OCHA West Africa Newsletter No. 4

LIBERIA: Follow Up Action to Sexual Abuse Allegations
(OCHA/LIBERIA) - Following the UNHCR/SCF report on sexual violence and exploitation of refugee children in West Africa, the UNCT in Liberia discussed the issue and suggested concrete ways to address the situation. A draft plan of action has been developed in a concerted effort and NGOs will be consulted and their approaches will be taken into consideration in order to achieve a common platform for all humanitarian actors in the country. An effective response as well as a preventive mechanism is the envisaged outcome of the current consultations.

Activities suggested under the draft plan of action include the following:

  • Establish regular monthly coordination meetings with all actors to ensure a concerted effort in combating sexual and gender based violence (SGBV);

  • Consolidate, finalise and adopt guidelines regulating social activities and the sale of drugs ;

  • Implement quality reproductive health programmes including HIV/AIDS knowledge and awareness campaigns in all camps;

  • Increase the presence of trained gender sensitive humanitarian staff in all camps;

  • Provide regular counselling sessions in camps

  • Train and support refugee and IDP community structures to effectively monitor child abuse cases;

  • Establish a confidential reporting system for individuals to report cases and have access to redress;

  • Conduct awareness raising workshops in camps on the rights of the child, CEDAW and integrate these together with peace education , HIV/AIDS approaches in school curricula;

  • Develop and enforce a "Code of Conduct" for humanitarian workers;

  • Train security officials on refugee and IDP rights as well as overall human rights;

  • Advocate with Government to raise the national age of consent to 18 years as stipulated in the CRC.

It has to be underlined that all these activities can only be undertaken if adequate financial and human resources are made available. The already abused need immediate medical, psychological and legal support in order to cope with their resulting illnesses (STD, HIV/AIDS, etc.) trauma and need for redress. The medium term to longer term initiatives have to aim at prevention and capacity building. Appropriate programmes need to be developed and implemented. Already existing programmes have to be modified in order to ensure the vulnerable groups are aware of their rights and have access to complaint mechanisms. A mammoth task in Liberia, where underfunding severely restricts humanitarian action.

Visit of the AERC to the West Africa region

Mr. Ross Mountain, the Assistant Emergency Relief Coordinator undertook a mission to the West Africa Region in February 2002 in order to (a) review and evaluate current mechanisms for national and sub-regional humanitarian coordination, their effectiveness and efficiency vis à vis current coordination needs; (b)engage national authorities in each country in discussions concerning all humanitarian aspects of the sub-regional emergency including safety and security of humanitarian workers, preventive measures, access to displaced and vulnerable groups and the relocation of populations in distress; (c) sensitize the donor community to funding needs for delivery of assistance and coordination in each country, including discussions on transitional assistance measures; (d) promote attention of the international community for the West African region; and (e) review the current situation in Ivory Coast and pave the way for the establishment of the OCHA West Africa Regional Support Office.

Major findings:

In general, severe underfunding of the region seriously hampers humanitarian action. By April, the CAP funding levels stand at 4.27% overall in Guinea (OCHA: 9.12%), 0.96% overall in Liberia (OCHA: 0), 4.67% in Sierra Leone (OCHA: 12.34%) and Westafrica overall 5.69% (OCHA: 13.01%).

In Guinea, the AERC had the opportunity to meet with the UN Country Team, donor representatives and NGO partners in addition to Government officials. A field trip to Nzérékore rounded off the visit to Guinea. A Kola Refugee camp, close to the Liberian border was visited to get a first hand impression of the situation in camp.

The main issues to be addressed by humanitarian actors in Guinea include the existence and disarmament of young armed volunteers as well as the reintegration and assistance to both IDPs and host communities. The overall coordination system needs urgent strengthening in order to address these important tasks.

In addition - to raise the profile of Guinea and its needs - a solidarity conference on Guinea could be organised in collaboration with UNDP towards the end of the year.

