UN agencies appeal for US $120.7 million for subregion

United Nations agencies have launched an appeal for US $120.7 million for the West African subregion to address critical protection, coordination and peace building issues in the years ahead, the UN said in a statement. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA, which is the agency repsonsible for the Consolidated Appeals Process (CAP) document, highlighted the cases of Cote d'Ivoire and Liberia where it said civilians continued to endure economic stagnation and violent conflict. Agencies have appealed for $137 million for Liberia. The funds are to enable the agencies to continue providing protection and assistance to vulnerable groups, including internally-displaced people (IDPs) and refugees, and to support the disarmament, demobilsation and reintegration process. Despite the apparent end of hostilities in Sierra Leone, OCHA said, the country was still recovering from an 11-year conflict and the population still contends with pervasive poverty, a debilitated infrastructure, high unemployment and inadequate social services to cope with the demands of post-conflict recovery. The agencies are appealing for about $62 million for relief and recovery for Sierra Leone in 2004. OCHA noted that the crises in Liberia and Cote d'Ivoire had had important implications outside their borders, with Guinea, Mali, Ghana and Burkina Faso amongst the countries affected. The effects of the conflicts have been manifested in violence, small arms traffic, economic problems, a decline in the provision of social services and mass population displacements within and across borders. In Guinea-Bissau, people have faced instability and challenges to their livelihoods while in Guinea and Togo there has been political instability, OCHA said. OCHA further noted political tension in Mauritania and increased vulnerability in the rural areas due to drought, forcing civilians to take refuge in the border areas of Guinea, Mali, Ghana and Burkina Faso. To break the circle of violence in the region, humanitarian agencies had decided to play a positive and active role to ensure a smooth transition from relief to development among other issues, OCHA said. The agencies hope to provide protection to refugees, IDPs, migrant West African nationals and returnees and prepare appropriate early warning and preventive measures for the sub-region. In addition, they hope to address the root causes of the conflicts at political, social and economic levels and also implement long-term peace building efforts. The funds requested under the CAP for West Africa are to be used in the agricultural sector, coordination and support services, food, health, protection/human rights and rule of law within the countries of the subregion.