Although the refugee problem continues to be a persistent challenge on the African continent, we can tackle it by making the inclusion of refugees in national system and plans a reality, according to the UNHCR Representative to African Union.
Speaking during the commemoration of the World Refugee Day 2023 today, UNHCR Representative to African Union and UNECA, Buti Kale, said the refugee problem continues to be a persistent challenge on the African continent due to complex factors.
There are those who have been forcibly displaced from their country and in exile, but not all hope is lost because there is a way to make it possible for them to regain their dignity to recover their hope, he added.
According to him, the core of global compact of refugees is a principle of burden and responsibility sharing and that can only happen if people who have been uprooted and afar from their own home countries are able to feel at home.
To make them feel that and accepted, upholding a number of rights that are enshrined in the international and regional refugee conventions and human rights instrument is essential, the representative said.
Chairperson of the PRC Sub-Committee on Refugees and IDPs at AU, Mahlaba Ali Mamba said since the beginning of this fiscal year 2023, we are witnesses of the huge perennial problems that our fellow brothers and sisters are facing across the globe.
“We know what is happening in Ukraine and Russia, beyond our continent and within our continent. We know what is happening in Sudan. We know the results are overwhelming and not one single organization has a muscle to tackle these problems.”
He added that we have discussed about ways of mapping out just how we can collaborate and coordinate our efforts to try to response to this global problems.
It will provide opportunity to build on the significant progress made by governments and other stakeholders towards the implementation of pledges and initiatives announced since 2019.
The Department of Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development of the African Union Commission, in partnership with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), organized the event.
Source: Ethiopian News Agency