Prime
Igad to establish regional refugee advisory forum
R-L: Minister of Relief, Disaster Preparedness and Refugees, Eng Hillary Onek, Minister for East African Community Affairs, Ms Rebecca Kadaga and Ministers from IGAD Member States hold the Munyonyo Declaration on durable solutions for refugees in the Horn and East Africa region on June 16, 2023. PHOTO | FRANK BAGUMA
What you need to know:
- Mr Charles Obila, the coordinator for IGAD Support Platform, said the forum will enhance refugee participation and engagement with governments and donors to address refugee problems across Igad member countries.
The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad) is planning to establish a regional refugee advisory forum for member states.
Mr Charles Obila, the coordinator for IGAD Support Platform, said the forum will enhance refugee participation and engagement with governments and donors to address refugee problems across Igad member countries.
“The main purpose of this initiative is to create a space where the voices of refugees are heard and where policies and programmes that affect their lives are shaped. The initiative aims at fostering greater solidarity, understanding, and collaboration among all stakeholders involved in supporting refugees and displaced persons in our region,” he said.
Mr Obila was speaking during the opening of a two-day Igad consultative meeting with governments, refugees’ representatives and stakeholders on the establishment of a regional refugee advisory forum in Kampala yesterday.
He further revealed that there are more than 23 million displaced people comprising more than five million refugees and close to 19 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) in its regional block.
Mr John Bosco Ssentamu, the national field/emergency coordinator for the Department of Refugees at the Office of the Prime Minister, said: “There is a need for a paradigm shift on the way we are doing things, such that we can empower refugees to contribute to national economies,” Mr Ssentamu said.
Mr Paul Dime Zbigniew, a senior community-based protection officer at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Uganda, said the country has been a leading example of nations adopting a comprehensive refugee-response framework.
Mr Zbigniew said UNHCR values the participation of refugees, especially in implementing policies.
“This forum will give us the opportunity to actually highlight [refugee] challenges through a regional body,” Mr Zbigniew said.
The refugees, who attended the consultative meeting, welcomed the idea of the forum.
Ms Adliea Achuil, a refugee from Kenya, said the forum will foster their participation in decision making and impact on education, health and their general livelihood.
Igad mandate, membership
IGAD was formed to enhance regional cooperation in three priority areas of food security and environmental protection, economic cooperation, regional integration and social development, and peace and security. It is made up of eight-member countries including Uganda, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan and South Sudan.
