UN bolsters police unit to monitor refugee camps

Hardly two months after it came into operation, United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) on Saturday came in to buttress the border monitoring unit whose role involves keeping an eye on refugee camps in Uganda by adding 12 cars to its fleet.

Also known as the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR is a United Nations program mandated to protect and support refugees at the request of a government or the UN itself and assists in their voluntary repatriation, local integration or resettlement to a third country.

Although part of the normal police fleet, the 12 cars will be at the beck and call of the different refugee camps in the districts were they have been dispatched.

"The government and people of Uganda are hosting thousands of refugees not because UNHCR will give them cars but because of their good policy to help those fleeing from conflict," UNHCR country representative, Bornwell Kantande said during the ceremony in Kampala to see off the fleet getting dispatched to different districts.

The ceremony at Interpol head offices was graced by Interpol head boss, Fred Yiga and head of fleet in Uganda Police, Suleiman Kirungi.

Yiga told the media that the 12 cars which had been entrusted with experienced police drivers will come in handy in patrolling Uganda's borders and keeping in check cross border crimes.

In the past 12 months, Uganda has taken in around 1.3 million people — more than Greece, Turkey or any other country in the world at the height of last year's crisis in Europe.

Every day around 2,000 people stream across Uganda's borders fleeing famine, drought and violence in neighboring countries.

Most are from South Sudan, which was declared to be in a state of famine early this year. Although conditions have eased slightly, the reality for many on the ground in South Sudan has changed little.

Last month, Uganda hosted the inaugural refugee solidarity summit tailored to raise resources to cater for the estimated 1.3m refugees in the country.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres i co-chaired the Summit together with President Yoweri Museveni during which $358m (over sh1.2 trillion) was raised.

In Bidi Bidi, Uganda is hosting the largest refugee camp in the world. Its population of an estimated 270,000 South Sudan refugees dwarfs Dadaab camp in Northern Kenya.

Despite its refugee friendly policy, government considers the issue of refugees a matter of national security.

While meeting lawmakers sitting on the presidential affairs committee early this year, security minister, Lt. Gen. (Rtd) Henry Tumukunde described lack of proper oversight over increasing number of refugees as a security threat.