That should not require refugees to put themselves in danger by returning to unsafe locations, particularly with reports of confirmed risks and violations. Those are the conditions that should prompt the UNHCR to provide the necessary aid to the Sudanese people forced into these circumstances.
More specifically, the 1951 Geneva Convention and its 1967 Protocol – the core legal documents outlining the UNHCR's duties – detail the rights of refugees and the aid and services that should be provided to them.
They clearly define the high commissioner's role in supervising the implementation of international agreements ensuring refugee protection. The primary principle of the UNHCR's work is to "ensure they can reach safety and are not returned to situations where their lives or freedom would be in danger."
Conflict on both sides of a border
Since April 2024, the Ethiopian government has not been in full control of the Amhara region, where armed clashes broke out between the Ethiopian National Defence Force and a militias known as Fano. These groups were a major part of the Ethiopian civil war between the Ethiopian army and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) that began in November 2020.
The security situation in Amhara, which is adjacent to the Sudanese border, has left Sudanese refugees in a precarious position. They have fled civil war at home only to arrive at a place of shelter in the grip of another armed conflict.
These circumstances are no place for the bureaucratic pretexts used by the UNHCR to justify failing to live up to its mandate for the people caught in this trap, not least amid the lack of government control from Ethiopia.
Read more: Darfur's fractured politics add to the complexity and danger of Sudan's civil war
Traditional and sustainable solutions offered by the UNHCR under international law include three options: voluntary repatriation, local integration, or resettlement in a third country.
These are, in effect, what the Sudanese refugees have asked for during their 75 days in the open wilderness of Olala. In the meantime, their conditions worsen as the region's security situation deteriorates. There are reports of armed groups kidnapping refugees – 48 so far – and demanding ransom for their release, amounting to about $5,200 per person.
Wider problems for Sudanese refugees
The failure of the international community to resolve the problems faced by Sudanese refugees extends beyond Ethiopia.
The UNHCR's inability to register Sudanese refugees in Egypt has attracted criticism. Initial appointments essential for formalising their status in the host country are delayed until mid-2025.
While the world was quick to recognise the catastrophe in Sudan as the largest current refugee crisis on the globe – with nearly 12mn displaced, compared to approximately 7.2mn from Syria, 6.4mn from Afghanistan, and 6mn from Ukraine – the attention it received did not match the scale of the disaster.
We have not seen specialised programs for Sudanese refugees along the lines of the Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan (3RP) for Syrian refugees, which was supported by UNHCR and the United Nations Development Programme.
There are no specific resettlement initiatives like those run by the Canadian government for Syrian refugees, or the UK's Syrian Vulnerable Person Resettlement Programme. There were similar efforts for Syria in Japan, Germany, the United States, Austria and the Netherlands, but not for Sudan.
This shows that international support is not made available equally for all.
There is no denying that despite regional interventions that have fuelled the conflict, the current crisis in Sudan is fundamentally a Sudanese issue caused by Sudanese parties responsible for the suffering inflicted on their people.
But the pledges of the international community form the fundamental basis of international humanitarian law, and there can be no valid reason or justification for failing to uphold commitments made since the end of World War II.
These commitments are not merely acts of charity that warrant gratitude, but essential rights and obligations aimed at addressing the historical legacy of colonial exploitation that hindered the natural development of countries and societies in the Global South.
