Africa Refugee Rights News

Vol. 1, Issue 2, June 2003

A french language version of this newsletter is available, for a copy please e-mail buenoo@lchr.org

Africa Refugee Rights News is a new e-mail and web-based newsletter focusing on issues affecting refugee protection in Africa.

The newsletter is coordinated and hosted by the International Refugee Program of the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights (LCHR). For 25 years LCHR has worked in the U.S. and abroad to create a secure and humane world by advancing justice, human dignity and respect for the rule of law.

Through the newsletter we hope to highlight and support efforts to enhance the protection of refugees and internally displaced persons in Africa, and to flag emerging challenges and opportunities for advocacy.

We hope that the newsletter will grow into a forum for exchange of information on refugee protection practice and policy in Africa and create a catalyst for new partnerships.

We very much welcome your comments and contributions. Please direct those to Olivia Bueno at buenoo@lchr.org. Or write to the International Refugee Program, Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, 333 7th Avenue, 13th floor, New York, NY 10001.

If you would like to subscribe or unsubscribe from this list please send an e-mail to Olivia Bueno at buenoo@lchr.org.

AFRICA AND THE G8 AT EVIAN: A WELL RUN DRY?

This month, leaders of the largest economies in the world—the G8—met at Evian, the home of the famous bottled water. The annual meetings discuss, among other things, globalization and its effects on the world economy.

The French government sought to place the question of how to advance the response of the G8 to the New Economic Plan for African Development (NEPAD) at the top of this year’s agenda. NEPAD is the new framework for the economic and political development of the African continent which was endorsed by African leaders in July 2001.

Although refugees are not explicitly mentioned in the NEPAD foundation documents, activities to protect human rights and pursue democracy and good governance are central to the plan—all of which are vital prerequisites for improving the lives of refugees on the continent.

At the 2002 summit held in Canada, the G8 leaders endorsed an Africa Action Plan (AAP), a companion plan pledging particular support for the African NEPAD initiative. The AAP described the new policy vision which would guide G8 interaction with Africa’s political and economic integration, and set out the areas where the G8 intended to allocate resources in support of NEPAD.

It was hoped that this year’s G8 meeting in Evian would see the world’s richest countries move to address some of the other priorities identified by NEPAD which had not been fully explored by the AAP. In particular, consideration of trade and debt reforms was urged. As African leaders had been invited to take part for the first time in the G8 summit, it was expected that the presence of their voices would help to achieve agreement on needed policy change.

Ultimately, however, the draught offered up by the G8 at Evian quenched little of the African thirst. Issues such as health (particularly the fight against AIDS), access to water and combating famine did garner some attention from the G8, as did selective support to Africa’s agricultural sector. But despite the fact that individual countries (such as Canada) reported welcome progress in their AAP commitments, there were few new undertakings made by the G8 to their African partners in any of the priority areas.

It remains to be seen whether the generous rhetoric with which the G8 States first welcomed the NEPAD plan will coalesce into a genuinely active partnership for the development of Africa. Certainly the seeds sown in Canada last year will need more watering than they got at Evian if they are to sprout and grow.

Read more:

More information can be found at the NEPAD website.

DRC: MASSACRE OF CIVLIANS IN ITURI TRIGGERS INTERVENTION BY UN SANCTIONED FORCE

The scale of human suffering in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is shocking. The International Rescue Committee (IRC) estimates that the DRC conflict has already claimed 3.3 million lives. And nowhere is this more apparent than in the Ituri region in the east of the country.

While Congo attempts to hold together fragile sets of ceasefires and peace agreements, ethnic violence, the struggle for control of resources, and regional power brokering continue to fuel deadly fighting in Ituri. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimated in December 2002 that the conflict in Ituri had claimed 50,000 lives and displaced half a million people. In March 2003, Amnesty International reported that the conflict was drawing more and more ethnic groups into organizing and expanding the numbers of militias.

