Displaying items by tag: Refugees

In early 2004, the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO)’s Food Outlook report estimated that 38 countries were in need of exceptional food assistance, the same number as in 2003, about 15% more than in 2001 and 2002, and the highest since 1984. This list is noteworthy less for what it includes (the majority of affected countries are in Africa) than for what it leaves out, in particular China and India where, by the FAO’s own assessment, in the State of Food Insecurity 2003, about 70% of the world’s undernourished people live. In other words, the FAO’s list says more about…

Over the past decade, significant progress has been made in developing a capacity to respond to reproductive health needs in emergencies. This paper describes advances in policy; outlines what we know about the magnitude of reproductive health needs; and explores the lessons for programming. It aims to equip humanitarian practitioners with essential information for delivering effective reproductive health services to people in crises. While the scope of reproductive health services available to conflict-affected populations is without question better today than in the past, substantial gaps in programme coverage, content and quality remain, making it difficult or impossible for affected populations…

Legal aid might not seem the first priority for a humanitarian assistance organisation in a situation where people’s physical needs for food, shelter, security and basic healthcare have not been met. Nonetheless, its practical value in post-conflict situations is being increasingly recognised. Until the rule of law has been re-established, most attempts to tackle other social problems are likely to be little more than short-term palliatives. Afghanistan is a prime example. The central government’s writ barely extends beyond the capital Kabul. Much of the country remains lawless and, even in the areas that they control, the police and courts are…

Local NGOs in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (Zaire) became involved in humanitarian assistance in the wake of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. Subsequent crises – wars in Congo and Burundi, massive population displacement, violent ethnic conflict and the volcanic eruption in Goma in January 2002 – only increased the need for local NGOs in South and North Kivu to develop their capabilities in humanitarian aid. Today, ten years on from the genocide, humanitarian assistance has become a key area of activity for local NGOs in eastern Congo. This article looks at some of the key…

The Military Technical Agreement of the Security Council on 10 June ended NATO’s bombing campaign, initiated the withdrawal of Belgrade’s security forces, opened the way for a return of the Albanian Kosovars who had fled or been expelled from Kosovo, as well as for an international military (KFOR) and civilian contingent (UNMIK or UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo) to enter the province. Major developments have taken place since then. For example, KFOR has reorganised international troop deployments away from national sectors – with all the political sensitivities this implied – to geographical multinational brigade sectors, each with several troop…

Housing is essential to the well-being and development of most societies. It is a complex asset, with links to livelihoods, health, education, security and social and family stability. Housing is also an extremely vulnerable asset, and the destruction of homes or their loss through displacement or dispossession is one of the most visible effects of conflict and natural disaster. This paper argues that housing reconstruction should be a more prominent part of programming after conflict and disaster. There is no agency is devoted to housing reconstruction, and few of the major NGOs working in relief would claim to be specialists in this…

Population displacement is a feature of many conflicts: people may flee violence or human rights abuse, or they may become displaced because the minimal requirements for life are unmet. The displaced often face special difficulties not shared by other groups touched by conflict or disaster. The displaced are often disadvantaged in terms of their access to public facilities, compared to a host or indigenous community. Their location may influence their access to humanitarian assistance, and their ability to survive and regain their economic security. The humanitarian challenge is to deliver assistance and protection in what are often unfavourable environments, especially when the…

Uganda’s displacement crisis has been called the ‘forgotten humanitarian emergency’. One particularly devastating feature of this crisis is the lack of physical protection of refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs). Surveillance data reveals that injury rates in settlements and camps are disproportionately high. A considerable number of refugees and IDPs are injured as a result of intentional violence, and a significant proportion of these can be attributed to gunshot wounds. Sexual violence is also common, and is regularly perpetrated at gunpoint. Displaced people are the target of direct military attacks, coercion, intimidation, forced conscription into formal and militia forces, informal…

The humanitarian world was rocked in 2002 by a UNHCR/Save the Children study which revealed a disturbing pattern of sexual exploitation of refugee children by aid workers and peacekeepers in West Africa.  This article argues that the gaps in accountability revealed by the scandal point to the need for a humanitarian watchdog. In October 2001, a UNHCR/Save the Children assessment team visiting Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone unexpectedly came across allegations of abuse by humanitarian workers during the course of a broader sociological study on sexual violence and exploitation of refugee children.  The study, begun with no intention of investigating…

In the aftermath of the war in Iraq, airlifts bringing in humanitarian assistance have begun, in some cases backed by the considerable resources released by the US, the European Commission and EU member states. UN agencies, NGOs and ‘specialists in reconstruction’ have begun to flood in. Meanwhile, security remains precarious, and Iraqis are becoming increasingly frustrated. While it is perhaps too early fully to take stock, this article offers some immediate thoughts on the war and its aftermath. The humanitarian context At one time, Iraq’s economy flourished, based on huge and cheap-to-exploit oil reserves. The war with Iran, which began in the early…