migrants at the UN General Assembly last year, and is now also being rolled out in other displacement crises – offering hope to millions of refugees worldwide. However, in the face of severe underfunding and the fastest-growing refugee emergency in the world, Uganda’s ability to realise a model that allows refugees to thrive now risks being jeopardized – and the future of the new comprehensive refugee response framework thrown into question.

The United States and WFP Support Food-Insecure Populations in Sudan and South Sudan (20.03.2017)

The United States continues to be a long-standing partner and the largest single donor to WFP in Sudan, contributing nearly US$1 billion to WFP Sudan’s operations since 2012.

JUBA, South Sudan, March 20, 2017 – The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), today welcomed the second of two recent shipments carrying urgently required food assistance for Sudan and South Sudan.

The ships, Maritime Faith and Liberty Grace, docked in Port Sudan and discharged over 47,880 metric tons of sorghum, over 20,000 metric tons of which will be transported through Sudan into South Sudan. In March and April, WFP will receive additional ships carrying 47,500 metric tons of sorghum, more than 5,000 metric tons of lentils and nearly 1,700 metric tons of vegetable oil. The commodities on these ships, also donated by the United States, will feed South Sudanese refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) within Sudan.

“This food assistance comes at a critical time when continued conflict has resulted in life-threatening hunger in Sudan and famine in South Sudan. The United States and WFP are pleased to be working with the government of Sudan to ensure safe and secure transport of the majority of this assistance to South Sudan,” said US Chargé d’Affaires Steven Koutsis. “We hope to overcome obstacles that impede timely delivery of urgently needed food assistance and urge all parties to allow food and other humanitarian aid to reach those who need it the most.”

The United States continues to be a long-standing partner and the largest single donor to WFP in Sudan, contributing nearly US$1 billion to WFP Sudan’s operations since 2012. These contributions of cash and commodities, including U.S.-grown sorghum, lentils, and vegetable oil, donated by the American people, has enabled WFP to provide critical food assistance to severely food-insecure populations in Sudan in a timely and professional manner.

“WFP is grateful to the United States and the American people for their continued support to our operations,” said WFP Sudan Representative Matthew Hollingworth. “The arrival of these two ships could not have been more timely, given the situation in both Sudan and South Sudan. This again proves the generosity of the U.S. Government and its people, who have always been willing to extend a helping hand to those in need of assistance.”

In 2017, WFP plans to assist more than 4 million vulnerable people in Sudan—IDPs, refugees, climate-affected populations, and host communities—through a range of activities, including emergency food aid, cash-based transfers, nutritional support, and resilience-building activities to help communities become independent.

South Sudan: NRF/NRA Posistion Paper on the Emerging of Different South Sudanese Fighting Opposition Groups in light of Search for Solution to the Ongoing Nationwide Crisis (10.03.2017)

Mystery piece: SPLM-IO secret of the General’s death!

Today’s resignation of Col. Nyarji Jermlili Roman, there is revelation of a weakness that can only benefit the rest of the rebels and the government troops itself. As a key sentence from Col. Nyarji Jermlili Roman that said:

“Finally, it is worth mentioning that, over three years, you intentionally failed to supply our forces in Equatoria with arms and the necessary logistical support, an act that endangered many of our men’s lives because their capacity to defend themselves was greatly affected, hence the death of Gen. Elias Lino Jada, and Gen. Martin Kenyi, among others” (Col. Nyarji Jermlili Roman, 11.03.2017).

Even reports in the mid-year last year showed that he was a powerful rebel and an important ally of the SPLM-IO rebellion towards the SPLM/A. This with the Dr. Lam Akol Ajawin with his own outfit National Democratic Movement (NDM) and the newly created by Lt. Gen. Thomas Cirilo Swaka with his National Salvation Front (NSF), who is now co-operating with Gen. Khalid Butros Bora of the South Sudanese Democratic Movement (SSDM).

So the SPLM/A has enough rebel outfits with military experience on their hands as the Japanese peacekeepers are leaving, but the greed of foreign workers paying $10,000 United States Dollars (USD) for visa in the South Sudan. That must be to get enough revenue to pay for the military operations and to battle the rebellions.

Certainly the SPLM-IO earns on the many more rebellions as the government forces has troubles to contain them alone, still the defeats of respected rebels like General Matin Kenyi, the General Staff of Training and seen as the leader of the Equatorians. Even in 2016 he was the ones who raided in Yumbe district in Uganda. So, the rebel was known also outside of South Sudan.

