PARTNERSHIP IN ACTION – UNDP AND UNHCR COOPERATION ON FORCED DISPLACEMENT AND STATELESSNESS SOUTH SUDAN AND SUDAN Following the April 2023 outbreak of conflict in Sudan, UNDP and UNHCR are looking to boost local capacities and socio-economic inclusion for displaced people and host communities in South Sudan. Many of the roughly 273,000 people who fled Sudan to South Sudan were South Sudanese returnees who were previously refugees in Sudan. UNDP and UNHCR will look to scale up support to the regional initiative managed by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD). That initiative, the Sudan-South Sudan Solution Initiative of the IGAD Support Platform aimed to support operationalising commitments that IGAD members made at the first Global Refugee Forum in 2019. In October 2023, UNDP and UNHCR Sudan agreed a joint action plan for deepening collaboration in Sudan, which includes conducting a joint assessment of the impact of the conflict on displacement and host communities. References • IGAD, ‘Special Session of the IGAD Support Platform and its Solution Initiative for the Refugee Situation in Sudan and South Sudan,’ October 2021 © UNDP Sudan Previous collaboration in Sudan includes UNDP and UNHCR co-leading a national-level working group on durable solutions, which has been replicated in some states. The working group has contributed to a UN Country Team programmatic framework on durable solutions. In South Sudan, UNHCR input into a revitalised national development strategy for 2021-2024, preparation of which was led by UNDP. This strategy addresses the needs of refugees, IDPs and host communities in South Sudan, along with the wider population. 18 U N H C R a n d U N D P | PA R T N E R S H I P I N A C T I O N – U N D P A N D U N H C R C O O P E R AT I O N O N F O R C E D D I S P L A C E M E N T A N D S TAT E L E S S N E S S