UN demands unfettered access to those in need

Unrestricted access to people affected by the Zimbabwe government's controversial urban cleanup campaign is crucial if humanitarian needs are to be addressed, says UN Resident Coordinator Dr Agostinho Zacarias. He told IRIN that the UN country team hoped to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the government of Zimbabwe, to ensure that aid was distributed impartially and reached those left homeless and vulnerable by Operation Murambatsvina ('Drive out Filth'). According to the UN, over 700,000 people were affected when the government demolished informal homes and businesses in the country's urban centres. The campaign was heavily criticised by UN Special Envoy Anna Tibaijuka, who said it "breached both national and international human rights law provisions guiding evictions", and had resulted in a humanitarian crisis. A recent report by ActionAid International, the Combined Harare Residents Association and the Zimbabwe Peace Project claimed that up to 1.1 million people were affected by Operation Murambatsvina, and that the assistance they received subsequently was "sub-optimal and inappropriate - to say the least". The UN was still holding discussions with the government over a planned appeal to assist those displaced by the cleanup campaign, and the issue of access was "on the table also". In and around urban centres "de facto access is not a concern, but a general policy is needed to safeguard the activities of UN agencies and those of our partners ... we need to have a MOU to assure that," Zacarias pointed out. However, many of those displaced by the cleanup campaign had moved to rural areas and "just reaching some of the groups who have returned to the countryside has been very difficult", he noted. "The MOU is aimed at facilitating us reaching such people. So, really, we are looking for a general agreement about respecting the humanitarian principles of non-discrimination and neutrality, and access to all those in need," Zacarias said. He added that humanitarian aid should not be compromised, particularly "not because of political party affiliation - that should be clear to everybody, including those people at local [authority] level". "Humanity, neutrality, impartiality, non-discrimination, are key principles that guide humanitarian work, and these should be [included] in the MOU," Zacarias commented. There should be no room for "different interpretations of the general rules of engagement of the UN in this country, and that kind of communication must filter down to local levels," he stressed. Negotiations with the government over the appeal and the MOU would continue until Wednesday, when "we hope to reach a full agreement", Zacarias said. For the full ActionAid report go to: www.sarpn.org.za