Interview with Jan Egeland, UN Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs

For close to two decades, northern Uganda has been the scene of one of the most brutal civil wars in the world, a conflict that has forced almost two million people into camps for the internally displaced scattered across the region. Jan Egeland, the United Nations Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, visited the region on 1 April to witness the humanitarian emergency firsthand. In an interview with IRIN, Egeland called the conflict "the worst form of terrorism in the world". QUESTION: This is not your first visit to northern Uganda. Have you come across any surprises? ANSWER: There was both good and bad news. For me, it was a mixed picture in the sense that the suffering of the civilian people is continuing unabated. In Pader, 90 percent of the population still live in overcrowded camps. Northern Uganda is, in many ways, the world's terrorism epicentre. Nowhere in the world do we have large areas where between 80 and 90 percent of the population are terrorised into camps by violence. Terror is defined as indiscriminative violence against civilians. It is now a term that has come out even in the UN. Life is as valuable in northern Uganda as it is in Europe, in America and elsewhere. Nowhere is there such a concentrated area where many people are being terrorised for such a long period of time. It merits more attention, more resources and more political and security involvement. Conditions in northern Uganda are totally unacceptable and intolerable. This situation has to change because people have to live a better life and have a better future. I am glad that the [UN] Security Council, though belatedly, is now giving more attention to the northern Uganda crisis. On the positive side, however, I find hope in the greater will I have seen in Uganda at the highest levels of government and in the international community, for a need to change the situation. I see a commitment to do more; to invest more in services and humanitarian programmes but also to invest more in reconciliation and the return and integration programmes so that people can finally go home. Q: You have met government officials and made some proposals on the comprehensive approach to the problem, including the appointment of a special UN envoy for northern Uganda. What reaction have you received from the government, and specifically from President Yoweri Museveni? A: The president did not buy the idea of an envoy specifically for northern Uganda. He does not, however, rule out an envoy for the entire region because the LRA problem has since become regional. We are working with the president and government on that issue. We are working with the government towards a greater reconciliation and the return and reintegration of former LRA [Lord's Resistance Army] fighters. Q: What would be the role of the special envoy? A: The idea of a special envoy is to make the countries of the region that are affected and the international community that is involved provide security for the civilian population. In essence, an envoy would bolster regional action. Many countries would try to help on the political and military efforts, and an envoy would help to facilitate and coordinate that work. We also want greater UN involvement in the reconciliation, as well as in providing security to the population. How can a small rebel group terrorise such a large area and so many people for a long time? Q: How have the authorities in Uganda received the proposal to have experts involved in military and health issues? A: I found a very positive attitude with the president and high officials in government. We may disagree on the gravity of the situation now and on the security risks still faced by both the civilian and humanitarian workers, but we agree on what should be done in terms of greater action on behalf of the population. Through a joint mechanism between the government and the international community, we now need to find concrete benchmarks for what we want to achieve in the next months in terms of returning the people to safety and dignity; in terms of a decrease in the mortality for the displaced; in terms of increasing the health indicators in this region; in terms of more children going to primary and secondary schools; and in terms of the provision of greater security to the civilian population as they return back to their homes. Q: You have met and talked to the displaced. What feelings did they express to you? A: I was deeply moved by meeting the representatives of the civilian population, and when they shared their problems with me. I met mothers, some of whom have had up to four of their children kidnapped. They have not had any contact with them for years, and many of them told me that they have no hope of their children returning home because of the general insecurity. I also met aid workers who are reporting greater achievement in humanitarian work. I think they are doing a courageous effort. I have also met the military, who are saying they are committed to do more to protect the civilian population, and they told me that they are open to more advice and exchange with us. We want to establish closer contact with the military, whereby we can then ask them more effectively about the protection issues concerning the civilian population. I also met the former LRA fighters, who said they came out of the bush because they had heard on the radio about the amnesty and the opportunity to surrender without being hunted. Q: Isn't this the same chorus where officials come to these people, make pronouncements and go away, but the situation remains the same? What do we expect to change with this new initiative? A: Surely, we hope for a change. Since my first visit here in 2003, when I tried to draw the attention of the world about the horrendous situation in northern Uganda, things have happened. I have seen more aid workers coming up here, more than those I left when I visited northern Uganda the previous time. The UN, among other organisations, has invested much more. We are going now to concentrate on areas of protection for the civilian population. We want to concentrate more on water and sanitation because this is the main cause of death in the region. We would also like to look at the health and nutrition in the new initiative and also look at the planning for early recovery for these areas. I do not fancy meetings and declarations by high officials or politicians. I want to see concrete benchmarks being met and goals being achieved. That is why we are saying that there is need for the people to return to peace and dignity. We want a decrease in attacks and an increase in health and nutrition standards, which will only be the proof to us - the government and the international community - that we are making progress.