Hamdan, representative of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to Egypt and the Arab League since March, told Ahram Online there are over 15 million displaced and stateless persons in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and 117 million worldwide. 

Egypt hosts more than 291,000 registered asylum seekers and refugees from 57 countries, the majority of whom come from Syria, Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Yemen, and Somalia, she added.

Ahram Online: With the escalation of wars and conflicts in several Arab regions, how is the UNHCR working to ensure safety for displaced refugees?

Hanan Hamdan: The MENA region has witnessed broad levels of safety and protection from refoulement, strengthening registration and determination of refugee status, strengthening legislative frameworks, addressing the risks of statelessness and ensuring security from violence and exploitation, and working to find durable solutions, including increased resettlement efforts.

The commission and the League of Arab States also organise regular meetings and capacity-building sessions at the sectoral, regional, ministerial, and expert levels. These sessions aim to enhance dialogue with stakeholders regarding refugees and provide assistance in developing their policies.

With regard to the situation in Sudan, the commission plays a vital role in managing the file of new arrivals to Egypt from Sudan in cooperation with the Egyptian government and relevant ministries and in joint coordination with United Nations agencies, including the International Organisation for Migration, the World Food Programme, the World Health Organisation, UNICEF, the United Nations Women, and the United Nations Population Fund.

More than 64,000 people crossed the border into Egypt, including more than 60,000 Sudanese, most of them are women and children with urgent needs. The UNHCR is also working to coordinate efforts to assess the situation and the special needs of the new arrivals in order to discuss ways to provide them as soon as possible, through the presence of the UNHCR protection team in Aswan.

The United Nations is delivering and distributing aid by the Egyptian Red Crescent to the arrivals, including water, personal and women's hygiene items, wheelchairs, health assistance, and food. 

AO: What are the priorities of Arab countries to enhance refugee protection in the region?

HH: The main priorities are identified in three strategies: the Arab Strategy for the Protection of Refugee Children in the Context of Refugees in the Arab Region, which was launched in 2019; the Arab Strategy for Access to Public Health Services in the Context of Refugee and Displacement in the Arab Region, which was recently adopted; and the Arab Strategy for Protection from Gender-Based Violence in the Context of Refugees and Displacement, especially sexual violence against women and girls, which is currently being prepared. 

In 2018, the member states adopted the Arab Declaration on Belonging and Legal Identity, which aims to ensure equal nationality rights between women and men to end statelessness.

The UNHCR works with the Arab League on several axes, including gender-based violence, advocacy, awareness-raising and mobilisation of support, the Global Compact on Refugees and the Comprehensive Response Framework, capacity-building, statelessness and legal identity, public health, child protection, education, and mixed movements.

AO: How are the UNHCR and Egypt cooperating on matters concerning refugees?

HH: Egypt is signatory to various agreements and protocols regulating the work of the UNHCR, and the current period is witnessing many aspects of cooperation with the Egyptian government, including facilitating and accelerating the residence permit procedures for refugees and asylum seekers in Egypt. 

Currently, there are 291,000 refugees in Egypt from various countries, the majority come from Syria. The Egyptian authorities have also simplified procedures for refugees and asylum seekers by reducing the number of times an applicant must go to the immigration office from three to two visits and shortened waiting times to receive a residence permit. The UNHCR looks forward to continuing to work alongside the Egyptian government to bring more positive changes to enhance the rights of refugees and asylum seekers.

The UNHCR also appreciates the efforts of the Egyptian government to ensure the protection of refugees and asylum seekers in Egypt, and the Egyptian people welcome refugees as they have done over the years. 

The Egyptian government provides public health services to all refugees of various nationalities on an equal footing with Egyptians. The government also provides government education services to refugee children from Yemen, Syria, Sudan, and South Sudan on an equal footing with Egyptian children.

Also, the Egyptian government, represented by the Ministry of Youth and Sports, implements many programmes and events for young refugees, and opens the doors of youth clubs to receive refugees. Among the projects implemented by the ministry is the Safe Spaces and Digital Centres project, which aims to provide a safe environment for refugee women and girls and integrate them into Egyptian society.

