As the protracted emergency enters its sixth year, the South Sudan situation remains the largest refugee situation on the African continent. There are over 2.2 million refugees in Sudan, Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya and the Democratic Republic of the Congo and a further 1.8 million people displaced internally in South Sudan. The situation continues to be characterized as a children’s crisis with children constituting over 65 percent of the refugee population.

The dire crisis in the Central African Republic continues to trigger massive forced displacement, increasing pressure on resources and living conditions in host communities and countries. Intense militia activity and inter-community violence hampers humanitarian access and exposes civilians to serious protection risks. According to OCHA, CAR remains the country with the highest humanitarian needs per capita, with 50 per cent of the population having to rely on humanitarian assistance to survive, while 25 per cent is displaced either internally or in a neighbouring country.

Highlighting statelessness in the 12 Member States of the ICGLR, and what is being done to eradicate it. Media coverage, testimonies of stateless persons, reports on the issue and all documents pertaining to the Brazzaville Declaration process can be consulted in English, French, Portuguese and Arabic.

In September 2019, with the aim of bringing decision making closer to the point of delivery, UNHCR opened its Regional Bureau for the East, Horn of Africa and Great Lakes Region (EHAGL). It is located in Nairobi, Kenya and covers 11 operations: Burundi, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. Within the EHAGL region, two situations are managed by the Bureau: the South Sudan Regional Refugee Situation and the Burundi Regional Refugee Situation. The Bureau has accountability for strategic decision-making, regional prioritization, oversight of integrity issues, and quality assurance, and possesses the technical capacity to support country operations in a wide range of sectors such as education, child protection, economic inclusion and durable solutions.

Since the start of the conflict in Sudan in mid-April, large numbers of civilians have been forced to flee, including people who were already internally displaced and refugees from other countries who had sought safety in Sudan. Hundreds of thousands of people have fled into neighbouring countries or returned home in adverse circumstances – notably to the Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia and South Sudan. Others self-relocated within Sudan.