JUBA, March 20 (Xinhua) -- The current situation in South Sudan is not safe for facilitating or encouraging return of millions of people displaced by the ongoing civil war, a senior official of the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said Tuesday.
Maria Corinna Miguel Quicho, Assistant Representative for Protection at UNHCR South Sudan, said though many South Sudanese refugees are desperate to return home, the prevailing conditions in the country are not conducive for repatriation because of the continued violence and lack of basic services.
"It (repatriation) cannot happen now because the guns are not yet silenced, peace is absolutely essential and any return will have to be in conditions of safety, dignity and completely voluntary," Quicho told reporters during a two-day UN-sponsored seminar that focused on addressing internal displacement in South Sudan.
"I hope whoever is coming back have to think about it. They are better off in the refugee camps than coming home at this time," she added.
South Sudan has been embroiled in more than four years of conflict that has taken a devastating toll on the people of South Sudan.
The UN estimates that over 2 million people have been forced into neighboring countries and another 1.9 million internally displaced.
In the past few months, the South Sudanese government has been encouraging displaced South Sudanese to return to their homes and villages after capturing several areas previously held by rebels since the start of the year.
Hussein Mar Nyout, minister of humanitarian and disaster management, revealed that the government had allocated nearly 400,000 U. S. dollars in the current fiscal budget to support returnees.
But Quicho argued the current exercise cannot be completely voluntary when people are just being pushed because they are desperate to come home.
"Return is not durable, it is completely spontaneous but it is not going to be sustainable. Return should happen when conditions are safe," Quicho said.
"It is important that we start discussions now to look at the aspect of any future organized, voluntary, safe and dignified and durable return of people to their homes and villages," she added.