PROTECTION OF CHILDREN IN REFUGEE EMERGENCIES - The Importance of Early Social Work Intervention -- The Rwanda Experience Preface The Promotion of children's right to protection in armed conflicts and to physical and psychological well-being is playing an increasingly important role in Radda Barnen's work for refugee children. The UNHCR Guidelines on Protection and Care Of refugee children serve as directives for OUT Work. This report is based on the experience of social workers from the Radda Barren emergency standby team seconded to UNHCR in the Rwanda conflict The report focuses on some of the gaps in the protection of the most vulnerable in refugee emergencies, the children. By highlighting a few problem areas it is hoped that discussions will be encouraged concerning ways in which social work methods in refugee emergencies can still improve. Johan Stanggren Acting Programme Director Stockholm, February 7th, 1995 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 4 Background Collaboration between Protection and Social/Community services Human rights standards 5 The Rwanda refugee crisis 6 Recent developments in the region Map: Refugee flows from Rwanda into countries of asylum Violence against children in the Rwanda conflict 8 Efforts towards the rehabilitation and social integration of children Social/community services for children In the refugee camps -priorities In the post-emergency phase 10 Unaccompanied minors (UAMS): Identification and registration UAM centers Substitute families and foster care arrangements Tracing and family reunion Education and psychosocial rehabilitation Protection and personal security of children-Identifying gaps and meeting needs 15 Problem areas Collaboration between protection and social/community services Conclusions and recommendations 18 Annex A. UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, part one. Annex B: List of abbreviations List of references This is Radda Barren ========================================================================== Introduction Background In the past 50 years there have been well over 100 conflicts worldwide and, until recent conflagrations in Eastern Europe, almost all were in less developed countries, where children make up around 50% of the population. It has been characteristic of these conflicts that the rate of civilian casualties has been extremely high. One result of political unrest and civil war is large groups of people displaced in their own country, and large streams of refugees to neighboring countries. In recent years, the phenomena of uprootedness has become so widespread that the number of refugees has grown to an estimated 17 million-a staggering statistic which does not take account of millions of people uprooted within their countries. Half of the world's refugees are children. The overall goal of Radda Barnen's work concerning children in wars and refugee children is to improve the conditions of those particularly at risk. Radda Barren has therefore established a stand-by capacity of 20 social workers for rapid mobilization and short time deployment in refugee emergencies. The intention is to enhance the protection and care of children and women. In May 1993 a memorandum of mutual agreement was signed between United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and Radda Barren. According to this agreement Radda Barren is prepared to provide from the standby roster a minimum of six highly qualified and experienced staff members to take part in UNHCR needs assessment missions and in the establishment of community-based social services in emergency situations. In the Rwanda refugee crisis four social workers were seconded to UNHCR between April and September 1994. They participated in the establishment of community-based social services in the refugee camps in Uganda and Tanzania. A follow-up mission took place in November 1994. One of the social workers went back to the refugee camps in Uganda and Tanzania to look into social work issues in the post-emergency phase, with a special focus on the protection of children. A short visit to Goma, Zaire, and Rwanda was also included. This report is Radda Barnen's second report on social work in refugee emergencies. Report no 1 'Social Work in Refugee Emergencies, Capacity Building and Social Mobilization-The Rwanda Experience" was published in September 1994. Collaboration between Protection and Social/Community Services Children's safety is sometimes threatened or violated in normal society-even more so in refugee situations and situations of conflict. Children are sometimes victims of military and armed attacks, recruited into armed forces, used as forced labour, abducted, irregularly adopted, physically and/or sexually abused including through torture, exploited, discriminated against, abandoned, neglected and subject to arbitrary and inhuman detention. Many die; many others sustain serious physical and psychological injury. UNHCR and Radda Barren have a mutual interest in identifying methods and developing strategies for closer collaboration between Protection and Social Services. This is particularly important in the light of new emerging demands and security risks involved in situations which are not clearly defined with regard to the UNHCR working mandate. Such situations are e.g. operations in war zones, work with internally displaced persons and work in refugee camps characterized by political unrest. A workshop was held by UNHCR in Geneva at the end of April 1994 with the objective of developing a good working relationship between Protection officers and Social Services Officers. Radda Barren was represented at the workshop. This report highlights the conditions of children in the camps for Rwandan