150,000 Sudanese Seek Voluntary Return as High-Level Committee Holds Key Meeting

Khartoum /
Sudan’s Minister of Human Resources and Social Welfare and Chairman of the Higher Committee for Voluntary Return and Reintegration, Moatasim Ahmed Saleh, revealed new figures on Sudanese nationals registered for voluntary return from abroad during an expanded committee meeting held in Khartoum on Wednesday.

The minister announced that 63,000 Sudanese have registered for voluntary return from Egypt, 80,000 from Libya, and 7,000 from Uganda. He also disclosed that 13,000 university students in Egypt have registered to return to Sudan, according to Mohamed Wadaa, Head of the Hope Committee for Voluntary Return in Egypt.

Saleh outlined the committee’s four main areas of responsibility: registration and data collection, database management, transportation and relocation, resource mobilization and financing, as well as reception and reintegration.

He highlighted the major challenges facing the voluntary return program, particularly the high cost of air transportation, especially for returnees from Libya and Uganda.

The minister also called for stronger coordination with Sudanese states through which returnees travel by land and sea, urging the formation of specialized subcommittees. He stressed the importance of establishing a clear mechanism for monitoring, evaluation, and impact assessment of return operations.

For his part, Mohamed Wadaa, Head of the Hope Committee for Voluntary Return in Egypt and a member of the Higher Committee, confirmed that 13,000 Sudanese university students in Egypt have registered to return home. He appealed to the Ministry of Interior to allow holders of valid passports or travel documents to travel without requiring referral to the Sudanese embassy, noting the growing number of Sudanese wishing to return.

Meanwhile, Retired Major General Abdel Karim Yousif, Head of the Hope Committee for Voluntary Return in Uganda and a member of the Higher Committee, stated that 93,000 Sudanese have registered for voluntary return from Uganda, including 26,000 who are financially capable of covering their travel costs, while 67,000 are registered in refugee camps.
Yousif added that the committee has so far organized 12 voluntary return flights from Uganda.