U.S. Ambassador to Egypt Visits Aswan Regarding Sudanese Refugees
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The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Egypt stated that the Resident Coordinator of the United Nations mission in Egypt, Elena Panova, and the representative of the UNHCR in Egypt, Hanan Hamdan, accompanied the U.S. Ambassador to Egypt, Hero Mustafa Garge, on a visit to Aswan in southern Egypt. The purpose of the visit was to familiarize the ambassador with the working environment related to responding to the emergency situation in Sudan, gain a firsthand view of the challenges, and advocate for national and local authorities on possible solutions.
The delegation also included Rasha El Shahaawy, the International Protection Officer, and Sean Jones, the Director of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) mission.
The Egyptian newspaper Al-Youm Al-Sabea reported that the delegation discussed with the governor of Aswan, Major General Ashraf Attia, Egypts role in receiving refugees and asylum seekers from the border crossings on the Egypt-Sudan border, such as the Qastal and Arqin crossings in Aswan. They also discussed the international response managed by the UNHCR to address the Sudanese crisis in collaboration with Egyptian authorities.
The meeting also covered discussions on preparing a comprehensive database through a comprehensive census and full registration of arrivals from Sudan since the beginning of the crisis until now by the UNHCR. The aim is to provide essential care, protection, and services for them.
The attendees emphasized that the UNHCRs action plan with the relevant ministries works to provide direct support to the host community and meet the needs of refugees, especially those newly arrived from Sudan, and particularly those most in need, integrating them into the local community.
It is worth mentioning that Egypt is the second country to host Sudanese fleeing from war. The numbers of Sudanese in Egypt, registered with the UNHCR, have quadrupled due to the recent war between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces, leading millions to flee to neighboring countries such as Egypt, Chad, and South Sudan. Egypt has received 450,000 Sudanese from April 14, 2023, until today, according to the data from the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The United States is the largest supporter of the UNHCR, providing approximately 32 million last year as support for the commission. This comes from the required budget of 151 million allocated by the UNHCR for the needs of refugees, asylum seekers, the Sudanese war crisis, and other crises that have left thousands of refugees and asylum seekers.
