A team comprised of UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) staff on Wednesday played with the team of refugees in a friendly football match ahead of celebration to mark World Refugee Day on June 20th.
“I would like to thank UNHCR for hosting refugees and taking care of them and helping refugees to come together and live in unity and peace,” Edward Setimo Yugu, Director General in the Ministry of Youth and Sports said after the football Match held at Buluk grounds in Juba.
The match intended to highlight problems that refugees face in South Sudan.
Lt. Gen. Bol John Akot, head of the commission for refugees’ affairs, said South Sudan has provided conducive environment for refugees.
“Despite multiple challenges, South Sudan has created an enabling environment to protect refugees through the adoption of national law, Refugee Act 2012, and regulation on refugees,” Bol said.
Arafat Jamal, UNHCR Representative in South Sudan, said the football match was a warm-up ahead of the upcoming World Refugee Day next week.
“Today (Wednesday) it is all about sport and we love to encourage our people whom we work with to play sport,” Jamal said.
South Sudan hosts thousands of refugees mainly from neighboring Sudan, Ethiopia and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
