Documents revealed that across the world today, there are about 29.4 million refugees and asylum seekers, more than the entire population of Australia. These are not economic migrants looking for a better job or a better life, but people who have abandoned everything to seek safety for themselves and their loved ones, often at the cost of living in destitution.
World Refugee Day shines a light on the rights, needs and dreams of refugees, helping to mobilize political will and resources so refugees can not only survive but also thrive. While it is important to protect and improve the lives of refugees every single day, international days like World Refugee Day help to focus global attention on the plight of those fleeing conflict or persecution. Many activities held on World Refugee Day create opportunities to support refugees.
Cognizant of the above fact, the universe is celebrating World Refugee Day this year with a theme “Every Action Counts”. “The COVID-19 pandemic and the recent anti-racism protests have shown us how desperately everyone needs to fight for a more inclusive and equal world: a world where no one is left behind. It has never been clearer that all of us have a role to play in order to bring about change.
Everyone can make a difference. This is at the heart of UNHCR’s World Refugee Day campaign. This year, we aim to remind the world that everyone, including refugees, can contribute to society and Every Action Counts in the effort to create a more just, inclusive, and equal world,” UNHCR reported.
Meanwhile according to the report, Ethiopia has a long-standing history of hosting refugees. The country maintains an open-door policy for refugee inflows and allows humanitarian access and protection to those seeking asylum on its territory.
In 2004, a National Refugee Proclamation was enacted based on the international and regional refugee conventions to which Ethiopia is a party (1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, and its 1967 Protocol and the 1969 Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa “OAU Convention”).
Ethiopia’s parliament adopted revisions to its existing national refugee law on 17 January 2019, making it one of the most progressive refugee policies in Africa. The Law provides refugees with the right to work and reside out of camps, access social and financial services, and register life events, including
births and marriages.
Continued insecurity within neighboring states has resulted in sustained refugee movements, either directly as a result of internal conflict and human rights abuses or as a result of conflict related to competition over scare natural resources and drought related food insecurity.
Accordingly, Ethiopia is one of the largest refugee asylum countries world-wide, reflecting the ongoing fragility and conflict in the region. The country provides protection to refugees from some 26 countries. Among the principal factors leading to this situation are predominantly the conflict in South Sudan, the prevailing political environment in Eritrea, together with conflict and drought in Somalia.
Eritreans, South Sudanese, Sudanese, Yemenis and Somalis originating from South and Central Somalia are recognized as prima facie refugees. Nationals from other countries undergo individual refugee status determination. The refugee flow to Ethiopia continued receiving during 2019, 96,749 persons seeking safety and protection within the country’s borders.
At the start of 2020, the nation hosted 735,204 refugees who were forced to flee their homes as a result of insecurity, political instability, military conscription, conflict, conflict-induced famine and other problems in their countries of origin.
The majority of refugees in Ethiopia are located in Tigray Regional State and some are in Afar Regional State; Benishangul-Gumuz Regional State; Gambella Regional State; and the Somali Regional State.
The South Sudanese are the largest refugee population in Ethiopia, totaling 329,123 persons at the close of the year. The Gambella Regional State received 8,219 new arrivals seeking asylum in 2019, in addition to individuals who spontaneously returned to South Sudan during the course of the year and were subject to further cross-border displacement.
Somalis constitute 26.1 percent of registered refugees, with 8,736 new arrivals in the Somali Region during 2019, contributing to a total population of 191,575 individuals. Fleeing drought and generalized instability that resulted in loss of livelihoods, families were subsequently accommodated across eight camps within the Somali region.
The Eritrean planned population comprised 139,281 individuals at the end of the year, with 72,737 new arrivals received within the Tigray and Afar Regions. The Sudanese caseload comprised 42,285 individuals, with 6,456 new arrivals in the Benishangul-Gumuz Region. Ethiopia also hosts an additional caseload drawn from across the wider region and beyond; including Kenya Borena and urban populations living in Addis Ababa (32,940), the report indicated
The Ethiopain Herlad Jun 20, 2020
BY HIZKEL HAILU
