{"id":8336,"date":"2021-06-19T21:39:31","date_gmt":"2021-06-19T21:39:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/?p=8336"},"modified":"2022-06-11T08:07:42","modified_gmt":"2022-06-11T08:07:42","slug":"interview-with-mr-j-siffointe-unhcr-rep-for-somalia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/2021\/06\/19\/interview-with-mr-j-siffointe-unhcr-rep-for-somalia\/","title":{"rendered":"INTVW with Mr. J. Siffointe UNHCR rep. for Somalia"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On the eve of World Refugee Day marked every year on 20 June, UNHCR Representative for Somalia, Johann Siffointe, spoke with Hiiraan Online about the status of refugees, returnees and internally displaced people and the role his agency plays in protecting the forcibly displaced.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Q: <\/strong><\/span><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">How many refugees, asylum seekers, returnees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) are in Somalia?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>A: <\/strong><\/span>Somalia\u00a0is\u00a0host\u00a0to more than 25,000\u00a0refugees and asylum seekers\u00a0majority of whom are fleeing war or persecution from countries such as Ethiopia, Yemen, Syria, Eritrea and Tanzania.\u00a0\u00a0Over 700,000 Somalis are also refugees in countries across the region such as Kenya, Ethiopia, Yemen, Uganda, Djibouti and Eritrea.\u00a0\u00a0As the situation has continued to improve over the years, UNHCR has supported the return of more than 90,000 Somalis from countries of asylum through the\u00a0Voluntary Repatriation\u00a0Process (Volrep) and\u00a0Assisted Spontaneous Returnees (ASR). More Somalis have been returning home spontaneously to take part in rebuilding the nation.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Somalia also has one of the largest IDP populations globally estimated at 2.9 million people. The displacement is mainly driven by conflict, floods and droughts.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Q:<\/span> <\/strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Is displacement unique to Somalia or it a reflection of a global crisis?<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>A: <\/strong>Displacement is not unique to Somalia. More than 82 million people are currently living in forced displacement globally due to persecution, protracted<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0wars, emerging conflicts and the effects of climate change.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0To put this in perspective, the current number of displaced people is larger than the entire populations of Somalia, Rwanda and Kenya combined. Sadly, most displacements remain in the African continent with Somalia being one of the main source countries of refugees.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-8336 gallery-columns-1 gallery-size-medium'><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/2021\/06\/19\/interview-with-mr-j-siffointe-unhcr-rep-for-somalia\/4444444444-2\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"198\" src=\"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/4444444444-1-300x198.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/4444444444-1-300x198.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/4444444444-1-1024x674.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/4444444444-1-768x506.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/4444444444-1-310x205.jpeg 310w, https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/4444444444-1.jpeg 1080w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Q:<\/span> <\/strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">What is the status of refugees and displaced people in Somalia and what impact has COVID-19 had on their living conditions?<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\"><strong>A: <\/strong>For years, Somalia has maintained an open-door policy. Refugees live among locals in urban centers and can move around the country freely. However, refugees face many challenges including language barrier, limited job opportunities and poor living conditions.\u00a0While we still do not have widespread outbreaks\u00a0of COVID-19 cases\u00a0in refugee populations\u00a0or in the country in general, we are aware of refugees who have contracted the virus. Refugees are also struggling to meet their basic needs or provide for their families due to loss of jobs as well price increase of basic commodities. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, we have been\u00a0working closely with government\u00a0and aid agencies\u00a0to\u00a0ensure refugees who contract the virus are isolated and treated.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\">Most\u00a0IDPs\u00a0in\u00a0Somalia live in\u00a0makeshift shelters\u00a0where they are exposed to extreme weather conditions,\u00a0disease and fire outbreaks. They lack basic services such as clean water and proper sanitation and are at high risk of eviction as they lack\u00a0security of tenure. Women in IDPs settlements are also at a higher risk of\u00a0sexual and gender-based violence.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Q:<\/span> <\/strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">What are some of UNHCR\u2019s interventions to protect refugees and displaced families?<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\"><strong>A: <\/strong>UNHCR has been operating in Somalia for close to 30 years providing protection and lifesaving assistance to those forced to flee their homes as well as the host communities. We support communities with\u00a0cash grants, emergency and provisional shelters,\u00a0access to education, healthcare, livelihood initiatives and community-based projects.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\">Following the outbreak of the COVID pandemic, we stepped up our response by putting measures in place to protect refugees and communities hosting them from contracting the virus. Such measures include\u00a0sensitization campaigns, distribution of cash and food assistance,\u00a0setting\u00a0up hand washing facilities, distribution of soap\u00a0and\u00a0making masks available.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Q: <\/span><\/strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">How has UNHCR supported government agencies to ensure refugees and displaced people find lasting solutions?<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\"><strong>A: <\/strong>UNHCR has enjoyed a strong partnership with the authorities in Somalia since it made its footprint in the country 30 years ago. We provide material and technical support to federal and regional states that offer protection to refugees and other displaced populations. They include the\u00a0National Commission for Refugees and IDPs (NCRI),\u00a0<em>Jubbaland<\/em>\u00a0Refugees and IDPs Affairs Commission (<em>JRIA<\/em>),\u00a0National Displacement and Refugee Agency (NDRA),\u00a0South\u00a0West Commission for Refugees and IDPs\u00a0(SWCCRI) and Puntland\u2019s\u00a0Ministry of Interior Federal Affairs and Democratisation (MoIFAD).<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\">Our material support includes construction and rehabilitation of community-based projects in areas with high populations of refugees, returnees and IDPs. Such projects consist of schools, hospitals, police posts, markets, boreholes and shelters. Technical support to the government includes drafting of\u00a0key legal instruments that are vital in protecting the rights of refugees and other displaced populations. Last year for example, UNHCR offered expert support to the\u00a0National Commission on Refugee and IDPs (NCRI)\u00a0in drafting the Refugee Bill. We also supported the\u00a0government in drafting a National IDP law.\u00a0Both the Refugee and National IDP Bills are\u00a0awaiting debate by the Somali Lower House of Parliament.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\">As part of our COVID-19 response, UNHCR will continue to support health ministries and local hospitals with\u00a0essential\u00a0medical\u00a0supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE)\u00a0consisting of\u00a0medical tents\u00a0and beds, oxygen cylinders,\u00a0surgical masks and gowns,\u00a0gloves, face shields and sanitizers.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Q:<\/span><\/strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"> What is your current financial outlook this year?<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\"><strong>A:<\/strong> We are living in unprecedent times with our donors equally grappling with the economic effects of the coronavirus as well as multiple humanitarian emergences across the world. Out of the USD 157.7 funding requirement for UNHCR Somalia, we have only received 12 percent to date. We continue to lobby for more funding to help us protect vulnerable refugees and displaced families.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Source: HOL\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Origin: <a href=\"https:\/\/hiiraan.com\/news4\/2021\/Jun\/182963\/hiiraan_online_s_interview_with_unhcr_representative_for_somalia.aspx?utm_source=hiiraan&amp;utm_medium=SomaliNewsUpdateFront\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener sponsored ugc noreferrer\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">View original<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On the eve of World Refugee Day marked every year on 20 June, UNHCR Representative for Somalia, Johann Siffointe, spoke with Hiiraan Online about the status of refugees, returnees and internally displaced people and the role his agency plays in protecting the forcibly displaced. Q: How many refugees, asylum seekers, returnees and internally displaced persons &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8338,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8336","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-intvs-insights"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8336","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8336"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8336\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10344,"href":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8336\/revisions\/10344"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8338"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}