Feb 27, 2006 - (Addis Ababa)
A tripartite agreement was signed in Addis Ababa on Monday among Ethiopia, Sudan and the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR), for the voluntary repatriation of more than 70 000 refugees to southern Sudan from Ethiopia.

The agreement sets out the roles and obligations of each of the three signatories in helping South Sudanese refugees return home voluntarily.

One provision is that the government in Khartoum ensure the refugees return to southern Sudan in safety and dignity. Addis Ababa has pledged to continue to safeguard the rights of the refugees who decide to stay in Ethiopia for now.

The UNHCR was required to ensure that logistical assistance and protection requirements for the refugees being repatriated home voluntarily are provided them and ensure their access to basic services and livelihood are met.

The agreement was signed by Tekeda Alemu, Minister of State in the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Brigadier Aleu Ayieny Aleu, Minister of State in the Sudan Ministry of Interior; and Jean-Marie Fakhouri, UNHCR's Director of Operations for the Sudan Situation.

Fakhouri said the Inter-Sudanese Comprehensive Peace Agreement of Naivasha, Kenya signed in January 2005, ending 21 years of conflict in Sudan, made the voluntary repatriation agreement possible.

"It is crucial that this agreement also sends a signal to international donors about the need for for more funding for repatriation and reintegration purposes," he said.

At issue here was the fulfilment of commitments donors made at the Oslo Donors' Conference in Sudan in April 2005, he said.

Fakhouri said the UN refugee agency needed 63 million dollars in 2006 for its Sudan repatriation operations. Its needs in 2005 had been 76 million dollars, of which it received only 42 million.

There are still 350 000 southern Sudanese refugees in neighbouring countries, including 73 774 still in Ethiopia in five camps in Gambella and Benshangul-Gumuz regions in the west.

Ethiopia is also host to nearly 27 500 other refugees - 16 070 from southern and central Somalia, 10 907 from Eritrea, and the rest, urban refugees, according to UNHCR.