Assosa, Ethiopia, 1 May 2018: Mr. Ashadli Hassen, President of the Benishangul-Gumuz National Regional State (BGNRS) yesterday reaffirmed his Administration’s commitment to support the self-reliance of refugees and host communities as the regional capital, Assosa, hosts the first of a series of regional events to launch the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF).
The CRRF, a new global approach to strengthen the protection of refugees, was launched at the national level in November 2017 and serves as a vehicle for implementing the nine pledges Ethiopia made at the Leaders’ Summit on Refugees in September 2016 in New York. Through the pledges, Ethiopia seeks to promote refugees’ self-reliance through an improved and sustainable response that combines wider support to host communities, furthering peaceful coexistence and inclusion of refugees into national development plans.
“We have been hosting refugees for a long time and the pressure that a protracted refugee situation puts on the environment in particular is huge”, Mr. Ashadi said. “But we would like to focus on the positive side of events and see refugees as potential contributors to the Region’s development and work with the federal government, the UN and other stakeholders to realize the objectives of the CRRF.”
The Regional President underlined the need to integrate services for the benefit of both refugees and their hosts and singled out education, health, nutrition, water and livelihoods as areas that need urgent and immediate intervention.
Ato Zeynu Jemal, Deputy Director of Ethiopia’s Administration for Refugee Returnee Affairs (ARRA), said that providing refugees with only basic assistance is no longer tenable and the pledges represent the Government’s resolve to fundamentally change the way we respond to the needs of refugees.
“The nine pledges are aimed at helping refugees become productive global citizens in line with one of the principles of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals which seeks to leave no one behind,” he said, stressing the need for a broad-based partnership for the successful implementation of the pledges.
The Deputy Director of ARRA extended his appreciation to the people and regional government of the Benishangul-Gumuz region for their long-standing generous hospitality to refugees and called upon them to maximize their support for the realization of the objectives of the CRRF.
Ethiopia is one of the 193 UN Member States that adopted the New York Declaration in September 2016 and pledged to undertake a number of policy measures to transform the lives of refugees, including though the expansion of its out of camp policy, issuing work permits and other vital documents to refugees, and allowing gainful employment, including through job creation in industrial parks.
Mr. Matthew Crentsil, the Deputy Representative of UNHCR Ethiopia, thanked the people and government of the region for “generously and unconditionally” hosting refugees for a long time. He also recognized the positive steps already taken by the government to implement the pledges, including the registration of refugees’ vital events and the increase in school enrolment of refugee children.
Reaffirming UNHCR’s resolve to support the government implement the pledges as part of the CRRF, Mr. Crentsil said “launching the CRRF in the refugee-hosting regions should send the message that it is about time to start practical implementation of the new approach”.
Representing the refugee community, Mr. Gabriel Majok, said that if supported, refugees are ready and able to become self-reliant and less dependent on humanitarian aid. “Some refugees in the camps are already cultivating and harvesting, while others are college graduates with the requisite knowledge and skills to work.” Mr. Majok called upon the international community to support refugees to achieve greater independence.
The launch event in Assosa was attended by representatives of a wide range of stakeholders, including refugees, host communities, regional government bureaus, UN and NGO partners, as well as the World Bank who all voiced support to the initiative and expressed readiness to help Ethiopia and UNHCR and its partners to successfully implement the nine pledges.
In the coming week, similar launch events are scheduled to be held in the Gambella, Tigray, Somali and Afar regions.
Working under the overall supervision of the Office of the Prime Minister, the government has developed a road map to guide the implementation of the pledges and established a Steering Committee to oversee the process. The Ministry of Finance and Economic Development and the Administration for Refugee and Returnee Affairs co-chair the Steering Committee jointly with UNHCR.
The pledges are in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Ethiopia’s second Growth and Transformation Plan (GTPII).
The CRRF was adopted within the framework of the New York Declaration, where all UN Member States reaffirmed their commitment to the rights and obligations of refugees under international law.
Currently, Ethiopia hosts over 916,000 refugees, mainly from South Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea and Sudan. Over 63,000 of them are hosted in five refugee camps in the Benishangul-Gumuz Region.
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For further information, please contact:
Mr. Suleyman Ali, (ARRA)-0911079548, e-mail: suleyman8577@gmail.com
Mr. Kisut Gebreegziabher (UNHCR)-0911 208901, e-mail: gegziabk@unhcr.org