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UN agencies concerned about deterioratingviolence, humanitarian situation in DRC
Tens of thousands of already internally displaced people (IDP) inthe eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have beenforced into new displacement over the past five days due toescalating fighting, an UN spokesman said Tuesday.
One of the major displacement was that some 60,000 peoplewho used to live in the Kanyaruchinya camp, near to North Kivu's provincial capital Goma, left itdue to insecurity, said Jens Laerke, spokesman with the United Nations Office for the Coordinationof Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
In response, humanitarian agencies had identified three sites in Goma where they will be able toreceive most of the new IDPs; however, humanitarian assessment missions scheduled for Mondaywere cancelled following renewed fighting around Goma, Laerke said.
He said the tension has made humanitarian aid increasingly difficult in both North and South Kivu, along with a surge in humanitarian needs.
More than 2.4 million people have been internally displaced in the country as a result of violenceand conflict, and 4.5 million people country-wide have been suffering from food insecurity, according to OCHA.
The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said that 60 percent of IDPs in DRC were women and childrenand across the country one million children under the age of five were expected to suffer fromacute malnutrition.
Rupert Colville, spokesman of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) saidthe UN human rights chief Navi Pillay is deeply concerned by the deteriorating situation of civiliansin eastern DRC.
The advances made by the M23 rebel group over the past few days have been accompanied by asignificant number of violations of human rights and international humanitarian law committedagainst civilians, particularly those fleeing the combat zones, he said.
UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has issued an advisory, urging governments not to forcibly returnpeople to North and South Kivu pending meaningful improvement in the security and humanrights situations, said UNHCR spokesman Adrian Edwards Tuesday.
UNHCR also cautioned against returning them to safer parts of DRC, unless they had strong andclose links there, he said.
Since the beginning of this year, renewed conflict in the two provinces had exacerbated an alreadydire humanitarian situation and uprooted close to 650,000 people, including 250,000 newlydisplaced in North Kivu and 339,000 others in South Kivu since April.
Over the same period more than 40,000 people had fled to Uganda, and 15,000 to Rwanda; andBurundi had been receiving around 1,000 new Congolese arrivals every month since August, according to the UNHCR.
Elisabeth Byrs, spokesperson of the World Food Program (WFP) said that WFP helped 447,000 people in North Kivu and operations needed to be suspended in some places where violencesignificantly impaired their ability to act.
It's hoped that these will be put back in place as soon as the situation has calmed, she said.
多家联合国机构２０日在日内瓦表示，对刚果（金）东部南、北基伍地区最近的武装冲突升级、人道主义状况恶化深感担忧。
联合国人道主义事务协调办公室发言人严斯 拉尔克在万国宫例行记者会上说，近５天来，刚果（金）东部数以万计的流离失所者因为武装冲突被迫再次流徙，其中在距离北基伍省首府戈马约１０公里的难民营中有６万人逃离。
他说，人道主义机构在戈马确定了３个地点用以接纳这些新的流离失所者，原定于１９日进行的评估活动因为戈马附近再次爆发冲突而取消。目前，刚果（金）的人道主义需求在增加，然而紧张局势大大增加了人道主义援助行动的难度。
联合国粮食计划署发言人伊丽莎白 比尔斯说，该机构已向北基伍省４４．７万人提供了相应援助，但近日的冲突使该机构不得不暂停在一些地点的援助发放活动。她希望形势一旦趋于平静，这些活动就能继续开展。
联合国难民署发言人爱德华兹说，难民署已经发出一份公告，敦促邻国政府在刚果（金）的安全和人权状况取得实质性改善之前不要强制将难民送回南、北基伍以及相对安全的其他地区。
刚果（金）东部南、北基伍地区的武装冲突持续多年，但今年以来政府军与图西族反政府武装之间的冲突让形势进一步恶化。联合国数据显示，刚果（金）国内有２４０多万人流离失所，其中６０％为妇女儿童；约４５０万人面临粮食短缺，预计有１００万５岁以下儿童将患急性营养不良，目前邻国共接纳了约４６．３万刚果（金）难民，主要集中在乌干达、刚果（布）、卢旺达和坦桑尼亚。
统计显示，仅今年４月以来的冲突在南、北基伍新造成的流离失所者就有约６０万人；同一时期，近６万难民逃往乌干达、卢旺达和布隆迪。
当天，联合国人权事务高级专员皮莱也对刚果（金）东部平民的状况深表关切。 |
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发表于 2016-7-11 09:55:52