03/21/2006

Refugees International sent the following letter to Secretary General Kofi Annan to outline our concerns surrounding the humanitarian crisis in central Katanga of  the Democratic Republic of Congo. The letter was sent in anticipation of the Secretary General’s visit to the region.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan
United Nations Secretariat
New York, NY

By Facsimile

Dear Secretary-General:

Your trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo comes at an important time; two of my colleagues just returned from the DRC with real concerns about the future of humanitarian response there. The DRC, with UN help, is moving toward national elections, yet humanitarian and security needs remain the most urgent challenges. The UN’s 2006 Humanitarian Action Plan shows real leadership;  your trip will give you a chance to make sure that the plan is on track.

In central Katanga, a largely neglected humanitarian crisis has unfolded over the last several months.  Hundreds of thousands have fled their homes, yet the humanitarian response has been late and inadequate.  Food deliveries have suffered unreasonable delays, and the provision of water and sanitation is almost nonexistent.  We raised these issues with the Executive Directors of WFP and UNICEF during their recent visit to the DRC, and got the sense, especially from UNICEF, that they would move to address these gaps.  Protection of the population, however, is the major concern.  Given those needs as well as the strategic importance of Katanga, we feel that the level and pace of MONUC civilian and military deployment in the area is too low.

Beyond ongoing needs for immediate assistance and protection, the return of refugees, internally displaced persons, and demobilized combatants will also remain a major issue in the DRC for the next few years.  The lack of reintegration assistance that we observed during our recent visit to South Kivu, however, does not bode well for this process.  UNHCR has facilitated the return of thousands of refugees from Tanzania, and villages along Lake Tanganyika are starting to come alive again.  Assistance, however, ends at the drop-off point: returning refugees have received nothing that will allow them to grow their own food as their return ration dwindles. The lack of seeds and tools from FAO and donors is particularly negligent.

Coordination remains a challenge in a country as large and as complex as the DRC.  The Humanitarian Action Plan is a step in the right direction, and the cluster approach, particularly as instigated by UNHCR on protection, shows promise.  The lukewarm response by donor governments to the Humanitarian Action Plan, however, is worrisome.  Major donors have concerns over the ability of the UN to manage either the process or pledged funds, but there does not seem to be any dialogue to address these issues, allowing the momentum gained from the launch in February to peter out.

We applaud your visit to the DRC and welcome the attention it will bring to the problems and opportunities there.  As part of your visit, Refugees International asks you to consider the following actions:

• Follow up with WFP and UNICEF on their efforts to provide better assistance in Katanga.
• Urge FAO to take advantage of funding opportunities from ECHO to lead the reintegration process in South Kivu by providing seeds and tools to the population.
• Deploy MONUC troops to central Katanga.
• Accelerate the implementation of the cluster approach in all sectors, with special attention to those dealing with protection and return and reintegration.
• Press the United States and the European Union to increase funds allocated to the DRC, within implementation mechanisms of their choosing, but to match the needs outlined in the 2006 HAP.
• Do not allow focus of UN agencies and operations to stray from humanitarian needs in the run up to elections, nor afterwards as discussions intensify about long-term development.