Year of hopes and setbacks

Hopes for solutions in the volatile Great Lakes region have been followed by setbacks, often leading to new waves of population movements, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in a report to the General Assembly. His report on assistance to refugees, returnees and displaced persons in Africa, issued this week at UN headquarters, said the optimism that accompanied the lifting of regional sanctions against Burundi in January gave way to disappointment as insecurity spread to provinces bordering Tanzania. Meanwhile, given the positive signs as a result of the Lusaka agreement on the DRC, UNHCR has drawn up a plan for a potential massive repatriation movement, the report said. Some 15 African countries are currently embroiled in armed conflict, resulting in the internal and external displacement of hundreds of thousands of people. Africa’s continuing displacement problems came at a time when major emergencies elsewhere “have tended to draw the world’s attention and to make heavy claims on available resources”, the report added.