Problem assessment: Population Registration and Identity Management Eco System (PRIMES) and proGress-V4 were successfully rolled out in South Sudan in 2019. Subject to accessibility to the areas in 2020, UNHCR will conduct verification in remote settlements of Western Equatoria State (Ezo, Tambura, Source Yubu, Naandi and Andari) and Central Equatoria State (Morobo and Lasu) in order to validate the population and enrol all individuals aged 5 years and above in Biometric Identity Management System (BIMS). Proof of Registration (PoR) documents and renewed ID cards will be issued following refugees’ enrolment in the BIMS. This will bring BIMS coverage in South Sudan to 100% from all persons aged 5 years and above.
Arrival of an additional 20,000 refugees is expected in 2020, with majority arriving through Yida in Unity State. Newly arrived refugees will undergo Individual Basic Registration (IBR), jointly with South Sudan’s Commissioner for Refugee Affair (CRA), and eligible individuals will be issued with documentation, including ID cards, ration cards and the PoR documents.
To support registration, UNHCR will continue with the implementation of PRIMES/proGres V4, further improving on network infrastructure and intensifying its use in case management with extension to CRA and partners and continue building capacities of UNHCR staff for better use of proGres V4 functionalities.
Comprehensive response: Besides some 20,000 new arrivals, the refugee population is expected to grow by another 10,000 (considering the increase and decrease factors), bringing the total population of refugees to 364,400 in 2020. The natural growth will be captured through continuous registration activities that will be undertaken in all refugee locations. These activities will include registration of new born babies, timely renewal of expired ID cards and the continuous verification of refugee database during food collection. In order to utilize the collected data and enhance accountability, UNHCR will continue the implementation of the Global Distribution Tool-GDT (roll out planned in 2019) to support both food and cash assistance across camps/settlements; and for optimal use of GDT, further improvement and extension of connectivity to the distribution sites are required.
UNHCR will endeavour to provide all refugee new born babies with birth notification documents in coordination with the health partners, the Ministry of Health and CRA.
An additional 1,000 asylum-seekers are expected to arrive mainly in June. New asylum-seekers will undergo individual registration jointly with the CRA and will be issued with Asylum-seekers documents while awaiting Refugee Status Determination.
Prioritised response: The office will accomplish the verification of refugee population in Western Equatoria State and Lasu, conducting BIMS enrolment while issuing/renewing ID cards and Proof of Registration (POR) documents. Continuous registration will be strengthened in all locations to ensure demographic changes are captured accurately with an aim of ensuring acceptable data quality. UNHCR will work closely with CRA to individually register all (100%) new arrival refugees and asylum-seekers. For unified-format of birth registration procedures, the protection section will continue advocate for adoption of standardized birth notification document template, which are recognized nationally, in collaboration with CRA and the Ministry of Health. Emphasis will be on the gradual update of BIMS data, update of specific needs records for targeted assistance and education/skills to support livelihood activities.