UN assessment on IDPs urges increased donor support

A UN mission to assess the needs of internally displace persons (IDP) in Burundi urged the donor community to strengthen their support for humanitarian efforts undertaken for displaced populations, stressing that Burundi remains one of the most under-funded of all humanitarian emergencies. “Burundi is facing one of the most acute problems of population displacement in Africa today,” stressed Dennis McNamara, UN special coordinator for internal displacement. The UN senior inter-agency network on internal displacement mission, led by Dennis McNamara noted that serious gaps remained in the provision of protection for the IDPs who continue to be vulnerable to violent abuse by all armed actors.

The mission reiterated the responsibility of the government to ensure that the response to the needs of all displaced populations was based solely on objective criteria of vulnerability. The mission stressed that assistance to and protection for the displaced should take into account the specific needs of women and children, particularly with regards to sexual abuse, exploitation and HIV/AIDS. The UN received only a quarter of the funds it had appealed for in the year 2000.