South Sudan's English Daily Newspaper
"We Dare where others fear"

By Benjamin Takpiny
The government on Thursday launched their pledges for Global Compact on Refugees and Stakeholder Engagement aimed to enhance services to refugees and host communities in the country and foster conditions for returnees.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Ambassador James Morgan said that what is very important in the world today is peace.
He said that South Sudan opened its borders to refugees and they are working under the leadership of President Salva Kiir to bring peace in Sudan.
“We are working for peace for the situation in Sudan to be brought to an end, we are not giving up and we are doing that because Sudanese are our brothers,” said during the launching ceremony held in Juba.
Morgan said that refugees and returnees are very important people, adding that some of them have been refugees before.
UNHCR Representative, Marie-Helene Verney welcomed the pledges of the government and said that they will see a way forward to cooperate with the government and support the refugees.
She said that while supporting refugees there is need also to get resources to support the host communities.
The Minister of Interior Angelina Teny said that all people have at least been refugees and returnees before, adding that it’s good to support and take care of them.
She said that South Sudan doesn’t discriminate the refugees as the refugees in the country have access to land and education.
Teny the children of the refugees study in the same schools with the host community.
She said that the South Sudan government is pushing for peaceful resolution of the ongoing conflict in neighboring Sudan because of the impact it has had on South Sudan.
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), said that more than 400,000 returnees including Sudanese refugees have arrived in South Sudan since outbreak of conflict on April 15 2023.
South Sudan also heavily relies on the oil pipeline in Port Sudan to transport its crude oil.
Teny said the lack of humanitarian funding from donors has left both refugees and the host community facing challenges of feeding and access to other essential services.
The government of the Republic of South Sudan in 2019 made five (5) pledges, to enhance services to refugees and host communities in the country and foster conditions for returnees.
Such commitments were made in the areas of Education, Jobs and livelihoods, Environment, Solutions, and statelessness. In preparation for the 2023 Global Refugee Forum (GRF), the government of South Sudan completed a stocktaking exercise of its previous commitments, achievements and challenges.
In view of the Global Refugee Forum (GRF) in December 2023, the government further strengthens its pledges in existing and new areas. The processes were led by the National Technical Committee on Durable Solutions (NTC), an entity in charge of Durable Solutions and GRF coordination in the country, co-led by the Commission for Refugee Affairs (CRA) and Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (RRC) both in charge of Refugees and Stateless people, Returnees and IDPs respectively with support from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).
The GRF pledges are in line with the country’s vision, commitment, and strategic focus to include refugees and other forcibly displaced populations and stateless persons in national systems, planning, and services through participatory and area-based approaches.
These pledges are drawn from and embedded in the overarching frameworks of the Government such as: The Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan (RARCISS): addressing root causes of displacement is an integral part of Chapter III, and other provisions of Chapter IV, V, and VI covers the need for inclusive participation and engagement of the displaced population as well as inclusion in economic planning. Revised National Development Strategy (R-NDS) 2021 – 2024:
The country’s strategic document which sets the goals and objectives to achieve the R-ARCISS with an overall aim to consolidate peace and stabilize the economy through key development and peacebuilding milestones.