UN Inter-Agency Appeal for the Great Lakes Emergency.

Events in the Great Lakes since October 1996 have further complicated what may be the worst humanitarian crisis currently facing the international community. Protracted civil conflict and ethnic strife continue to plague Burundi, Rwanda and Eastern Zaire, with consequences that extend throughout the region and beyond.

As of mid-March 1997, the war in Zaire between the Government forces and the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire (ADFL) had intensified and was spreading further into Zaire. An estimated 400,000 Rwandan and Burundi refugees, more than half unaccounted for, some 40,000 Zairian internally displaced, and others caught up in the conflict are living in inhumane conditions. In Burundi, civil war and violence have uprooted over a million people and claimed the lives of tens of thousands. Limited access to some provinces and pervasive insecurity have undermined relief efforts and prevented monitoring of returnees. The recent coup attempt has only added to the tensions in Burundi.

As long as the conflicts remain unresolved, the humanitarian consequences will be measured by thousands of lives lost and massive numbers of people requiring assistance. Unfortunately, security problems and political restrictions are severely testing the ability of humanitarian organizations to deliver relief to those in need.

Regional framework

Because of the volatile nature of the conflicts in Zaire and Burundi, and the shifting conditions throughout the region, projects in the United Nations Inter-Agency Appeal for the Great Lakes Emergency in Eastern Zaire, Burundi and the United Republic of Tanzania have been designed on a region-wide basis so that material and human resources can be quickly transferred to the areas of greatest need. Interim reviews of the Appeal and its planning assumptions will take place in May and September 1997.

The Appeal is based on the following principles:

* Access to all people in need;

* Security for the victims of conflict;

* Security for humanitarian workers; and

* Respect for sovereignty.

The overall objectives of the 1997 humanitarian programme for the Great Lakes are to:

* Prevent mass deaths and suffering;

* Promote voluntary repatriation of Rwandan refugees; and

* Provide sufficient assistance to enable internally displaced and conflict-affected persons to return to normal economic and social livelihoods.

In order to ensure the distribution of food supplies throughout the Great Lakes region, the World Food Programme (WFP) is appealing for funds to maintain and improve transport and logistics. In addition, WFP is seeking food commitments for the region from August onwards. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) have also strengthened their regionally-based planning and support networks to ensure tracking of and response to emerging needs.

COUNTRY STRATEGIES

Eastern Zaire

Repatriation: Voluntary repatriation of refugees to Rwanda is an important element for a solution to the problem; thus, only basic assistance will be provided until their repatriation. Separation of former Rwandan Armed Forces and Interahamwe forces is a priority. The assistance of all parties is required to enable land passage; Air passage will be required for particularly vulnerable people. Conditions in Burundi do not currently permit repatriation, but those Burundian refugees who wish to return will be assisted.

Assistance focuses on:

Food Aid (WFP, UNHCR and UNICEF) which will provide:

* adequate general rations for 1,051,900 refugees, internally displaced and war-affected persons;

* supplemental feeding for children under five years of age and adults suffering from malnutrition; and

* therapeutic feeding for severely malnourished people.

Non-Food Interventions which will:

* support initial health care, water and sanitation projects in refugee and conflict-affected areas (UNHCR and UNICEF);

* provide other essential non-food relief items (UNHCR);

* assist some 8,000 unaccompanied children and children in especially difficult circumstances (UNICEF);

* depending on security and access conditions, assist affected populations to resume agricultural production, by providing agricultural inputs, technical support and a cattle vaccination programme (FAO);

* continue epidemiological monitoring, coordinate epidemic and disease prevention efforts and strengthen health facilities (WHO); and

* provide basic primary school supplies to selected populations in refugee camps and among affected communities (United Nations Scientific and Cultural Organization - UNESCO and UNICEF).

Human Rights: Two Human Rights Field Officers have been posted to Kinshasa. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) plans to deploy additional local experts in 1997.