refugees. Promotion of children's right to protection in conflicts and refugee situations as well as of their right to physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration are among the most important working areas addressed by Radda Barren. Conclusion and recommendations At present prospects are bleak for a speedy, safe and peaceful repatriation of Hutu refugees on any large scale: apart from pressure from their own leaders to stay in exile, the refugees also genuinely fear persecution and imprisonment in Rwanda if they return. A proper reconciliation and rehabilitation process cannot take place, neither in Rwanda nor in the refugee camps before those responsible for the killings are brought to court and sentenced. The large majority of innocent refugees who are struggling to make a decent living in the camps, even have a blurred picture of what has happened to them. Whereas many of the men occupy their minds and time thinking about revenge, women often express sadness and lost hope in the future. As one refugee woman in Kyabalisa camp in Tanzania put it: "God did all these terrible things to us, so now we have forgotten about him'. The Rwandese are known to be a religious and spiritual people. In their hour of need they must be helped and encouraged to revive all traditional and religious practices needed to cleanse the evil deeds committed and to mourn and honour the dead. Children will not be healed unless adults show them the way. Community services programmes have had to face constraints working in an environment of insecurity, political unrest and breakdown of solidarity within the refugee population. None the less, the work done has been very rewarding and many good results have been achieved in a short period of time. Much credit must be given to the early intervention of community services in the emergency. Priorities were set very early and remain the guiding principles: identification of and special support programmes for UAMs to avoid institutions, early tracing and family reunion, community-based psychosocial rehabilitation alongside an emphasis on co-ordination, common guidelines and equal services to refugees in all areas. This report has tried to focus on some of the gaps in the protection of the most vulnerable, the children. By highlighting a few problem areas it is hoped that discussions will be encouraged on how social work methods in refugee emergencies can be further improved. A few recommendations for future deployments of community services coordinators in emergencies will serve as a conclusion to the follow-up observations from the field. - In emergencies involving large populations and a vast area of camp sites to be covered, two social workers should be deployed to cover the wide scope of terms of reference. Two working areas are equally important: one to recruit local staff and set up immediate support structures for women and children at camp level, the other to work on early identification, guidelines for and co-ordination of NGOs at district and regional level. Resources should also be available for more training input in the early phase of the emergency. - Higher priority should be given to supporting local NGOs that are willing to work or already operating in the refugee area. They should be assisted with more technical input-especially training in emergency social work-to build their capacity to meet the standard requirements of the UNHCR Guidelines on Protection and Care of Refugee Children. - Tracing and family reunion activities should be started even earlier. To be able to initiate such activities the community services coordinator needs technical advice and equipment (see Report no 1). At local level a lot can be achieved through community networks within the camps. More NGOs should be encouraged to develop field-based programmes to assist in tracing. - Closer collaboration between the protection sector and community services has been emphasized in this report. More joint assessments and methods of intervention could create enhanced preparedness and improve efforts to fill the gaps in the protection of children. Reliable referral and reporting systems must be established at camp level. Awareness of protection issues must be an integrated part of the training and supervision of community supporters for UAMS. To ensure their protection in a more long-term perspective special attention should be given to the development and improvement of foster care arrangements. - Protection of children cannot be achieved without protection of mothers. Reaching out to vulnerable women and children with basic services has become a key protection issue in the Rwandan refugee camps. To ensure the survival of children and women at risk feeding centers should be started as early as possible and should be within easy reach of the most vulnerable. Experience shows that the centers have an important role to play in both the mental and physical recovery of children and mothers. Due to the lack of trained and reliable refugee staff in the camps it would be advisable for community services and preventive health care services to join efforts in the emergency and build up common core groups of outreach workers with a view to ensuring early detection of children at risk. - Advocacy for and training in human rights issues should be given early priority in the emergency. Human rights monitors need to be present in the refugee camps. Target groups for advocacy should be both local and intentional NGOS, national government officials and refugee leaders. Community services and protection programmes should provide special training in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, with a focus on its practical implications in the refugee situation.