Today, August 8^th, 2024, and after enduring 100 days in the Amhara region’s Awlala forest without any institutional support or protection, Sudanese refugees were forced to start their journey back returning to Sudan on foot.

On July 22^nd, 2024, Dr. Elshafie Khidir Saeed, Chairperson of Fikra for Studies, and Development, has written to Filippo Grandi, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), expressing deep concern over the deteriorating conditions faced by Sudanese refugees in Ethiopia’s Amhara region. The situation has been exacerbated by violent attacks resulting in multiple casualties, including fatalities. A detailed letter outlining the crisis and proposing solutions was sent to the UNHCR, but to date, there has been no meaningful response or action on the ground to resolve the situation. A copy of the letter is attached to this statement.

The ongoing crisis has tragically claimed precious lives of our fellow citizens as armed groups continue to target civilians. The failure of the UNHCR to provide adequate support and protection to these vulnerable refugees is unacceptable and a gross violation and disgraceful betrayal of its mandate. This triviality raises fundamental questions about the international community’s commitment to addressing the world’s largest displacement crisis.

We demand a thorough investigation into the UNHCR’s managing of the Sudanese refugee crisis in Ethiopia, Egypt, Uganda, South Sudan, and other countries. The agency’s apparent negligence is unconscionable. The international community must move beyond political slogans and empty promises to provide tangible assistance to the millions of Sudanese people affected by the humanitarian catastrophe that unfolded on April 15, 2023. This is the greatest humanitarian crisis of our time, which is being intentionally ignored.