So this leader and rebel were important to the struggle of Dr. Riek Machar and SPLM-IO. The only proof of his death before was a little tweet by The Bell South Sudan, who wrote on the 14th August 2016 that he died in a battle in Lobonok and he died together with 14 more persons. Therefore, this today is the second message of his death, but since it is the Deputy Spokesperson of SPLM-IO.

The proof that SPLM-IO wanted it buried and not told is evident. As if died in August 2016 and it is now revealed, the SPLM-IO we’re afraid if more people wanted to leave and if the Equatorial states. Certainly the SPLA and the government can be proud of this moment, as the important generals and training officers is dying. Therefore, there is weakness in the SPLM-IO when they keeps silent of the death of central command.

The accountability by the rebels is not a good sign if they we’re to rule, they would just be other former warlords to rule the republic. As they cannot excel with information of the losses and then you cannot trust if they are really winning. Since their reports will be biased and less sincere as the withheld information is vital to their leadership, like the fall of the leader of Kenyi.

We can only wonder what sort of brigades that has been lost or vital positions, as the SPLM-IO want to seem stronger and wiser than they actually seem to be. SPLM/A are the winner in this one, even as the amount of rebels are rising on all fronts, and the wish for another less greedy and less corrupt Central Government. President Salva Kiir Mayardiit seen like a lost soul with the resignations and deflections, but with this he seems a bit stronger; since the SPLM-IO and Dr. Riek Machar cannot tell of their losses. It gets released with more people deserting from him as well, as SPLM/A has people creating their own outfits. The whole picture becomes more scattered as the famine and more issues approach.

Certainly, SPLM-IO has lost a vital and important General in Martin Kenyi, another reason for not telling about it and spelling out to the world about his fall. As his important position both locally and for training of soldiers must been seen as giant beating from SPLA. Therefore, President Kiir knows that his army has done something big in the late 2016 to weaken the rebels. Peace.

RI Report: The South Sudanese refugee influx on Northern Uganda and the strain of resources!

There is a massive surge of Refugees from South Sudan, as the crisis is prolonged, the influx of rebellion from the SPLM/A, and SPLM/A-IO, therefore the villagers and farmers will flee the war-torn republic. However, the Ugandan hospitality to these fleeing foreign citizens is more than what happens in the Western Hemisphere and Europe. Uganda has on average taken in 2,400 South Sudanese refugees. This has even created the largest refugee site in the world in Bidibidi on the borders to the Republic.

What this report show’s isn’t just the numbers of South Sudanese that has had to flee the republic, but also the challenges both the Ugandan Authorities, the UN Organizations together with NGOs are meeting. These isn’t small fries, this is the big bank and needed funds to secure the safety of these refugees. Even though the NGOs are struggling with the interference and authorities for their controlling efforts from the Office of Prime Minister and the Prime Minister Dr. Ruhakana Ruganda who has to be informed and accept the works from them.

Just take look!

The amount of Refugees in Uganda:

“Uganda currently faces the fastest-growing refugee crisis in the world. From July 2016 through January 2017, more than 512,000 South Sudanese refugees arrived in the country – an average of roughly 2,400 per day. This staggering rate of influx into one country, sustained over such a long period, has few precedents in recent years. As a consequence, Uganda has now become the top-ranking refugee- hosting country in Africa, with more than a million refugees in total. It also hosts what is likely the world’s largest refugee site, Bidibidi, with more than 270,000 residents” (Boyce & Vigaud-Walsh, P: 4, 2017).

Continued crisis in South Sudan:

“In short, there is no reason to believe that South Sudanese will be able to return home anytime soon, or that the influx of new arrivals will dissipate. Indeed, UNHCR currently projects that the number of South Sudanese refugees will increase from just over 600,000 today to 925,000 by the end of 2017” (Boyce & Vigaud-Walsh, P: 6, 2017).

Lacking shelter for the refugees:

“Humanitarians told RI that, per Ugandan refugee policy, refugees are expected to build their own shelters. This has the benefit of allowing refugees to design shelters that they want to live in, but it creates challenges when the shelter materials they need (such as lumber and grass) are in short supply, or when refugees physically cannot build their shelters or do not know how. Shelter kits and construction assistance for vulnerable refugees are insufficient and leave refugees – especially women and girls – at risk. For example, in Palorinya settlement, RI met an 18-year-old woman from Yei who came to Uganda alone after her grandmother went missing. RI accompanied her as she collected what she could of her shelter kit and transported it to her plot of land, where she had no instruction or assistance in assembling the shelter as dusk approached. She lamented to RI that she was likely to sleep in the open for an unforeseeable amount of time until she secured assistance” (Boyce & Vigaud-Walsh, P: 8, 2017).

