30 05 14 Concern over camp-closure threat in North Kivu

Photo: WFP/Djaounsede Pardon

More than 600,000 IDPs have returned to North Kivu in the past 18 months

“Recent
statements by the Governor of North Kivu regarding the alleged closure
of the camps/sites around Goma caused concern among humanitarians as the
residents of these sites could be forcibly returned to places of origin
or to other locations,” said the European Community Humanitarian aid
body (ECHO) in areport published on 13 May. “Such a scenario would put the camps’ residents in a dangerous and insecure situation.” 

There
are 107,237 IDPs currently living in camps in Goma, according to the UN
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Most of
these IDPs fled areas held by former M23 rebels when they were defeated
in December 2013 by the DRC army, backed by the UN Stabilization Force (MONUSCO). 

In
April, the governor of North Kivu Province, Julen Paluku, told local
media: “The security situation has sharply improved in the territories
of Rutshuru and Nyiragongo [two of six territories in North Kivu
Province]. We have reinstated local authorities to maintain state
authority backed by the police, security services and the army. So there
is no reason for IDPs to keep on fearing for their safety once they
resettle in their villages.” 

He
warned those still not wishing to return: “We are planning to impose a
deadline on IDPs who are not vulnerable, to leave the camps and return
home.” He later claimed that his comments were misconstrued, but has
warned of the possibility of closing some camps. 

Twenty-five
thousand IDPs are yet to return to Rutshuru and Nyiragongo, according
to Fellin Lutayichirwa, deputy governor of North Kivu Province. 

The
government has earmarked US$415,000 for the repatriation of IDPs, and
is meeting UN agencies and NGOs before finalizing the launch of the
programme, according to Planning Minister Celestin Vunabandi. 

“IOM
[International Office of Migration] and UNHCR [UN Refugee Agency],
jointly with the National Refugee Commission, are currently working on a
plan to merge some of the sites with a small number of IDPs,” the two
agencies said in a joint statement in French. “This merging will be done
in consultation with the IDPs and the procedure will be submitted to
the humanitarian community in North Kivu for approval.” 

In
the last 18 months, 664,251 IDPs have returned to provinces across
North Kivu, many with the help of UN agencies and humanitarian workers.
UNHCR emphasized the strictly voluntary nature of the returns so far. 

“Following
the statements by the North Kivu Governor on April 16, UNHCR was
informed by the National Refugee Commission (in charge of the
administration of IDP sites) and the Ministry of Justice that in no case
would IDPs be expelled from the camps,” Christophe Beau, protection
adviser for the UN system in Goma, told IRIN by email. “IDPs originating
from areas where the government has restored its control in Rutshuru
and Nyiragongo would be merely encouraged to go back. As for IDPs
originating from areas still exposed to armed conflicts, they will be
able to stay in the sites as long as necessary.” 

Beau
also noted that the National Refugee Commission has identified
cultivatable land that can be allocated to IDPs still remaining in the
camps and who cannot return to their home areas, particularly because of
insecurity. 

“The objective is to reduce the dependence of IDPs to humanitarian assistance,” the joint IOM and UNHCR statement said. 

WFP stops food aid to 152,000 IDPs 

These
developments coincided with an independent announcement by the World
Food Programme (WFP) in April, which has stopped providing food aid to
over 152,000 IDPs across North Kivu because of evolving needs in new
conflict zones such as the Central African Republic and Syria, according
to Djaounsede Pardon, a media and communications officer with WFP in
Goma. 

“WFP has received
less than a third of its budgetary requirements for this year. As a
result, WFP is prioritizing assistance to the most vulnerable,” the
organization noted in a press statement released on 24 April 2014.

An
assessment in February and March 2014 by WFP – carried out in
conjunction with UNHCR, IOM, the National Commission for Refugees, and
the Provincial Ministry of Agriculture – was conducted in 33 IDP sites
in North Kivu. It aimed to establish which IDPs were most vulnerable,
according to Pardon. 

It
concluded that 71,300 (27 percent) of the registered IDPs in all of
North Kivu are vulnerable to food insecurity; and 62 percent have been
living in camps for over a year (30 percent have been living in camps
for over three years). 

Indicators such as food consumption and IDP assets were considered during the assessment, he added. 

“It
doesn’t mean that those who will stop receiving our assistance are
self-sufficient, but with the resources we have we cannot assist them.
The assistance will be focused on those who are more vulnerable than the
rest,” Pardon told IRIN. 

“Those
no longer considered for food assistance may need other types of
assistance, such as equipment for farming, financing for starting small
businesses – the list is extensive,” he added. 

Photo: OCHA/Imane Gana Cherif

Displaced persons line up for food distribution in the Lac Vert IDP site near Goma.