In Sierra Leone, where transition issues are now clearly on the agenda, the sustainable insertion of IDPs and refugees (demobilised ex-combatants) in newly accessible areas is one of the major concerns in order to avoid a relapse into violent conflict. OCHA's Humanitarian Information Center (HIC) needs to be strenghtened in order to collect and process the necessary data for humanitarian action, support the Sierra Leone "test case" and become the regional hub on humanitarian information. In addition, provincial coordination requires offices to be established in Kailahun and Kono. The participation in the Sierra Leone donor mission as well as the various bilateral high level meetings in country have been useful for sensetization purposes.

Authorities and donor representatives in Ivory Coast welcomed OCHA's preparations to open a Regional Support Office in Abidjan, focussing on:

  • national and sub-regional contingency planning,
  • advocacy,
  • fundraising and donor liaison,
  • surge capacity to the MRU country offices,
  • training to OCHA staff in the region,
  • support to the SRSG in the region
  • regional natural disaster response support and overall
  • information dissemination and monitoring of developments in the region.

The evolving situation in Liberia necessitated two visits to the country. Reviewing the situation of IDPs in camps around Monrovia, of repatriating refugees from Sinje camp, consulting with the UNCT, Government Officials, donor representatives in country and NGOs in order to ensure that basic humanitarian principles were adhered to , assistance coordinated and humanitarian needs recognized. As the fluid situation continued, the development of an inter-agency contingency plan was initiated to ensure appropriate preparation in accordance with the different possible scenarios.

IMF approves US $366 million credit for C. d'Ivoire

(IRIN) - The International Monetary Fund approved on 2 April 2002 a three-year credit of US $366 million for the government of Cote d'Ivoire's poverty reduction programs. These programs cover aspects of education, health, and institutional and legal reforms, outlined in the government's Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper. The credit was contingent on World Bank approval, obtained on Thursday. The clearance enables the government to receive its first disbursement of $73 million immediately.

LWF/DWS Program Information - LIBERIA

The Lutheran World Federation / Department for World Service (LWF/DWS) - Liberia Program began its relief activities in Liberia in 1990. It responded to an invitation from the Lutheran Church in Liberia to provide emergency humanitarian relief services.

This nowadays includes family shelter construction, water & sanitation, agriculture, non-food items distribution, disaster management training, and camp management. Under the emergency assistance project funded by our community of Action by Churches Together (ACT) Partners, LWF/DWS has an objective to provide humanitarian services to 22,000 persons residing in and out of Monrovia and Central Liberian IDP camps, about 1/3 of the total displaced Liberian population.

LWF/DWS is proudly serving as the Camp Manager at the Jah Tondo Camp & provisionally at the Bellefanai Camp in Bong County. The organization's responsibilities include all aspects of the aforementioned services as well as managing the day to day operations of the camp, direct assistance to vulnerable women and older people, and the coordination of humanitarian emergency service activities among other non-governmental agencies engaged in the sectors of health, counseling, education, agriculture and child protection.

Furthermore LWF/DWS provides technical agriculture assistance, aquaculture fisheries construction, crop multiplication demonstration sites, swamp rice paddy development, micro-credit income generation schemes, community & rural development services, infrastructure rehabilitation, capacity building and leadership training, trauma healing and reconciliation, and emergency assistance to internally displaced people residing in IDP Camps. LWF/DWS is implementing projects for ACT Netherlands, FAO, USAID, EU, OXFAM and CSA.

Lately LWF/DWS has been asked and is considering to engage in contractual agreements with WFP for the distribution of food in Bong County and again with UNHCR for food basket monitoring in all the Liberian Refugee Camps.

Demobilization of Young Armed Volunteers in Guinea

(OCHA/GUINEA) - An important part of the work being done in Guinea to support the current transition from a humanitarian crisis to development is demobilization of young volunteers who spontaneously volunteered to defend their country during the border attacks in late 2000 and beginning of 2001.

