UN Authority Figures

U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Executive Committee: Sudan

Refugee women from Darfur have been victims of rape at the hands of the government-backed Janjaweed. They are also attacked and raped when they gather firewood outside refugee camps. (ABC News, May 31, 2009)

Mission of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees: "UNHCR is mandated by the United Nations to lead and coordinate international action for the worldwide protection of refugees and the resolution of refugee problems. UNHCR's primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees. In its efforts to achieve this objective, UNHCR strives to ensure that everyone can exercise the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another State, and to return home voluntarily." (UNHCR Website, "Mission Statement")

Sudan's Term of office: 1979-

Sudan's Record on the Treatment of Refugees:
"[N]early 2.7 million civilians have been internally displaced, and approximately 250,000 refugees have fled to neighboring Chad since the conflict in Darfur began in 2003...Approximately 379,000 Sudanese refugees resided in neighboring countries because of the conflicts in the south and Darfur...On August 19, an IDP spokesman reported that janjaweed raped two girls and one woman after they left the camp to gather firewood...There was a report that the government destroyed thousands of homes in an IDP settlement known as Mandela, located near Khartoum...the government has not established a system for providing protection to refugees. In practice the government did not provide protection against the expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or freedom would be threatened...Refugees were vulnerable to arbitrary arrests, harassment, and beatings because applicants did not receive identification cards while awaiting government determination of refugee status. Refugees could not become resident aliens or citizens, regardless of their length of stay. Refugees were not entitled to work permits." (US State Department's Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2008, Sudan)