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Dispatches No. 230
Up | January 31, 2008
REFUGEE NEWS BRIEFINGS
UPDATES ON JRS PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIES
REFUGEE NEWS BRIEFINGS
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: PEACE DEAL SIGNED
On 22 January, a peace pact was signed in Goma in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo by the government and illegally armed groups. The deal, which seeks to end months of bloody conflict in the east, which has driven almost 500,000 people from their homes, includes an immediate ceasefire and the deployment of UN peacekeepers in 13 key locations.
Dissident rebel leader General Laurent Nkunda and pro-government Mai Mai militia agreed to sign after long negotiations. The deal offers an amnesty to General Nkunda and his forces, but the rebels say its full implementation will be dependent on the disarmament of the ethnic Hutu militia, Democratic Front for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), more commonly referred to as the Interahamwe.
Analysts in the region are worried about the impact of impunity. Members of rebel groups, responsible for serious atrocities, are going to be integrated into the army. The message seems clear; those who use arms are rewarded.
Both Human Rights Watch and Save the Children welcomed the agreement, calling on all parties to ensure that the displaced communities and children who have been separated from their families can return home safely.
However, Save the Children called on all commanders to release immediately all children in their ranks and for actions to be taken to end the recruitment of child soldiers and widespread acts of sexual violence currently committed with impunity by all armed forces.
Talks involving the government and more than 20 rebel groups lasted more than two weeks and were sponsored by the US, the EU and the African Union. Within a week, specialist advisors are expected to fly in from the US, the UK and Europe, to try to work on implementing the details of the pact. News reports suggested that the EU has promised $150m of aid to reconstruct the region, which will bolster the whole process.
Mr Nkunda leads the main rebel movement in the area and his forces repulsed a major government offensive last December. The government had issued an international arrest warrant against General Nkunda, for alleged war crimes committed by his forces. General Nkunda claims his forces are protecting ethnic Tutsis in North Kivu from Rwandan Hutu rebels, who have lived in eastern DR Congo since the Rwandan genocide in 1994.
According to the International Rescue Committee, between 1996 and 2003, more than 3.8 million people died in the civil war, some 2.5 million more were displaced and hundreds of thousands of women were raped. More than a third of all displaced persons live in the Kivus. The roots of Nkunda's rebellion in North Kivu lie in unhealed ethnic and political wounds that have made the racially mixed eastern Congo, a regional tinderbox.
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COTE D'IVOIRE: NATIONAL IDENTIFICATION PROCESS ONGOING BUT FLAWED
As of 25 January, 183,274 stateless Ivorians have been issued temporary identification documents through a national mobile court, sources report. The procedure is one of several measures outlined in a peace accord signed last March which intends to bring free and fair elections later this year. The pact was established after a failed coup d'état divided the country between a rebel-held north and government-run south, in 2002. The question of national identity lies at the core of the crises, as perceived foreigners rebelled, after being barred from participating in elections.
Ironically, many ID documents were lost or destroyed when the uprising forced people to flee their homes. The closing of public institutions during the war also prevented children from obtaining birth certificates.
"Today, birth certificates issued to children older than three months cost 12 USD, which most people can simply not afford," reported Communications Officer, Ashley Gagné.
Moreover, participants are required to provide evidence which is often unattainable, such as the identification of at least one parent or the testimony of two adult witnesses. They are also required to acquire documentation in the town of their birth, however many are unaware of or cannot reach their birthplace.
Analysts say the tribunals, which plan to identify three million stateless citizens, have had delays due to a lack of technical support and human resources. Only
77 of the 97 field teams are currently functioning. Teams are assigned to work for a period of 90 days, even though observers note that some teams which began working in September are still in the field.
Those lacking identification are denied rights to public education, national education exams, marriage, voting, legal employment, and property ownership. They are also prevented from travelling because of the pervasiveness of militias. These militias have been reportedly harassing and exploiting undocumented Ivorians.
JRS beneficiaries in the socio-educational programme for women in the city of Bouaké told Dispatches that travel restrictions were the biggest difficulty they faced, keeping them from seeing their families, attending school, going to work places, and even participating in the mobile tribunals.