Lacking funds and materials:

“Aid agencies reported that when core relief items were distributed, they nearly always included materials specific to women and girls’ needs – among them, dignity and maternity kits and hand-held solar lamps. Women interviewed did lament shortages of these materials but appreciated that such items were somewhat available, including at reception centers where refugees sometimes have to spend the night prior to transport to a settlement. In other words, it appears that funding shortages in Uganda did not lead to the prioritization of other relief materials at the expense of women’s dignity kits, as RI has unfortunately seen in many emergency situations. This recognition that women’s needs are as important as all others is fundamental to the Safe from the Start approach” (Boyce & Vigaud-Walsh, P: 11, 2017).

Ugandan Government:

“Another humanitarian explained that while Ugandan officials have not discussed “capping” arrivals from South Sudan, refugee fatigue remains a possibility, particularly at the local level. “In the beginning, as one district got an economic boost from the refugees, competition arose between the districts over who could receive more refugees,” the humanitarian said. “But the money for aid now is not what it was, and district governments are noticing this. Expectations are very high and may not be met. That could turn the tide.” This highlights the need for development support in refugee-hosting areas, which can be targeted at host populations in a way that refugee aid cannot” (Boyce & Vigaud-Walsh, P: 16, 2017). “According to multiple senior humanitarians with whom the RI team spoke, OPM exercises tight control over where NGOs can intervene and in which sectors they can work. NGOs are obliged to obtain permission from OPM in order to operate in refugee settlements. Further, OPM is a signatory to all partnership agreements between NGOs and UN agencies. Such measures are not unusual in refugee situations; however, humanitarians told RI that OPM personnel had used these measures as a means to interfere in decisions about partnerships and contracting. RI was told of multiple cases in which OPM personnel had requested that UN agencies or NGOs establish partnerships with specific national NGOs or contract with specific companies. Some humanitarians said that they had accepted this arrangement with resignation. “We do not have full control over our implementing partners, and there are some that we would not have picked otherwise,” one humanitarian said. “When the government disagrees with us, we lose … Everything becomes difficult at the institutional level if we put our foot down and try to say no to a partner.” Another humanitarian recounted that their aid agency had hired a private contractor after “so much pressure” from OPM staff, and that the contractor’s subsequent work was delayed and of poor quality, forcing the aid agency to take a loss. When humanitarians have resisted OPM’s entreaties, the government’s reaction has sometimes been unhelpful: RI was told of cases in which aid organizations were allegedly denied access to settlements after rejecting a contractor that OPM suggested, and of cases where OPM allegedly delayed approving projects for months because of disagreements over the choice of a contractor” (Boyce & Viguad-Walsh, P: 17-18, 2017).

Important recommendations:

“The Ugandan government should:

**Respect the competitive and transparent nature of partnership selection and contracting, and fully abide by ethical standards, including the provisions of Uganda’s Leadership Code Act;

  • • Ensure that any complaints pertaining to the management of the refugee response are fully investigated by the Inspectorate of Government and that any informers and witnesses are provided with appropriate protection; and
  • • Finalize the acceptance of the World Bank’s financing package in support of refugee-hosting areas.

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and Uganda’s Office of the Prime Minister should:

  • • Prioritize partnership applications from specialized trauma counseling agencies; and
  • • Review procedures for identifying people with specific needs at border points to determine if they are in compliance with UNHCR’s Emergency Handbook guidance, and conduct refresher trainings for all personnel responsible for such identification” (Boyce & Vigaud-Walsh, P: 3, 2017).

There we’re many more things to take from this, but there are just enough one man can focus from a hard-hitting report like this. Like all actors and people has to change as these challenges isn’t something that comes easy, the levels of refugees and their experiences needs treatment, food and water, they need a fresh start and peace. That doesn’t come easy, as many of them wants to go home, but the civil war and uncertainty leaves them in a limbo in Uganda. The United Nations Organizations and Office of Prime Minister of Uganda can only go so far. What is also worrying is that the locals and Ugandans expected to earn trade on refugees, instead of seeing the volatile situation the refugees are in and the hostile environment they left. As the Ugandan Authorities sent their army before the last peace-agreement between SPLM/A and SPLM-IO.