Last month, the situation rapidly deteriorated when the withdrawal of Ugandan troops (who had been operating in DRC for five years) left a vacuum that armed groups rushed to fill. As the conflict intensified civilians fleeing the killing overwhelmed the headquarters of the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) in the Ituri capital of Bunia. Later over 350 bodies of those who were unable to make it to safety were discovered in the streets of the town. Thousands fled to other regions of Congo and over 20,000 to neighboring Uganda.

Echoes of Rwanda

As the conflict surged, striking parallels with the situation in Rwanda in 1994 just before the genocide began to resonate with observers. Concern rapidly grew that a similar tragedy might be repeated in Ituri.

First, historically, the Hema and the Lendu, the two major ethnic groups in Ituri, have maintained a similar relationship dynamic to that of the Tutsi and Hutu in Rwanda. Constant tensions between the two groups over land escalated into widespread violence in 1972, 1985 and 1996. The extended presence of Ugandan and Rwandan armies in the region has contributed to the exacerbation of tensions.

Second, as in pre-genocide Rwanda, a small and under-equipped UN force was present on the ground. But as hate radio began to broadcast and a frenzy of ethnically targeted killing erupted in early May, that force was just as totally unprepared and unequipped to protect civilians.

International response to the escalating violence in Ituri was led by the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Sergio Vieira de Mello who spoke of his "grave concern" at the indiscriminate killings, calling particular attention to reports that "civilians [were] again being killed because of their ethnicity."

Carla del Ponte, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, suggested that the mass killings "could be genocide."

Human rights groups, including the Lawyers Committee, urged immediate measures to protect civilians, with some calling for the Security Council to authorize the deployment of a rapid intervention force.

The Lawyers Committee urged the Security Council to ensure that MONUC had an appropriate mandate and adequate capacity to effectively protect civilians. Their statement also highlighted the need for the international community to support countries in the region hosting Congolese refugees who were fleeing the violence in their thousands. Finally, the Lawyers Committee called for the international community to work to ensure accountability for the crimes being committed—a key element in breaking the cycle of impunity that has strangled the Congo for over a century.

The UN Security Council Responds

On May 30, 2025 the Security Council issued Resolution 1484, authorizing the deployment of a rapid reaction force for three months to "contribute to the stabilization of security conditions and the improvement of the humanitarian situation in Bunia."

The 1,400-strong force currently being assembled will be led by France with contributions from other countries including the United Kingdom, Canada, Belgium, South Africa and Nigeria. The first group of this force is already in Ituri, and the entire force is expected to be fully deployed by June 20.

Although the deployment is welcome, some local sources have expressed misgivings about the time frame for the mission, its geographical restriction to Bunia town, and the limitations of its mandate. The Congolese NGO Lotus, for example, has pointed out that because many of the militia forces have their strongest bases of power in rural areas, the confinement of the force to Bunia will hamper its effectiveness. Further, the new force is not mandated to carry out disarmament—a primary concern for many in the region.

Refugee Crisis

The suffering caused by the latest escalation of civilian killings in Ituri is not confined to DRC. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Uganda has registered over 20,000 new refugee arrivals in Uganda. Local newspapers report that up to 100,000 Congolese may have crossed the Ugandan border through the dense forests of eastern DRC.

There are serious concerns about the humanitarian situation of the refugee population. Many have expressed reluctance to move into closed camps to receive assistance. Food is reported to be scarce and there have been outbreaks of cholera. Tensions already high between the refugees and local populations are only set to increase, particularly if adequate steps are not taken to ensure that ethnic militias have not infiltrated the population.

Helping the region cope with these refugees will be a parallel and equally important challenge for the international community.

Read more:

Lawyers Committee Calls for International Action to Address Crisis in Ituri Province in the Congo

UN Security Council Resolution 1484

World Refugee Day on June 20 is one of the most important days of the year for those working to protect refugees around the world and particularly in Africa—the continent which has hosted so many of the world’s refugees. In fact, June 20 was first African Refugee Day but in 2001 the UN General Assembly passed a resolution instituting a global day of celebration as a gesture of solidarity with Africa.

