Closure of camps will complicate humanitarian operation

An announcement that the quartering areas of former UNITA rebels in Angola's central province of Huambo would be closed by 15 October has caused concern among aid agencies. Erick de Mul, UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Angola, has warned that agencies were not yet ready to move the estimated 90,000 former rebels and their families "in an orderly way to places of origin or resettlement". The World Food Programme (WFP) has also registered its concern at the Huambo provincial government's announcement. The proposed closure of the camps, and the resulting "large movement of people towards their areas of origin without pre-planning shelter, food and agricultural programmes, is a major cause for concern to WFP," the agency said in its latest situation report. De Mul told IRIN on Monday that it was unlikely that it would only be camps in Huambo province that would be closed. There are about 80,000 former rebel soldiers and about 260,000 family members in demobilisation camps across Angola. "It's not only in Huambo [that we face closures]. The number of people to be demobilised, [soldiers] and family members, was much larger than originally estimated. Hence the fact that we have many more quartering areas. But we have been able to catch up [with the extra need] and serve the people in these areas," he said. The eventual closure of the camps was part of the on-going peace process. "The bottom line is there was agreement between the government and UNITA some weeks ago ... to finalise the [quartering phase of the demobilisation] process within 45 days. That 45 day timetable was then set and brings us to about 15 October. In all likelihood, what we think, is that it's not at all possible to be ready to have people move in an orderly way to places of origin or resettlement," De Mul noted. Closure of the quartering areas as early as 15 October would have a considerable impact on humanitarian operations in the country. "Once people start moving you are no longer looking at 35 or 36 [quartering] areas [humanitarian agencies] have to access, you have many more areas. There may be hundreds of places of origin and resettlement, and we all know that people will still require some type of assistance, it will vary from province to province, but it's going to be much more complicated. "Logistics remain a problem. Invariably it's going to be more costly, it all depends how the government will move in terms of creating adequate conditions for people to return or resettle. Our role is always to complement [government efforts] and see what we can do, that's why we are continuously monitoring the situation on the ground. We are now looking at a situation where the number of roads that we can use are increasing, but when the rains come the gains will be reversed again," De Mul warned. He said there would be ongoing engagement with the government regarding the closure of the quartering areas. "I think there will be flexibility [with regard to closure of the camps] as there are a number of steps in the process. The first being to bring people together, stabilise their situation and then resettle and return them [to places of origin]. "The next steps are more complicated. You are looking at a target population that still needs to be assisted [when resettled] and logic tells you that when people who need assistance are gong to be dispersed that this will complicate things. So, we are monitoring the situation both in the provinces and at capital level, at Luanda level, ... there will be engagement with government," De Mul added. He said the humanitarian situation in Angola remained "something that we are deeply concerned about", as "we are not seeing a reduction in the movement of people, be it UNITA soldiers or IDPs [internally displaced persons], which complicates the issue. I think we'll have a bit of a rough ride for the next few months with the [coming] rainy season. Hopefully, at the beginning of next year we will have better clarity and a grip on the situation, but the coming months are not going to be easy," he warned. Meanwhile, the peace process continues with the formation of a Joint Commission comprised of representatives from UNITA and the government and chaired by the head of the UN Mission in Angola (UNMA), Ibrahim Gambari. "We now have the UNMA mission in town, the special representative [Gambari] will chair the Joint Commission and the first meeting is set for next Thursday. I guess in the meantime the technical teams of both government and UNITA are preparing the agenda and a calendar that will go through to the commission," De Mul said. The commission will finalise the outstanding issues of the Lusaka Protocol, a power-sharing peace agreement signed in 1994. "In terms of the Lusaka Protocol, what remains to be done is the appointment of a certain number of people from UNITA as ambassadors, governors and administrators. What we hear now is that elections will only take place, at the earliest, in 2005. So that does not seem to be a top priority at the moment," De Mul added.