Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 7 October 2015

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade

Humanitarian Crisis in South Sudan: International Committee of Red Cross

10:00 am

Mr. Franz Rauchenstein:

Working inside South Sudan, we have not followed the situation in the refugee camps directly but our neighbouring delegations have been there. Together with the national Red Cross societies of those countries, they have also carried out tracing work and reuniting, where pertinent and possible, children with their families. I would dare to make an assumption that the living conditions, which might be very difficult in refugee camps, are still considerably better than the destiny of the displaced in South Sudan. Of course, there is the security constraint. People have to displace, have to be very agile and cannot create some type of livelihood, while in refugee camps children have access to basic education and food is provided. However, the living conditions are very harsh in the refugee camps.