UN humanitarian chief pledges greater aid for northern Central African Republic

(Bangui [Central African Republic] and New York: 30 March 2007): United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes this afternoon arrived in Bangui, capital of the Central African Republic, following a morning spent visiting some of the areas most affected by civil conflict in the northern part of the country.

Among the areas visited this morning, the Emergency Relief Coordinator went to the Otah area, at present home to 1,700 former residents of Pauoa, a village burned to the ground in fighting between Government and rebel forces just three months ago. The people of Pauoa often return to rebuild their homes during the day, but continue to seek respite from the rampant insecurity that afflicts the region in the forest at night.

"Today I went into the bush to meet some of the people who have fled and are hiding there for their own safety," recounted Mr. Holmes. "These men, women, and children are not in good shape, living without decent food, clean water or health care, even though they are just a few kilometres away," he noted.

The Emergency Relief Coordinator visited the Friday market at Beboy, where hundreds of Central Africans were gathered to sell their goods. One month ago, he was told, barely 20 people came to the market, so today's turnout was a positive sign of life returning to normal. However, many regulars were still missing, as people remain afraid to return fully.

Another stop was a hospital in Pauoa supported by the non-governmental organization (NGO) Médecins sans Frontières, one of only four international aid organizations working in the area. The others are the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), International Partnership for Humanitarian Development (IPHD), and Cooperazione Internazionale (COOPI).

"With tens of thousands of people dispersed and hiding in the bush, a degraded road system, and few NGO partners on the ground, one of the greatest challenges is just reaching people in need," noted Mr. Holmes. "That is why the UN plans to establish coordination offices in these remote areas -- to pull in more aid organizations and support their operations."

Decades of recurrent armed conflict, political instability and poor governance have devastated the country, one of the poorest on earth. Fighting between Government forces and rebel groups has displaced some 284,000 people over the last six months. About 210,000 of those people are internally displaced within their own country, while the other 74,000 have sought refuge in neighbouring Chad, Cameroon, and Sudan. Overall, some one million people -- one quarter of the total population -- are estimated to be affected by the widespread insecurity throughout the north.

Upon his arrival in Bangui, the Emergency Relief Coordinator met with General Lamine Cissé, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Peace-building Office in the Central African Republic, and held a town hall meeting with all staff working for the United Nations in the country. He is expected to meet the Prime Minister later today.

Mr. Holmes plans to meet with other senior Government officials and representatives of the United Nations agencies, NGOs and donor countries tomorrow before completing his mission. This first, two-week mission as Emergency Relief Coordinator has taken Mr. Holmes to Sudan, Chad and the Central African Republic, giving him the chance to view first-hand the world's largest humanitarian relief operation, as well as the regional dimensions of the Darfur crisis.

For further information, please call: Dawn Blalock, OCHA-Sudan, +249 912 174 454 (mobile), +88 216 5119 1670 (Thuraya); Juan Pekmez, OCHA-CAR, +236 031 825 (mobile), +88 216 6700 0397 (Thuraya), Stephanie Bunker, OCHA-New York, +1 917 367 5126, +1 917 892 1679 (mobile); Kristen Knutson, OCHA-New York, +1 917 367 9262; Elisabeth Byrs, OCHA-Geneva, +41 22 917 2653, +41 79 473 4570 (mobile). OCHA press releases are available at http://ochaonline.un.org or www.reliefweb.int.