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UNHCR cautiously welcomes North Kivu peace deal

News Stories, 24 January 2008

© UNHCR/D.Nthengwe
Thousands of Congolese were forced to flee their homes in North Kivu during 2007. Many people hope that a peace deal signed in Goma will allow them to return.

KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of the Congo, January 24 (UNHCR) – The UN refugee agency has welcomed a peace agreement signed this week by rival warring groups in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) but warned that the accord would not solve all the problems immediately.

UNHCR attended the conference and witnessed the signing Wednesday in Goma, capital of the troubled North Kivu province. UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres had earlier said in a message to the conference that the gathering "represents a big step in the search for a lasting peace."

He also said that the conference would not solve North Kivu's problems immediately. Observers noted that past accords between the government and rival militias have unravelled and that North Kivu remains a volatile province with a total estimated displaced population of 800,000 even though the civil war in DRC officially ended in 2003.

Apart from an immediate ceasefire, the phased withdrawal of military forces and the creation of buffer zones monitored by UN peace-keeping troops, the peace deal calls for the strict respect of international humanitarian law and the return home of the internally displaced and refugees.

It also envisages the creation of a peace and reconciliation commission and the enactment of amnesty laws, except for people found guilty of crimes against humanity and genocide.

In Kinshasa, UNHCR Representative Eusebe Hounsokou said he welcomed the positive outcome of the Goma talks and was "cautiously optimistic" that it would "end and prevent further suffering imposed on the North Kivu population by prolonged instability and violence."

Fighting over the past year between government forces and rebel troops under dissident general, Laurent Nkunda, who signed the peace agreement, have forced some 400,000 people to flee their homes in North Kivu.

Hounsokou also said stability and peace would be crucial for the repatriation of some 80,000 Congolese refugees that UNHCR hopes to bring home from neighbouring countries this year.

"We hope the success of this conference will help us to conclude tripartite agreements with Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda on the voluntary repatriation of Congolese refugees still residing in these countries," he said.

"The real test of this conference is the return of peace to our areas so that we can return home," said Ami Muoima, president of the IDP committee at the Buhimba IDP site, located near Goma.

UNHCR runs four IDP sites in North Kivu, accommodating some 45,000 IDPs. All of these sites are located no more than 15 kilometres west of Goma. More sites are being identified and organized to house IDPs currently living in public buildings, schools and churches.

Late last year, UNHCR also opened a small field office in Rutshuru – 70 kms north of Goma – to provide protection and assistance to another 45,000 IDPs in the area.

The major challenge for the government and for humanitarian organizations will be to build an environment conducive to the return and reintegration of displaced populations and to foster reconciliation different ethnic groups.

By Francesca Fontanini in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo

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The crisis in North Kivu continues

Insecurity in Democratic Republic of the Congo's North Kivu province continues, with more than 500,000 people internally displaced, many for the second or third time. Armed combat, persecution of civilians, killings, abductions, sexual abuse and forced recruitment of children still lead to displacement. Reports of rapes and murders number in the thousands. Some 176,000 of the displaced live in Masisi District, including 49,000 hosted in 19 camps. Conditions are harsh, with entire families living in one-room ramshackle huts with no water or services. UNHCR is very concerned about the security situation, living conditions and the future of the displaced. Even though some 36,000 people living in camps in North Kivu managed to return home in 2010, approximately 72,000 remain.

UNHCR is coordinating 31 camps for internally displaced people (IDP) in the whole of North Kivu, providing emergency assistance. UNHCR is facing enormous challenges in terms of access to the areas where the IDPs are hosted and continues to plead for humanitarian access to assist the people in need.

The crisis in North Kivu continues

Congo's river refugees

More than 100,000 Congolese refugees have crossed the Oubangui River in search of safety in neighbouring Republic of the Congo since inter-ethnic violence erupted in their home areas late last year. They fled from Equateur province in the north-west of Democratic Republic of the Congo after Enyele militiamen launched deadly assaults in October on ethnic Munzayas over fishing and farming rights in the Dongo area. The tensions have spread to other parts of the province.

The majority of the displaced are camping in public buildings and some 100 sites along a 600-kilometre stretch of the Oubangui River, including with host communities. The massive influx is stretching the meagre resources of the impoverished and remote region. Help is urgently needed for both the refugees and the host communities.

The relief operation is logistically complex and expensive because the region can only be reached by plane or boat. However, few boats are available and most are in need of repair. Fuel is expensive and difficult to procure.

Congo's river refugees

Displaced in North Kivu: A Life on the Run

Fighting rages on in various parts of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), with seemingly no end in sight for hundreds of thousands of Congolese forced to flee violence and instability over the past two years. The ebb and flow of conflict has left many people constantly on the move, while many families have been separated. At least 1 million people are displaced in North Kivu, the hardest hit province. After years of conflict, more than 1,000 people still die every day - mostly of hunger and treatable diseases. In some areas, two out of three women have been raped. Abductions persist and children are forcefully recruited to fight. Outbreaks of cholera and other diseases have increased as the situation deteriorates and humanitarian agencies struggle to respond to the needs of the displaced.

When the displacement crisis worsened in North Kivu in 2007, the UN refugee agency sent emergency teams to the area and set up operations in several camps for internally displaced people (IDPs). Assistance efforts have also included registering displaced people and distributing non-food aid. UNHCR carries out protection monitoring to identify human rights abuses and other problems faced by IDPs in North and South Kivu.

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