Refugee situation “especially critical”, Ogata says

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Sadako Ogata has described the situation in central Africa as “especially critical” and called for faster solutions to ease the plight of refugees and displaced people. Addressing the UN Security Council on Thursday as part of its “month of Africa”, she expressed particular concern over increasing numbers of internally displaced people (IDPs) in the region and the continent as a whole. The bulk of uprooted people in Africa were now IDPs, she pointed out. “Nowhere, however, war and violence affect millions of exhausted civilians more than in central Africa,” she stressed.

Taking the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as an example, she said it was crucial for the Security Council to provide “more decisive support” in conflict resolution. She bemoaned the fact there were no effective conflict-resolution mechanisms in place in Africa, stressing armed groups in one country were often supported by governments in neighbouring states. “The presence of IDPs throughout central Africa is not only a humanitarian problem, but also one of security,” she told the Council, stressing the need for established mechanisms to deal with the IDP problem.

Dealing with IDPs was often more arduous than dealing with refugees who cross borders, she said. Ogata also noted the “grave imbalance” in the provision of aid to Africa, compared with other areas of the world, and this was “unacceptable”. “The Security Council has an essential role to play in preventing, containing and resolving conflicts, and hence refugee problems, in Africa,” she said.