| | Despite the formal independence of Eritrea in May 1993, the Eritrean refugees in Sudan continue to live as card-carrying second-class citizens in sub-human conditions in camps and settlements, stranded by the political wrangle between Sudan and Eritrea and the perpetual shortage of funds of the ever stressed United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The situation of ten million African refugees who are currently dispersed round the continent poses a serious challenge to international organisations. In particular, the UNHCR in Geneva and the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in Addis Ababa need to work out new strategies that could bring about lasting solution to the apparently insoluble problems that face these refugee communities. The issue of the half million Eritrean refugees who remain in Sudan more than three years after their country achieved independence illustrates these problems. |