According to local authorities, international assistance is needed to assist the Government in facilitating this reintegration of young, armed individuals, who no longer have employment with the Guinean military.

Within the framework of the Consolidated Appeal 2002, the Norwegian government is currently supporting an UNICEF demobilization project. The project aims at development and implementation of reinsertion and training activities, including logistical backup, equipment and various supplies. The beneficiaries are mainly found among displaced populations, and the programming of the funds is made directly with the beneficiaries.

An inter-ministerial and multi-sectorial unit, composed of representatives from the Ministries of Social Affairs, Defense and Security, has been established in order to ensure coordination of project activities. This unit will provide guidance and monitoring of field activities and is receiving technical support from the UNICEF protection team. So far, the members of this unit have organized three missions of sensitization and identification in the Guinean prefectures affected by armed conflict. These missions have helped to inform the young people involved on school education and vocational reinsertion opportunities to be offered by the program, and has also been sensitizing local and military authorities.

UNICEF estimates that there are around 10.000 young armed volunteers in need of demobilization and training in Guinea.

Since the project was initiated, 500 young individuals under the age of 18 have been identified in the Prefectures of Kissidougou and Guéckédou to take part in the project. The project will throughout the year continue in Conakry, Faranah, and other areas.

MANO RIVER UNION: Commission calls for expulsion of dissidents

(IRIN) - A special commission of the Mano River Union countries - Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone - has recommended the expulsion of armed dissident groups from each other's territories as a means of re-establishing peace among the three countries.

The meeting of the so-called expert commission - a follow-up to a Moroccan-sponsored peace summit of the three countries in March - also recommended the creation of a Joint Security Commission to exchange security information; as well as monitor the movements of dissidents and criminals among member-states. In addition, the expert commission suggested joint-border patrols that would seek to check the circulation of light weapons.

The commission also wants "security corridors" opened to ease the return of hundreds of thousands of refugees and for each country to contribute US $100,000 to implement some of the measures taken at Thursday's meeting in Conakry, the Guinean capital, Africa Number 1 radio reported.

Armed dissident activity brought Guinea and Liberia close to hostilities, and badly strained relations between Liberia and Sierra Leone. Guinea and Liberia had accused each other of supporting armed groups trying to overthrow each country's government, while Liberia had been accused of sponsoring Sierra Leone's recently defunct Revolutionary United Front that waged a 10-year war against successive governments in Freetown.

ONGOI NG and UPCOMING Missions:

03.04. -19.04.2002
DfID Consultant, Miss Moira Reddick to West Africa

14 -24.04.2002
IDP Unit Mission to West Africa

29.04.- 01.05.2002
Mr. Magnus Carlquist and Miss Jonsson (Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs) to Guinea

15.04. - 19.04.2002
Mr. Bruce Knotts, Regional Coordinator for Refugees,
US Government to Liberia

Initiatives and Recommendations from Sierra Leone to address allegations of sexual exploitation of IDPs

Immediately upon the premature release of the draft UNHCR/SCF-UK Report on "Sexual Violence & Exploitation: The Experience of Refugee Children in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone", the humanitarian community convened an Interagency Committee comprised on GoSL officials, UN Agencies, UNAMSIL-Civil Affairs, NGOs and the Sierra Leone Police.

As an immediate and medium term measure to mitigate and monitor sexual and other forms of exploitation of beneficiaries the humanitarian community devised an Action Plan. This included measures to address immediate operational issues, the review of internal policies, implementing partners' agreements and public awareness and reporting mechanisms.

The humanitarian community has drafted the "Standards of accountability to the community and beneficiaries for all humanitarian workers in Sierra Leone". Once finalized and ratified by all agencies, it will disseminated to all beneficiaries and communities.

