Upholding people's rights in the midst of disaster

People's rights sometimes get trampled in the rush to provide aid when disasters strike - with women and girls particularly at risk of exploitation. Mozambique has suffered more than its fair share of emergencies in recent years, from cyclones to floods and droughts. Last week two training sessions for government and civil society staff were organised by Save the Children-UK/US and Oxfam to underline the international standards expected in disaster responses. The Sphere project, also known as the Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response, has had guidelines in place since 1997. But it was the headline-grabbing cases in Liberia in 2002, in which peacekeepers and aid workers were accused of systematically abusing young women and girls, that clearly highlighted the vulnerability of disaster survivors. The Sphere project identifies minimum standards that crisis-hit communities have the right to expect: for example, a certain quantity of food, adequate shelter, a sufficient supply of water and protection from abuse. "It's their right, not charity," said Chris McIvor, programme director for Save the Children UK in Mozambique. "The risk factors in Liberia are similar to Mozambique. Girls, especially in the rural areas, are suffering severe economic deprivation and that fact, coupled with the usual peer pressure and the lack of prospects and recreational activities, makes girls easy targets for unscrupulous humanitarian aid workers," noted McIvor. Although there have been no reported cases of systematic sexual abuse by humanitarian workers in Mozambique, it was important to put systems in place to prevent them from occurring, said McIvor. Mozambique, one of the world's poorest countries, where 80 percent of its 18 million people rely on subsistence farming, has been hit by prolonged droughts and two major cyclones. The floods in the southern and central regions of the country in 2000 and 2001 claimed the lives of almost 700 people and displaced hundreds of thousands. Manuel Maxlhaieie of the Mozambique National Disaster agency, INGC, participated in the sphere training. "I found it very useful - I was unaware of some of the minimum standards that are required in emergencies, such as the minimum size of the shelter." Orlando Francisco, INGC director in the central province of Zambezia, said he had not heard of cases of humanitarian workers exploiting their positions, but in a high-intensity disaster relief operation it could happen. "The pressure is so great. On our side we have to coordinate all the actors in a short space of time. There is never enough food, water and tents to go around," Francisco explained. "We just have a little of everything - and so this puts pressure on both those distributing and those receiving."