"The presence and progress of the tribunals is promising, but stronger efforts must be made to publicise and expand the process if it is to have a large scale effect; especially in isolated communities where many are not aware of the process, and how or when it occurs. Greater coordination between government and humanitarian players must be taken for fair elections and human rights to be honoured," Gagné told Dispatches on 29 January.
Despite continued political and ethnic tensions, an estimated 200,000 of the 700,000 internally displaced persons have returned home.
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CHAD: AMBITIOUS PLANS TO GET 90,000 DISPLACED TO RETURN HOME
On 29 January 2008, the news agency IRIN reported that the President Idriss Deby has pledged that half of the nearly 180,000 displaced people in Chad will return to their villages by July.
Until now, none of the 180,000 Chadians displaced across the three eastern regions of the country are known to have permanently returned home.
Chadians began leaving their homes in late 2005, when the war in neighbouring Sudan spilled over the border and Sudanese Arab militias, often referred to as 'Janjaweed', began attacking their villages.
At the same time, conflicts between ethnic groups competing for power, and between nomads and agriculturalists competing for land, have escalated due to the proliferation of arms in Chad.
But 400 families at a site for displaced people near the town of Koukou-Angarana in southeastern Chad have told aid workers they have an "absolute desire" to return to their home village.
Displaced families near the town of Koukou-Angarana in southeastern Chad have told aid workers that before they return home, security questions need to be addressed first. Their experience could prove to be a litmus test for the thousands of others who are expected to follow them.
As a first step to achieving that, the government has promised to create a national police post in Koukou-Angarana to stabilise the area. Local authorities, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) and displaced people say the planned deployment of a EU military force (EUFOR) and a UN peacekeeping mission - now scheduled for February after months of delay - will also intervene if people face problems upon their return.
However, improved security is not the only necessary condition. The problems at the root of the displacement of people, mainly conflicts over arable land and water, must be solved. The installation of key infrastructure would also go a long way towards stabilising the region.
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SOUTH AFRICA: POLICE ARREST 1,500 IN CHURCH
At 11pm on 30 January, the police raided the Central Methodist Church in Johannesburg, arresting around 1,500 homeless people and Zimbabwean refugees.
Paul Verryn, the church's bishop, described the raid as a violation of the sanctity of the church and a clear violation of the rights of those arrested. Bishop Verryn said he would have gladly cooperated with the police if they had asked for his help to search the building and check the papers of those inside. By 2.00am, the last of the detainees were being herded into trucks and taken away for processing.
JRS condemned the midnight raid on the Central Methodist Church which since early 2007 has been providing nightly shelter to homeless people, including asylum seekers and those who have fled Zimbabwe. The police action violates the ancient principle of sanctuary.
Until recently, the authorities had adopted a relatively tolerant approach to estimated three million Zimbabweans seeking refuge from the political and economic meltdown in their home country.
For further information see www.jrs.net/alerts
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SRI LANKA: NUMBER OF DEAD MOUNTS UP SINCE CEASEFIRE ENDED
Sources from the Sri Lankan military and the insurgent group, the LTTE, continue making claims and counter claims over the number of rebels and soldiers killed in operations in recent days.
According to government sources, the death toll on 28 January, after three days of clashes in the north of the island, stood at 94 - including 75 LTTE insurgents and four soldiers. The Tamil insurgent group claimed 15 government soldiers were killed in fighting in the northern district of Mannar.
There have been no independent accounts of how many people had been killed or what had happened. Both sides tend to overstate enemy losses and play down their own.
However, far less news had been dedicated to the number of civilian deaths and the increasing difficulties experienced by the local population in the conflict zones. With their departure and the end of the truce, civilians are already paying a heavy price in violence and death - a concern that many international and local observers had been expecting. In the first three days after the end of the ceasefire on 16 January, 43 civilians are believed to have been killed.
On 29 January, a claymore landmine explosion on a bus in Madhu, Mannar district, in the east of the island killed 18 civilians, 12 of whom were children, and injured another 22. JRS Sri Lanka Director, Kamal Andrady SJ; told Dispatches that heavy fighting between the LTTE and the government forces was continuing in Madhu.
"Before coming to the east, I was in the north of the country, in Mannar and Vavunia from 15 to 24 January. Though the present battle does not directly affect these two towns, people are disappearing every day. The situation is tense and the people live in fear", Fr Amal SJ added.