The Refugee crisis in Northern Uganda is serious and shouldn’t be forgotten, the donations and spending from international society should be a priority as the expected amount of refugees might be up to as high as 1 million South Sudanese by the end of 2017. No country or state has the economy to facilitate that; even the United States cannot afford refugees right now. If you interpret their bans of Syrian refugees right now! While the Ugandan republic has the ability and capacity to host this massive amounts of refugees, with the hesitation of getting knowledge of all activity from the UN Organizations and NGOs in the Refugee camps and fields. Peace.

Reference:

Boyce, Michael & Vigaud-Walsh, Francisca – ‘GETTING IT RIGHT: PROTECTION OF SOUTH SUDANESE REFUGEES IN UGANDA’ (March 2017), Refugees International – Field Report

South Sudan: Resignation letter from Deputy Spokesman NLC in SPLM-IO Col. Nyarji Jermlili Roman (11.03.2017)

South Sudan: Lt. Gen. Faiz Ismail Fatur Boy resignation from SPLM/A-IO to join National Salvation Force (NSF) – (09.03.2017)

South Sudan: Equatorian Governors in the SPLM-IO on Declaration of National Salvation of South Sudan (09.03.2017)

South Sudan: A Fruitful Discussion between Gen. Khalid Butrus Bora of SSDM/A and Gen. Thomas Cirillo Swaka of NSF (07.03.2017)

Oranto Launches $500-Million Oil Exploration Campaign in South Sudan (06.03.2017)

Oranto Petroleum will invest $500 million to develop South Sudan’s Block B3, launching a comprehensive exploration campaign starting immediately.

JUBA, South Sudan, March 6, 2017 –

  • EPSA contract signed today in Juba for South Sudan acreage.
  • Oranto Petroleum is the 90% shareholder and operator of large Block B3, plans to invest $500 million for exploration and development.
  • Government looks to new entrants to boost oil production.

Oranto Petroleum will invest $500 million to develop South Sudan’s Block B3, launching a comprehensive exploration campaign starting immediately. The Ministry of Petroleum and Oranto Petroleum Company, South Sudan signed the exploration and production sharing agreement for the block today in Juba.

The B3 area covers 25,150 square kilometers. Some aeromagnetic and seismic data have been acquired for the area but no wells have been drilled. The block is highly prospective, with productive parts of the Muglad Basin to the northwest and estimated reserves in place of more than 3 billion barrels of oil. The block is categorized as low risk, high reward. Under the EPSA, Oranto will be the technical operator and 90% shareholder of the block, with Nilepet holding a 10% stake.

“We believe the petroleum resources of Block B3 are vast. To reach our target of more than double current oil production, we need committed new entrants like Oranto,” said Minister of Petroleum Ezekiel Lol Gatkuoth. “The government is working hard to reinvigorate the petroleum industry in South Sudan by creating an enabling environment for International oil and gas companies to invest and operate. It is up to the oil companies to come in, explore and produce.”

“It’s an honor to formalize our entry into South Sudan with this EPSA,” said Prince Arthur Eze, Founder and Chairman of Oranto Petroleum. “Our company is at the vanguard of African firms exploring and developing African assets. This is the beginning of a long-term collaboration with Nilepet, the people of South Sudan and our partners to bring to light the immense potential of Block B3. Oranto is committed to an aggressive exploration work program that will benefit all stakeholders.”

The 120,000-square kilometer Block B was split by the government into the B1, B2 and B3 blocks in 2012. In Block B3 Oranto will work alongside the B1 and B2 partners, which include Total. During the first three-year exploration period Oranto will complete a further airborne geophysical survey; acquire and process 2D seismic; and assess existing data held by the government and former operators. The EPSA contract was facilitated by pan-African law firm Centurion Law Group. South Sudan is an established, world-class petroleum producing region, whose territory includes a large part of the Cretaceous rift basin system that has proved petroliferous in Chad and Niger as well as Sudan.

Atlas Petroleum International and Oranto Petroleum, the sister companies of the Atlas Oranto Group, own and operate 20 oil and gas acreages in 10 African countries: Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Liberia, Namibia, Nigeria, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal and South Sudan. Founded in Nigeria in 1991, the group is Africa’s largest indigenous explorer by acreage. Learn more at http://Atlas-Oranto.com.