More than 17,400 former South Sudanese refugees were recently issued with national identity cards, having returned to the country after years in exile. With support from a joint project by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency and the European Union (EU), the exercise led by the Directorate of Civil Registry, Nationality, Passport, and Immigration (DCRNPI) also targeted persons at risk of statelessness across the country.
UNHCR’s Assistant High Commissioner for Operations, Raouf Mazou, and the European Union (EU) Ambassador, Timo Olkkonen, participated in the issuing ceremony in Yei, South Sudan’s Central Equatoria state among the areas with the highest number of returning South Sudanese refugees in the country.
Speaking from the event, Ambassador Olkkonen highlighted that obtaining a nationality document is a fundamental right enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
“A nationality document ensures recognition by the state and facilitates access to essential services and opportunities where these are provided by the state. Above all, it plays a crucial role in building a united nation,” said Olkkonen. “I thank UNHCR and the Government of South Sudan for these achievements and I call on the Government to continue its efforts to guarantee rights of citizenship to all that are entitled to it.”
“The EU is committed to promoting integration, building resilience and addressing the risk of statelessness in South Sudan. This accomplishment underscores the EU’s commitment, to enhancing services across key sectors such as civil documentation, education, health, and livelihoods for internally displaced persons (IDPs), returnees, and host communities throughout South Sudan,” he added.
DCRNPI Director General Simon Majur highlighted the government’s dedication to enhancing access to civil documentation. “Having a national identity card empowers returnees and displaced communities to access essential services such as education, healthcare, social protection, and formal employment. We are committed to expanding access to civil documentation to support reintegration and national development,” said Majur.
“Today’s ceremony is particularly timely and comes within a few weeks of South Sudan formally acceding to the two Conventions of Statelessness, a significant step for a country that faces unique challenges to integrate large numbers of returning citizens from neighbouring countries,” said Mazou.
While most of the refugees coming back from Uganda and Kenya to South Sudan do so voluntarily, the situation is particularly dire for the hundreds of thousands who have come back from Sudan in adverse circumstances since April 2023. “Many had never lived in South Sudan, and for them, the risk of statelessness can be high and further action is needed,” said Mazou.
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The delegation also met with the County Commissioners from Yei, Lanya, Morobo and Kajo Keji and highlighted where the EU-funded Integrated Approach to Enhancing Protection, Resilience and Solutions in South Sudan (2023-2025) project is being implemented, supporting civil documentation, gender-based violence mitigation measures, livelihoods and education in these areas. The project is also implemented in Torit and Wau.
UNHCR and the European Union are committed to working together to provide protection and solutions to the forcibly displaced in South Sudan as well as persons at risk of statelessness, aiming to enhance initiatives promoting sustainability and self-reliance.
UNHCR remains committed to collaborating with the EU and government partners to build resilient communities and support pathways toward lasting peace and development.