After the government unilaterally ended the ceasefire, the Sri Lankan Monitoring Mission (SLMM) also left the country.
For further information see www.jrs.net/alerts
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BELGIUM: ECHR CONDEMNS ILLEGAL DETENTION AND INHUMANE TREATMENT
On 24 January, the European Court of Human Rights severely condemned Belgium for having detained two Palestinians in Brussels airport transit zone, after a number of judges had ordered their release. The Court considered that Belgium violated articles 3 (right to freedom and security) and 5 (prohibition of inhumane or degrading treatment) of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The Court ruled that the mental suffering and humiliation caused to the two asylum seekers was reinforced by arbitrary decisions taken by the foreigners'
office after the local court ordered their freedom. Thus, the Court ruled that the foreigners' office inflicted cruel and degrading treatment on the men. The state was ordered to pay 15,000 euro to each man.
The two Palestinians, Mohamad Riad and Abdelhadi Idiab, arrived in Belgium in December 2002. Upon arrival in the airport, they applied for asylum and were placed in detention centre 127. Their applications were refused by the foreigners'
office and the general commissariat for refugees and stateless persons (CGRA).
However, the lower court in Brussels decided that there were not sufficient reasons to hold them in detention and ordered their liberation. On appeal, the court confirmed the decision, again ordering their release.
For further information see www.jrs.net/alerts
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PANAMA: ANOTHER FIRE IN CURUNDÚ DISTRICT
On 18 January, residents of Panama City woke up to hear of the tragic news of another fire in Curundú, in the populated sector called Águila.
This new fire started at 7.45 that morning. Four wooden houses were destroyed by the fire and an additional six were damaged. Regretfully, two young brothers, Emmanuel Rodríguez and Yonjairo Gudiño Rodríguez, one and three years old respectively lost their lives in the incident. In addition, 20 adults, 14 adolescents and 18 children were also injured in the fire.
This is the third fire in the socio-economically disadvantaged district of Curundú in Panama City, affecting refugees and migrants supported by the local JRS office. The cause of the other two fires was arson. The cause of this latest fire is still unknown.
In March last year, Sector S was completely destroyed by the fire. The local population, including many Colombian refugees and migrants, lost all their belongings, as well as their homes. The same occurred in El Triángulo the following May. The second pre-dawn arson attack in two months in Curundú district left at least 355 persons homeless, again many of them Colombian refugees.
All morning the media has been showing the scenes of the retrieval of the two children. JRS Panama came to the area and held meetings with the staff of relevant agencies: the ministry for housing, the local council, and the Social Pastoral María Reina.
The families are being relocated in a temporary housing close by. The office of the Mayor in the city has committed itself to providing the affected families with first aid kits.
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ECUADOR: UN COMMITTEE ACCEPTS NGO RECOMMENDATIONS
On 30 November last, the UN Committee on Migrant Workers and their Families reported back on the situation in Ecuador. Many of the conclusions and recommendations made by the Committee were in line with what JRS Ecuador, in cooperation with a national coalition of NGOs.
"Now it is up to the coalition and the rest of civil society to follow up and ensure that the government implements the recommendations of the Committee", JRS Ecuador Director, Guillermo Rovayo, told Dispatches on 31 January.
In the unedited version of the conclusions made available in December last, the Committee called on the Ecuadorian government to "ensure that migration control measures do not undermine the safeguards granted by either the 1951 Geneva Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, where applicable, or the present Convention, in order to guarantee that no vulnerable group is left without adequate protection".
The UN Committee highlighted its concern that "a considerable number of migrant children, and notably children of irregular migrant workers do not have access to educational system in Ecuador...either because their parents fail to register them for fear of being deported or because their registration is refused on the ground of the irregular status of one or both parents."
It added that despite the fact that every person in the country is entitled to health services, irrespective of migratory status, in practice migrant workers in an irregular situation and members of their families face difficulties in accessing the public health system.
On 24 April, the UN Committee for the Protection of the Rights of Migrant Workers and their Families reviewed the extent to which the government has implemented the UN convention of the same name. The committee examined a shadow report presented by a number of civil society organisations, including JRS Ecuador, on the reality facing migrants and refugees in the country.