Rehabilitation of Communities: rehabilitating communities in North and South Kivu after the long-term presence of refugees (UNHCR, WFP, UNICEF, FAO and WHO).

Burundi

Ongoing fighting, weak infrastructure and, in some cases, Burundian government policies have interfered with humanitarian assistance to the Burundian population and made it difficult to monitor refugees returning from Zaire. Those targeted for assistance include some 500,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs), 92,500 returnees, 22,500 Rwandan and Zairian refugees, and an unknown number of conflict-affected persons. The humanitarian community is not participating in any forced transfers of returnees to their areas of origin. In addition, the humanitarian community is deeply concerned about the forced regroupment of Hutu populations, but finds itself obliged to assist regrouped populations in need. Negotiations to improve access, security and impartiality in assistance will continue at national and local levels. In order to monitor conditions in Burundi, UNHCR plans to deploy Field Security Officers and the UNHCHR plans to deploy additional Human Rights Field Officers. Under the sanctions regime imposed on Burundi, the long delays in granting exemptions and in issuing authorizations to import exempted supplies have resulted in critical shortages of fuel, food, seeds, shelter materials and blankets and disrupted important humanitarian operations.

Assistance focuses on:

Food Aid:

* assisting an average of 265,000 Burundians and 2,050 Zairian and 600 Rwandan refugees in 1997 in Burundi (WFP);

* promoting resettlement of IDPs and some 92,000 returnees with repatriation packages and a three-month food ration (WFP); and

* providing supplementary/therapeutic feeding to 14,000 malnourished people (WFP);

* utilizing food for work or income generation projects to assist vulnerable groups (WFP, UNICEF, non-governmental organizations and the Ministry of Health).

Non-Food Interventions which involve:

* providing basic repatriation kits of non-food items to returnees and IDPs (UNHCR and UNICEF);

* supplying essential agricultural inputs to returnees, IDPs and conflict-affected persons (FAO);

* strengthening families, assisting over 500,000 internally displaced persons and 13,000 unaccompanied children, and conducting programmes in water, sanitation, child and maternal health, and child protection and education (UNICEF);

* assisting with the Government's coordinated emergency health assistance plan for health emergencies and providing health training (WHO); and

* addressing primary school needs of affected children throughout the country, including peace education (UNESCO, in cooperation with UNICEF).

United Republic of Tanzania

Despite the repatriation of approximately 500,000 Rwandan refugees in 1996, UNHCR continues to provide assistance to 326,000 Burundian and Zairian refugees in camps in Ngara and Kigoma in western Tanzania. UNICEF will target approximately 50,000 children under five years old, 22,500 pregnant and lactating women, and 7,000 unaccompanied minors. UNHCR, WFP, UNICEF, WHO, UNESCO and FAO plan food, health, education and agricultural projects to rehabilitate areas damaged by the impact of massive numbers of refugees.

Uganda

Refugee centres in Uganda assist 33,250 Zairian and Rwandan refugees. In addition, the conflict in eastern Zaire has already aggravated internal conflicts and security conditions in parts of Uganda, creating a need for emergency humanitarian assistance for local populations.

Zambia

In February, some 1,900 refugees from Zaire, Burundi and Rwanda were registered in Kasama camp and further arrivals were expected. Currently, UNHCR is assisting these refugees through a programme not included in this appeal. However, UN agencies are seeking flexibility in order to shift resources in response to potential population shifts.

The Appeal

The 1997 United Nations Consolidated Inter-Agency Appeal for the Great Lakes Emergency seeks $324,506,861 over the year for urgent humanitarian assistance to at least 1.4 million refugees, internally displaced and other war-affected populations. The 1997 humanitarian programme will also address the environmental and social costs to Tanzania and eastern Zaire of hosting massive numbers of refugees.

While the repatriation of more than 1 million Rwandan refugees from eastern Zaire and Tanzania poses a significant challenge, at the request of the Government of Rwanda, the needs within Rwanda will be addressed in a separate fundraising document.