UNHCR has designated refugee youth as the focus of the celebration this year hoping to bring greater international attention to their particular contribution to refugee and host communities.

Refugee youth is a fitting theme for a day which seeks to stress the resilience and capacities of refugees around the world. Youth often show particular courage and have a huge potential to contribute to their communities if only they are afforded the opportunity.

In honor of World Refugee Day, UNHCR and other refugee organizations are organizing a plethora of events around the globe. Celebrations will range from a song and dance festival in the Kyangwali refugee camp in Western Uganda, to the airing of a documentary on refugee youth "Facing our Future" on Tanzanian television, to sensitization sessions on drug and alcohol abuse in Guinea.

In the United States, celebrations will be launched by actor Angelina Jolie, UNHCR’s Goodwill Ambassador and will feature performances by refugee artists. (To find out what UNCHR is planning in your country, go to UNHCR’s World Refugee Day site.) Also in the United States, the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services are planning nationwide events, from New York to Fargo, North Dakota. More information».

In the United Kingdom, June 16-22 has been tagged Refugee Week and events have been planned around the country. More information».

World Refugee Day on June 20 is an ideal opportunity for refugee advocates to highlight what UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has called, "the extraordinary courage and contributions of refugees past and present."

LIBERIA: SPIRALLING OUT OF CONTROL

Liberian President Charles Taylor is a hunted man. On June 4, he was indicted by the Special Court of Sierra Leone for various crimes against humanity.

Although disclosure of the warrant has not yet resulted in his apprehension, arrested or not, the pressure is mounting at home and abroad. A ceasefire agreement was signed this week in Ghana between the Taylor’s government and the two main rebel groups. Taylor’s defense minister said at the signing ceremony that Taylor will step down as president of Liberia.

This comes against a back drop of bloodletting in the past weeks as anti-government rebels reached the outskirts of Monrovia. Taylor found himself with few friends, at the helm of a country that is fast becoming a pariah state, and is acknowledged exporter of much of the violence that wracks West Africa.

"Taylor is the epicenter of the crisis in West Africa," the declared U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Ruud Lubbers during his recent visit to the region. Mr Lubbers openly called for the removal of Charles Taylor from power.

As the High Commissioner observed, the Liberian conflict seems to be extending its tentacles beyond its frontier ever more, threatening to catalyze an all out sub-regional conflict. Neighboring states are increasingly implicated in one way or another; either among the direct participants which fuel the violence, as targets of Liberian supported rebel groups, or as humanitarian respondents to the devastating impact of the conflict on civilians in the region.

The Refugee Crisis

In and around Liberia, the constant forced movement of refugees and displaced persons pose problems for the administration of humanitarian aid and the basic physical security of the displaced. Liberia has borders with Sierra Leone, Guinea and the Ivory Coast; countries that have not escaped the wrath of Liberia’s ugly conflict. Access to many of the refugee camps in these countries by humanitarian organizations has been rendered extremely difficult as a result of cross-border incursions of armed groups, attacking refugees and humanitarian workers. The High Commissioner was particularly blunt on the issue of recruitment in refugee and IDP camps, an abuse which exacerbates the extent to which refugees and refugee camps are viewed as "legitimate" targets by all sides: "I cannot accept that a camp be used as a base for recruitment."

International law provides that refugees should be housed in neutral zones free from all forms of violence. And host countries have the primary responsibility for ensuring security and protection of refugees in their countries. But often the host state is incapable of, or has little interest in, providing security. Nowhere is this more apparent than in West Africa where it is clear that the measures taken to provide protection have been inadequate, due to a variety of political and capacity issues, and often simply because the agents of the violence originate from across the border. In such circumstances, refugees look to the entire international community to make protection effective.

Ruud Lubbers roundly condemned the lack of attention that the international community has paid in the face of the Liberian crisis, dubbing it an icon of the world’s neglect of the African continent.

