EU Commissioner for Home Affairs visits UNHCR Egypt registration office

CAIRO – 11 September 2024: European Union Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson began her official trip to Egypt earlier this week by visiting the registration office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Cairo.

Johansson was received by UNHCR Representative in Egypt Hanan Hamdan. The commissioner met the protection team and was briefed on the registration process and steps made to accelerate and enhance it in light of the staggering increase in the number of Sudanese asylum seekers due to the armed conflict that broke out in April 2023.

The UNHCR had launched in August an online application to schedule appointments so as the figure has hit 4,000 applicants till present.

The EU commissioner also learnt about other protection programmes, met with Sudanese refugees, and listened to their stories and the challenges they encountered. According to a UNHCR statement, Johansson affirmed the EU's commitment to support the commission in providing humanitarian aid and enhance the refugees' conditions.  

On her side, Hamdan noted that, "the Egyptian government receives refugees without requesting anything in return. Yet, given the economic challenges, more [international] support is needed. We appreciate the continuous EU support, and work to guarantee a comprehensive policy and more support to host communities."

The statement points out that the EU is the second largest funder of the UNHCR Egypt through different cooperation mechanisms, and that it funds the activities of registration, assessment, protection and the essential services programme.

The statement showcases that the number of Sudanese refugees registered with the UNHCR Egypt has jumped eightfold – since April 2023 - to record 482,000 (62 percent of the total number of registered refugees in Egypt). It also estimates that the submission of registration requests will continue in the coming months because of the persistence of instability in Sudan, and absence of a peace horizon in the near future.