Peace brings fresh humanitarian challenges

As the Angolan government and rebel UNITA movement prepare to sign a formal ceasefire this week, aid workers told IRIN that peace will present a new set of challenges for the humanitarian community after almost three decades of civil war.

Four million Angolan's - one-third of the population - have been displaced by the conflict. With the humanitarian operation already stretched to the limit, the initial impact of a ceasefire agreement could be to add an estimated 100,000 to 300,000 people to the numbers already needing assistance.

"We will have to work on two fronts: impress again on the government that they could do more, and go back to the donor community [for increased funding]," UN Humanitarian Coordinator Erick de Mul told IRIN on Monday.

UNITA rebels and government representatives signed a memorandum of understanding on Saturday in the eastern town of Luena that returns both sides to the 1994 Lusaka powersharing agreement. The protocol, abandoned in 1998, includes the disarmament and reintegration of the rebels into the national army, and UNITA's transformation into a purely political party. A formal ceasefire signing ceremony is expected to take place in Luanda on Thursday.

De Mul said he was optimistic over the peace settlement, but noted the humanitarian situation would not change on the ground overnight.

Among the challenges would be access to those in need, adequate security for displaced persons returning to their homes, and the repair of roads and bridges destroyed in the long years of fighting to allow supplies to reach the country's isolated interior.

"The majority of people will want to be assisted when they return [to their homes]. It is very important to create the adequate conditions for people so that they can survive," de Mul said. That would include the proper demarcation of mine fields.

"This will not happen overnight but there could be a turning point this year, hopefully," de Mul said. "What is critical is the full cooperation of the authorities to make sure access is possible."

More than 457,000 Angolans are refugees within the region, the majority based in neighbouring Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Although the government and humanitarian community's priority would initially be the resettlement of locally displaced Angolans, the UN refugee agency UNHCR has launched two assessment missions this week to eastern and northern Angola to examine conditions for the future return of the refugees.

"A return is not about bringing people in and dumping them here, they need to return in safety and dignity," UNHCR Representative Zelda Sinclair told IRIN.

Among her concerns are the persistence of landmines, the limited amount of land that would be available to returnees, and guarantees over their safety. "There's a lot of things that have to come into play before you can talk of a mass return," said Sinclair.