Read more:

Wanted by the Sierra Leone Special Court: Ghana fails to arrest Charles Taylor


BURUNDIAN REFUGEES FORCED TO MAKE DIFFICULT CHOICES IN TANZANIA

Beggars can’t be choosers; so goes a callous saying. For Burundian refugees in Tanzania, choices are few and far between. With their food rations further reduced and movement even within the 4 kilometer radius of the camps curbed by Tanzanian authorities, Burundian refugees have understood this message to be loud and clear—either you leave Tanzania or you starve to death.


Faced with such difficult choices, thousands of Burundian refugees in Tanzanian camps have over the last month, opted to "self-repatriate" even when the situation in Burundi is a far cry from peace. Humanitarian agencies in Tanzania report that so far about 15,000 Burundian refugees have returned home, despite reports of continued fighting in many parts of the country, including near the capital, Bujumbura.

The UN World Food Program (WFP), in January and May this year, reduced the food rations by 50 and 28 percent respectively. To compound matters for the refugees, Tanzanian government officials have imposed harsh restrictions limiting refugees’ movement and economic activities that were useful in supplementing the refugees’ meager handouts.

More recently, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) complained about the covert ways in which the refugees were being forced to choose between remaining in "prison-like camps with reduced assistance in Tanzania" or returning to a "less than peaceful, but hopeful, Burundi."

Refugees have been confined to the camps with no freedom of movement whatsoever. Previously refugees could move within a 4-km radius of the camps. The new restriction puts the refugees in a more precarious situation since they are incapable of venturing outside the camp to work or sell goods to supplement their food supply, according to aid agencies in the region.

The April 30 hand over of power from President Pierre Buyoya, an ethnic Tutsi to his vice-president, Damitien Ndayizeye, an ethnic Hutu as stipulated by the Arusha Accords, and the new prospects of peace, had been viewed by many as an opportunity for refugees to return. But this enthusiasm quickly wilted as fighting and insecurity in many parts of the country continued despite the power sharing arrangement.

But there is hope. The peaceful transfer of power is seen in the region as a last chance for peace in Burundi. And for a country that has been at war much of her independent life, nothing could bring more smiles to the many refugees in camps in Tanzania and elsewhere in the region. But until that time their repatriation must occur on a strictly voluntary basis.

NEW UNHCR GUIDELINES ON THE CESSATION CLAUSE:—AN INFORMATION NOTE FOR AFRICAN NGOs

In February, UNHCR issued new guidelines on the cessation clauses. The Guidelines were formulated as a result of a wider discussion on particular themes in refugee law and policy convened by the UNHCR over the last two years. The new Guidelines offer guidance on how the cessation clauses, which deal with the circumstances under which protection offered to a refugee may cease, should be applied.

Cessation may be invoked in a number of circumstances, but the most important for advocates is the concept of "ceased circumstances"-a determination that protection is no longer necessary because the circumstances that forced the refugee to flee from his or her home no longer exist. This clause is sometimes applied to particular groups of refugees as part of return arrangements.

The emphasis in the new Guidelines is on identifying the elements and processes which help in an objective assessment of changed circumstances in the country of origin. As cessation begins to surface in the refugee policy calculations of many States in Africa—currently under consideration for the Rwandan refugee caseload—understanding the parameters of this refugee law concept will be of particular interest to refugee advocates.

A full discussion of the implications of the new guidelines. Or you can request a copy by e-mailing buenoo@lchr.org.

There were serious concerns that many refugees may have been placed under inappropriate pressure to return and that the preparations for the return may have been inadequate. More information».

At the end of the repatriation exercise nearly a thousand of the refugees who remained in Tanzania applied for permission to stay in the country. On May 30, the Tanzanian newspaper The Guardian reported that 931 refugees had been told that their applications had been rejected by the government’s Commission. Only 7 applications were successful. Other reports indicated that the UNHCR intends to conduct a separate verification exercise and that those who UNHCR accepts as refugees will be allowed to remain in Tanzania until they can be resettled to other countries. The bottom line is that forced return of those who have genuine fears of return should not occur.

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