Internally Displaced: Studies on Emergencies and Disaster Relief No. 8

The Sudan is yet another country suffering from displacement and the situation there is perhaps even more complex than in many other countries. The Sudan has been at war since independence intermitted only by a brief period of peace that lasted for a decade. The civil war that has been ravaging the country as well as the conflicts in the neighbouring countries have contributed to the difficult problem of population displacement in the region. Sweden has for many years contributed disaster relief to the Sudan. The Swedish humanitarian development assistance directed to meet the needs of the Sudanese people is currently at a stable 70 million SEK. It is very important to take into account the experiences gained on population displacement in order to prevent more disasters from taking place but also to improve the assistance given to the people who have already left their homes. With this aim, the Swedish Government has just adopted a new strategy for humanitarian assistance to Sudan, focusing on protection for the internally displaced, particularly women and children.
State of the art reviews concerning refugees and the displaced in Mozambique and Somalia have previously been published by the Nordic Africa Institute and Sida within the series Studies on Emergencies and Disaster Relief. This report is another contribution within that series and it will hopefully serve as a source to some of the research on population displacement from and in the Sudan. The report comprises a review of the literature and includes comments on priorities for future research.