The projects provide a range of activities such as awareness against gender-based violence, and about reproductive health. In addition to vocational training and social empowerment, we also cooperate with the Ministry of Social Solidarity to enhance the protection of refugee children and refugee women who are survivors of gender-based violence, as well as the economic inclusion of refugees.

AO: What are the commission’s most important programmes in this field?

HH: The commission works closely with the Egyptian government, represented by various ministries such as the ministries of foreign affairs, interior, social solidarity, health, population, youth and sports, etc. We also work with various councils such as the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood, the National Council for Women and the National Council for Human Rights to ensure that the needs of refugee women and men of different nationalities are met, and that they have access to basic services such as protection, health and education services. 

The commission also participates in film festivals, believing in the role of art in spreading awareness and correcting misconceptions. In the coming period, we will work on implementing several awareness-raising and capacity-building programmes with academic entities to reach a larger number of students, especially those interested in asylum and migration studies.

We are also working with donors and some countries to finance refugee programmes, provide support for the host community, increase the number of opportunities available for resettlement to a third country, and facilitate return. Voluntary refugees return to their country. 

We give special importance to the role provided by the private sector, as the support provided by this sector injects new energy and vitality into finding responses to the needs of refugees. Some of the leading companies, institutions, and charities in the world and in Egypt are already helping us to maximise our impact and improve our ability to make a difference by providing life-saving assistance and sustainable solutions for millions of refugees and displaced people around the world.

We also focus in particular on programmes for young people between the ages of 15 and 24 who find themselves far from their home countries, and often their families as well, and who may face increased risks, such as exposure to gender-based violence. Many young refugees may also lose access to skills, social circles and the ability to pursue their aspirations and dreams. We also aim to enhance their potential and support them as they resume their lives, providing programmes for skills development, education, psychosocial support, family reunification, and recreational programmes.

AO: How do you assess the situation of refugees in the Arab region in light of their increasing numbers?

HH: Refugees and asylum seekers are in search of a safe haven to escape violence, persecution, war, or disaster in their home countries. With the beginning of 2023, the number of displaced and stateless people had reached more than 15 million people in the MENA region and 117 million worldwide. With this rapid increase, we always strive to ensure that the displaced are able to seek and access protection, meet their basic needs, raise awareness of their issues and provide support to communities.

After the Syrian crisis, the number of refugees, asylum seekers, and displaced persons increased dramatically, the majority of whom fled to surrounding Arab countries. We try to socially and economically integrate refugees of all nationalities into the societies hosting them so that they can build their skills and provide their basic needs. We work with the governments of these countries in order to find a better life opportunity for refugees and asylum seekers.

AO: How well is the region aware of refugee issues? And, what are the glaring examples of misinformation in this regard?

HH: As I indicated, the MENA region has more than 15 million refugees, asylum seekers, forcibly displaced persons, and stateless persons. The Syrian crisis and some wars in the Arab region also affected the countries of the Arab world as a whole. The number of Syrian refugees worldwide is 6.8 million, or 27 percent of the world’s refugees. A large percentage of them live in the Arab region. The same goes for Yemen and Iraq.

Many refugees from these countries, due to wars and conflicts, have fled to neighbouring countries, which has contributed to raising awareness in the region about refugee problems, especially since many Arab countries have opened their borders to receive them. 

Unfortunately, there are some misconceptions about refugees and asylum seekers, including that many people do not know the difference between a refugee and an immigrant. The immigrant left his home country by choice, while the refugee was forced to flee his country and cannot return voluntarily.

Also, among the misconceptions is that refugees and asylum seekers are a burden and negatively affect the economy of the country hosting them, despite the existence of many economic studies that prove the opposite, especially when they are given opportunities to access the competitive labour market.

There are many examples of refugees and asylum seekers who are successful in their fields and who defied difficulties and difficult circumstances. Those with whom the UNHCR is always in contact, and among these honourable examples, is the Iraqi Dr Nagham Hassan, winner of the Nansen Refugee Award for the MENA region last year for helping people forcibly displaced.