At least half a million without aid

The Global Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Database of the Norwegian Refugee Council on Wednesday released an update of its country profile on internal displacement in Angola. After a quarter of a century of conflict, the chronic insecurity and human suffering marked by the Angolan war continues to increase. According to government reports, the total IDP population is fast reaching the four million mark which gives Angola, along with Sudan, the dubious stature of hosting the world's largest number of internally displaced, the update said. Despite increased international attention to the plight of IDPs in Angola and an improved government commitment to assist these populations, some 60 percent of areas hosting displaced persons were reportedly without a humanitarian presence at the end of 2000, the report noted. In November, the UN Representative on Internally Displaced Persons, Dr. Francis Deng, visited the country and reported an estimated 525,000 persons were thought to be in areas inaccessible to international organisations. In a country where the needs of displaced and resident populations are already acute, humanitarian observers presume the needs of these inaccessible populations to be far greater. Indeed, news agencies have reported regularly on civilian populations driven out of the bush by guerrilla violence in recent months. Often, rural villagers have had to walk as far as 70 km before reaching help. By this time, they are in a poor state, showing signs of malnutrition, disease and extreme fatigue. Children are generally the most adversely affected, their growth often stunted by the time they reach medical aid, the report stressed. Perhaps most disheartening about the present picture in Angola is that humanitarian access is said to have improved over the last year, the update said. According to aid agencies, the extension of state administration in areas previously held by UNITA means major road corridors have been opened and security perimeters expanded around many provincial centres. As a result, humanitarian agencies have been able to launch programmes in nine newly administered locations and to conduct assessments in over forty previously inaccessible communities. But the overall humanitarian operation in Angola is now seriously affected by a change in military strategy on the part of UNITA, the update stressed. After losing ground to the government during the first part of 2000, UNITA returned to guerrilla tactics, employing rapid infiltration offensives and hit-and-run ambushes with much more frequency. Though the government claims to control 90 percent of the country, state forces would be hard-pressed to guarantee the total safety of any area of the country in the context of this guerrilla war. For the most part, displaced persons originate from deep rural areas where UNITA continues to operate freely. In response to the plight of the estimated 3.8 million internally displaced persons in Angola, the government of Angola showed an increased commitment to improving humanitarian conditions during 2000. The government, in concert with the United Nations is working to develop Minimum Operational Standards for Resettlement and Return (MINOPS) in line with the UN Guiding Principles on IDPs. At present, norms have been drafted that will be followed up shortly by operating standards. In parallel, the government continued to implement its National Programme for Emergency Humanitarian Assistance (PNEAH), allocating some US $13 million in aid since July 1999. For its part, the international community also stepped up efforts to study the needs of the internally displaced, the report noted. High-level visits were conducted by a number of UN and other officials. The US Ambassador to the UN, Richard Holbrooke, visited the country, as well as Dr. Deng, each took time to visit the country. The President of the ICRC, Jakob Kellenberger made an assessment visit of his own before the end of the year. In parallel, the UN dispatched an Inter-Agency Rapid Assessment Mission Team to Angola in April 2000 to assess the situation of displaced persons. A UNHCR evaluation of the situation of internally displaced persons was also performed at the request of the Angolan government. At the political level, the UN Monitoring Mechanism on Angola Sanctions set about investigating violations of UNITA sanctions. In a much-awaited report released in December 2000, the Monitoring Mechanism emphasised the need to deprive UNITA of its diamond income. It underlined UNITA's illegal use of diamond revenue to purchase arms via its bases in West Africa. Of greatest concern is that vast numbers of the displaced are without aid or protection. The report calls for a change in the political will of national and international actors for a concerted effort to be made to end the suffering. The complete country profile can be accessed via (www.idpproject.org) or sent by e-mail on request ([email protected]).