The Ecuadorian government ratified the UN Convention on the Protection of Migrant Workers and their Families in 2001. In December 2006, the state submitted a report outlining the legislative, judicial and administrative steps it has taken to meet its obligations under the convention. JRS Ecuador believes that the government report unfortunately failed to clearly identify the needs of migrants and refugees.
For a copy of the shadow NGO report, in Spanish, see
www.sjrmecuador.org.ec and a
copy of the UN Committee recommendations.
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UPDATES ON JRS PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIES
KENYA: JRS ASSISTANCE IN THE MIDST OF CONTINUING VIOLENCE
On 25 January, JRS Kenya told Dispatches that their emergency assistance to meet the needs of displaced persons in the Kitale region in the west of the country will be extended to a long-term response.
Shortly after the violence broke out, JRS teams were involved in distributing emergency relief to displaced Kenyans. Teams distributed tents, medical attention, and food supplements for children and HIV-sufferers. Next week, the new JRS coordinator in the area, Carol Savala, will travel to Kitale to continue providing emergency assistance to affected persons in the most vulnerable situations. She will be assisted by staff in the national office to establish the project.
"Once the situation returns to some sort of normality, JRS will begin offering counselling services and working with affected populations to identify initiatives which will promote peace in the area. JRS also plans to provide seeds and fertilisers on a one-off basis to affected farmers in efforts to help them rebuild their lives. Consultations with affected populations have already begun", JRS Kenya Director, Anne Wangari, told Dispatches.
The Bishop of Kitale expressed his gratitude to JRS during a meeting for helping the people in Kitale. However, he explained the situation in the Rift Valley is still bad.
The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, reported that internally displaced persons
(IDPs) and those who have remained in their homes were suffering from difficulties in ensuring that food assistance was regularly delivered. The situation is particularly difficult for older people and those in need of medical assistance.
Shortages, the agency said, are pushing the price of essential goods up substantially.
The refugee agency expressed concern that individuals who offer assistance to IDPs run the risk of being attacked by roaming gangs. Although their presence on the ground has dissuaded some attacks, the UNHCR Emergency Response Team is working closely with the Kenyan police to improve the provision of protection in Kitale.
On 29 January, UNICEF, UN children's agency, blamed the Kenyan government for its failure to protect women and children sheltered in camps. According to the agency, some 100,000 of the 250,000 recently displaced Kenyans are children under five years. Many IDPs are living in camps with poor hygiene and erratic distribution of clean water where the young become easy prey for sexual violence which is on the increase. Extreme violence throughout the country is hindering UNICEF and the World Food Programme teams from reaching people requiring urgent aid.
More than 850 people have died in violence since the 27 December election which re-installed President Mwai Kibaki in power. The opposition says the vote was rigged. Violence and destruction continues despite mediation efforts between President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga. On 24 January, the two leaders met and promised to work towards sustainable peace.
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INTERNATIONAL: VIDEO ON CHILD SOLDIERS TO COMMEMORATE INTERNATIONAL DAY
On 13 and 14 February, the JRS representative organisation in Spain, Alboan, will show its latest video on child soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), produced in cooperation with the local JRS in the Grands Lacs region.
The 12-minute video, "Infancias Heridas" (Wounded Childhood), shows interviews from four former child soldiers who discuss how they became involved in the war in the DRC, how they were freed and what their hopes for the future were.
The two round table events, organised by the Spanish Coalition against the Use of Child Soldiers of which JRS is a key member, will take place in the northern Spanish cities of Vitoria and San Sebastian on 13 and 14 February respectively.
At each event, relevant national and international civil society organisations will discuss the concrete steps that could be taken to free the children from the militias in countries in conflict, as well as the support for initiatives to combat the impunity of the recruiters.
In 2006, the JRS Demobilisation and Reintegration project, based in the eastern Congolese city of Uvira, helped rehabilitate 219 children. The children received accommodation, psychological support and vocational training. Most of the children are now reunited with their families. JRS also provides follow-up support to ensure that the reintegration process is managed smoothly.
Worldwide, there are still around 250,000 children working for armed groups, both fighting in the frontline or carrying out other tasks such as carrying weapons or acting as messengers, according to the latest United Nations report of 2006.
The DVDs will be available in Spanish on the JRS website from 2 February, to download a copy, see
www.jrs.net/reports
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