الوافدون من جنوب السودان إلى ولاية النيل الأبيض (السودان)‎ ليسوا مواطنين و لا نازحين و لا لاجئين : ماذا هم ?

Abstract EN

This paper discusses the situation and living conditions of the South Sudanese refugees (whom the Sudan Government calls “arrivals”) in Sudan- who now reside mainly in the White Nile state (58 %) and Khartoum (23%) and the rest in the other parts of Sudan; however, the focus here is on those in the White Nile.

It is not possible to use the conventional perspectives in refugee studies to understand this situation because it is very complex.

It is also not possible to apply the terms usually used to describe and define the categories of refugees, IDPs, asylum seekers, stateless , and „other people of concern‟, or analyze their conditions – as these “arrivals” do not fall in any of those categories.

Nor is it possible to suggest any of the three known solutions for refugees: repatriation, resettlement, and reintegration.

Unlike the handling of straightforward cases of refugees , the international community does not have any laws or means to pressure or sanction either Sudan or South Sudan governments for the way they treat their refugees/”arrivals”.

This is so because there is no such term as “arrivals” and no standard international procedures to apply in such unprecedented cases or to penalize the side which does not comply with them.

Sudan and South Sudan are acting the same way European and some other countries do: to singularly adopt a political stance that would guaranty the security of their societies and national borders.

The paper suggests that new perspectives are required in refuges‟ studies in order to address such novel situations.