7. Returnees 108
7.4 Access to basic services for returnees
See also information included in section 5. General humanitarian situation in Darfur, which is likely to also affect IDPs and Returnees.
7.4.1. Access to basic services for returnees (general overview)
The UN OCHA ‘Humanitarian Bulletin’ covering 28 January to 24 February 2019 reported that “From 3 to 6 February 2019, the Recovery, Returns, and Reintegration (RRR) sector carried out voluntary verification missions to five return villages in Katayla locality (Batikha, Haraza, Eraida Al Dwenki, Aradiba Bawat, and Gibaiabish), and one return village in Ed El Fursan locality (Muaqina) to verify voluntariness of returns, number of returnees and to assess needs *…+ According to community leaders, people had fled their homes following fighting between two tribes in the area in 2007 and 2013 and returned following reconciliation in 2015, which contributed to stabilization in the area.
These returns took place between 2015 and 2018”.494 According to the same source the returnees did not raise any “major protection concerns or security incidents” since they returned to their villages but were “concerned about the lack of basic services, such as weather, health, and education”.495
UNICEF reported in its May 2019 Humanitarian Situation Report that “Humanitarian needs in Sudan in the first quarter of the year persist [...] Returnees also require humanitarian assistance, as many return areas lack basic services and factors including food insecurity, malnutrition, protection risks, inter-communal violence and conflict fuel continued need. Rising food prices have decreased household purchasing power and reduced food access among the most vulnerable”.496
494 UN OCHA, Sudan. Humanitarian Bulletin, Issue 02, 28 January – 24 February 2019, 24 February 2019, p. 2
495 UN OCHA, Sudan. Humanitarian Bulletin, Issue 02, 28 January – 24 February 2019, 24 February 2019, p. 3
496 UNICEF, Sudan: Humanitarian Situation Report, First Quarter, 5 May 2019, Situation Overview and Humanitarian Needs, p. 2
113 The Displacement Tracking Matrix Sudan of the International Organization for Migration covering the period July to September 2019 reported that in East Darfur it “verified and registered” returnees to the Asalaya locality and “noted many challenges still facing the returnee communities in Asalaya locality: limited access to food, public defecation as a result of no access to latrines, poor shelter conditions and insufficient crop production due the shortage of rainfall”.497
Similarly, the report stated that in North Darfur returnees in Alkuma locality faced “the provision of essential services proved a severe challenge – with the closest water supply to be found in Alkuma town, nine kilometers away. Tensions also rose over the availability and ownership of land. By the time IOM conducted its mission to Abu Gau, the government of North Darfur declared the situation resolved with peaceful coexistence between the two tribes, and the reconstruction of a functioning borehole within the village. Problematically, however, sanitation remains dire, with no existing household latrines, and only one (albeit unfunctional) health clinic in the vicinity”.498 In contrast, it noted with regards to returnees in South Darfur, Katayla locality, that “returnees were engaged in livelihood activities (such as farming and market access) and were able to live with relative normality. Many families had returned with their children, cattle, and personal belongings, thus indicating the intention for a sustainable and permanent return”.499
In an article published in the Forced Migration Review in October 2019 Zurab Elzarov, Chief of Joint Operations Centre, UNAMIC, stated:
The experience of those who have returned permanently so far, however, calls into question the overall sustainability of returns. Many people have reported facing significant challenges in rebuilding their lives, including a lack of adequate basic services and livelihoods opportunities. Moreover, for some people, disputes over land ownership have been a critical issue; in some returns areas, land has been settled by others since the original displacement took place.500
7.4.2. Access to housing for returnees
Amongst the sources consulted within the timeframe set for this update, no specific information was located on this issue. For a historical overview consult the first edition of this report:
❖ ACCORD, Darfur COI Compilation, September 2017
7.4.3. Access to food and water for returnees
Amongst the sources consulted within the timeframe set for this update, no specific information was located on this issue. For a historical overview consult the previous two editions:
497 International Organization for Migration (IOM), Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) Sudan, July – September 2019, 1 December 2019, Returnees, East Darfur, p. 2
498 International Organization for Migration (IOM), Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) Sudan, July – September 2019, 1 December 2019, Returnees, North Darfur, p. 3
499 International Organization for Migration (IOM), Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) Sudan, July – September 2019, 1 December 2019, Returnees, South Darfur, p. 3
500 Zurab Elzarov (Forced Migration Review), Emerging options for durable solutions in Darfur, October 2019, p.
56
114
❖ ARC, Darfur Country Report, January 2019
❖ ACCORD, Darfur COI Compilation, September 2017
7.4.4. Access to healthcare for returnees
Amongst the sources consulted within the timeframe set for this update, no specific information was located on this issue. For a historical overview consult the previous two editions:
❖ ARC, Darfur Country Report, January 2019
❖ ACCORD, Darfur COI Compilation, September 2017
7.4.5. Access to livelihood opportunities for returnees
Maddy Crowther, Co-Executive Director of Waging Peace, published a report in January 2019 on the risk associated for returned Darfuris and consulted a range of organisations and individuals, amongst others an NGO, only identified as B, which stated that “IDPs continue to face a bleak existence in Darfur with little prospect for large-scale returns. Over the last few years donor fatigue has settled into Darfur as a consequence of the protracted nature of the conflict(s). This has left funding shortfalls amongst UN agencies resulting in a cut of rations amongst other things. At the same time IDPs are only able to engage in livelihood activities at often great risk. Bandits and pro-Government forces target IDPs engaging in economic activities such as firewood gathering, farming and so forth, as they view IDP activity as a threat to their new found supremacy and material gains during the conflict(s). Furthermore, the deteriorating economic situation in Sudan is impacting negatively upon IDPs. These three factors combine to create a difficult environment for IDPs – whether in terms of physical or economic security”.501
Radio Dabanga reoprted that the tribal chief of a “native administration of East Jebel Marra locality
*Daramo+” warned local authorities in August 2019 “not to go ahead with development planning for the Kindinjeir area until the rightful residents have returned” as “planning the area before the return of its residents is a sign that endorses ownership of the lands to the new settlers”.502
Sudan Tribune reported on 8th December 2018 that “the government of Central Darfur State has begun to hand over residential plots to the first batch of refugees returning from Chad. The director of the Higher Council for Peace and Voluntary Return in Central Darfur Aamer Youssef said the government started to hand over residential plots to 352 refugees who arrived at Um Dokhon locality from refugee camps in eastern Chad”.503
7.4.3. Access to education for returnees
See also information included in section 3.2.6 Attacks on schools and teachers.
501 Waging Peace (Maddy Crowther), Risks on return for Darfuris in Sudan, January 2019, 5. Security and humanitarian situation in Darfur, c. Fate of returnees, p. 14
502 Radio Dabanga, South Darfur tribal chief: Suspend planning until displaced have returned, 5 August 2019
503 Sudan Tribune, Central Darfur hands over residential plots to returnees, 9 December 2018
115 Amongst the sources consulted within the timeframe set for this update, no specific information was located on this issue. For a historical overview consult the first edition of this report:
❖ ACCORD, Darfur COI Compilation, September 2017