In a statement to the humanitarian community The Humanitarian Coordinator in Sierra Leone said, "As humanitarian workers we have an obligation to adhere to the highest standards of integrity in all our actions, both on and off the job. There is no place in the humanitarian world for anyone who preys on those whom we have pledged to serve"

Community Reactions

The UNHCR/Mass Information Office is currently visiting all camps to survey how the returnees have reacted to the release of the report and their key concerns. Accordingly, a mass information exercise will take place. So far from the surveys carried out, people acknowledged the occurrence of such incidences, however only on third party basis, without citing individuals. On the whole there seems to be a hesitancy to discuss such issues due to the cultural stigma and taboo surrounding them. Conversations are often diverted to appeals for an increase in food rations and obtaining ration cards for other family members.

UNICEF and its partners in the Child Protection Network namely, SCF, IRC, Coopi, Caritas-Makeni amongst others have been trying to strengthen community based reporting mechanisms through which such issues can be reported and acted upon. The Child Welfare Committees and Women's Committees already established in the camps will be the main forums through which such cases can be channeled. It is believed that it will take some time before a sense of trust and confidence is established to report such incidences of abuse. However, in the mean time CPN are ensuring that people are aware of their rights and know who to divulge information to, including police and camp managers.

The Sierra Leonean nationals of the humanitarian community are clearly upset at the allegations being made, brandishing all male national staff as corrupt, abusive pedophiles. In this light senior national staff within UN Agencies, NGOs and the government have decided to jointly write a position paper to make their feelings known to the international community. They have also demanded that proper, legal investigations are carried out before disciplinary action is taken.

UNAMSIL Human Rights have also undertaken separate investigations to look into the sexual abuse and violence committed by Peacekeepers. Physicans for Human Rights and UNAMSIL launched a Report entitled "War related Sexual Violence in Sierra Leone, A population based assessment" that attempts to document war related sexual assaults and other human rights abuses against internally displaced women. It is hoped that the study's findings will contribute to the work of the Special Court and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

The Assistant High Commissioner of UNHCR, Mr. Kamal Morjane visited Sierra Leone in early March to review actions planned and underway to strengthen the protection of young refugees.

UNICEF and UNHCR drafted a "Protocol for Journalists' interaction and interviewing of victims of sexual abuse and exploitation in Sierra Leone" to ensure that the best interests of the child are held during interviews. A special briefing with the local press has been conducted and it is hoped that all visiting international journalists will be briefed.

The way forward

Recently a number of agencies such as WV and IRC have brought in investigators or consultants to train staff on Child Rights and Protection issues. UNOCHA, UNICEF and UNHCR are trying to identify an expert that will assist in training the humanitarian community at large. In addition to international expertise we hope to utilize existing local networks and structures to provide training. Workshop UNOCHA, UNHCR and NaCSA are planning a workshop for the entire humanitarian community in late April. The purpose is to continue awareness of the issue in the country and examine modalities for tackling and mitigating such issues on a variety of fronts as soon as possible.

It is hoped that a standard stance will be adopted by all agencies in dealing with staff who have allegedly been involved. Ensuring that legal practices are adhered and the rights of both those abused and accused are respected.

Further Information on that issue you will get here: www.unhcr.ch

"The UNHCR/Save the Children-United Kingdom assessment report has sounded serious alarm bells. We must now move quickly to put in place comprehensive measures and arrangements, several of which have been highlighted in the assessment report, to ensure greater protection for war-affected children."
Olara Otunnu, The Secretary -General's Special Representative for war affected children

NEWS IN BRIEF - NEWS IN BRIEF - NEWS

2-3 day in- country CAP Training is tentatively planned during the months of June - August 2002. Final dates to be announced in the next Newsletter.

OCHA Briefing Packs for humanitarian staff online

The packs include basic background information, the latest humanitarian situation report, a humanitarian directory, coordination mechanisms, maps, etc. They will be updated monthly and are now available for Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone (see attachments).

We are looking forward to your comments/suggested changes and contributions. THANK YOU.

Disclaimer

The West Africa Newsletter (WANL) is delivered to you by OCHA Geneva. It may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations.

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