From irin@dha.unon.org Wed Nov 13 13:48:23 1996 Date: Tue, 5 Nov 1996 08:59:46 +0300 (GMT+0300) From: UN DHA IRIN - Great Lakes To: irinwire@dha.unon.org Subject: Zaire: Refugees International Report #5 4 NOvember 1996 96.11.4 ============================================================================= REFUGEES INTERNATIONAL ============================================================================= Report #5 Contact: Kirk Day November 4, 1996 (202) 828-0110 CEASE-FIRE PROVIDES OPPORTUNITY TO ACT A million Rwandan refugees in eastern Zaire are now without international protection and assistance as a result of the withdrawal of all humanitarian NGOs and UN agencies from Goma. Will the international community come to their aid in time to avert the deaths of tens of thousands? Today, with the announcement by Tutsi rebels of a unilateral three-week cease-fire the international community may have its best opportunity to ensure that thousands of lives are not unnecessarily lost. Ideally, an international military force would secure humanitarian corridors in Zaire, but realistically this will not happen quickly. Meanwhile, what can be done is to organize a civilian operation along the Zaire-Rwanda border to deliver short-term emergency assistance and access for refugees to return to Rwanda. To staff such an effort, the UNHCR should rely on a combination of its staff, volunteers drawn from humanitarian NGOs, Rwandan civil servants seconded from the ranks of border prefectures, and paid contract workers--including former camp residents. Teams composed of individuals from the aforementioned groups could be posted at regular intervals along the route to provide emergency assistance, information, and, most of all, moral support to those heading home. Assuming that the cease-fire holds, this plan could be implemented within days, and it will have to be, since by all accounts the supplies of food and water available to the displaced camp residents will last no longer than a week. The virtue of this plan is that it is quick, but it should not detract from efforts to organize and deploy an international security force. Persuading the refugees to return home will not be easy. Their leaders, who exercise a great deal of influence over refugee decision making, have long decreed that it is too dangerous to go home and that many will be arrested or killed. The voices of Hutu refugees who have returned home safely need to be heard. Perhaps a credible Hutu spokesperson will step forward to break the deadlock. Indeed, human rights abuses persist in Rwanda and immediate corrective measures should be taken. But the bottom line is that the only way for most refugees to avoid life-threatening peril will be to return home before disease, lack of food and fighting result in tens of thousands of deaths. For most refugees, repatriation is the best available choice. For some time, the international community has been pressing Rwanda to begin trials for those accused of human rights abuses and to relieve inhumane overcrowding in the prisons. In a good faith gesture, it would be especially helpful if Rwanda started civilian trials and military court proceedings for Rwandan military officials charged with human rights violations. Similarly, the international community should also insist that the international tribunal seated in Arusha begin trials immediately. If massive repatriation does occur, the Government of Rwanda will require more financial and humanitarian assistance. Though much reconstruction has taken place during the last two years, much more remains to be done to accommodate new returnees. ============================================================================= Refugees International -- 2639 Conn. Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20008 Phone: 202-828-0110 Fax: 202-828-0819 www: http://www.clark.net/pub/ri ============================================================================= [Via the UN DHA Integrated Regional Information Network "Wire" mailing list. The material contained in this communication may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies. UN DHA IRIN Tel: +254 2 622123 Fax: +254 2 622129 e-mail: irin@dha.unon.org for more information. If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer.]