Chad: UN humanitarian chief visits displaced in border region

(N'Djamena and New York: 28 March 2007): United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes arrived this afternoon in the Chadian capital of N'Djamena, following earlier visits to internally displaced persons (IDP) settlements and aid projects in the area of Goz Beida, about 100 kilometres from the border with Sudan.

Setting out this morning from Abéché, the headquarters of humanitarian operations in eastern Chad, the Emergency Relief Coordinator travelled to Goz Beida, a hamlet whose population has more than quadrupled in the past three years due to insecurity in the Chadian countryside and across the border in Sudan's Darfur region. In addition to a resident population of roughly 12,000 and the Sudanese refugee population of 16,000, an additional 42,000 displaced Chadians have sought shelter in the town in the past year alone.

Dwindling water resources are a pressing concern in the Goz Beida area. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working in the water sector warn that the limited underground water supply could be fully depleted in a matter of months, putting tens of thousands of people at risk.

"We cannot continue like this, hoping for a miracle when we can see a humanitarian catastrophe looming," stressed Mr. Holmes, "Without security, all the humanitarian assistance in the world won't change the situation.

"I have heard the demand from all around -- from the sultan [traditional leader], the aid workers, and the local people. People are truly frightened to move because of the insecurity," said Mr. Holmes, while in Goz Beida. Humanitarian partners, who are hard pressed to find an alternative site with adequate water resources for the displaced, confirm that they face resistance from the growing number of refugees, and particularly IDPs, who are fearful of changing locations due to the increasing insecurity in the countryside.

Mr. Holmes visited two IDP settlements in the area surrounding Goz Beida, Gouroukoun and Koubigou, where he met with internally displaced women to discuss issues of priority for them. He also toured a water project carried out by the United Nations Fund using funds from the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF).

Over the past three years, roughly 230,000 Sudanese refugees have fled the conflict across the border in Darfur to seek shelter in camps in Chad. Additionally, the recent sudden escalation in violence in eastern Chad has quadrupled the number of IDPs in the area -- from 30,000 one year ago to more than 140,000 today -- and challenged the humanitarian community in Chad in meeting their needs.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) just recently opened a new sub-office in Goz Beida in order to coordinate the delivery of assistance to the growing population in need. The Emergency Relief Coordinator intends to raise the issue of better funding the humanitarian response with the donors when he meets them in the capital later today, as well as internationally.

Tomorrow, Wednesday, 29 March, the Emergency Relief Coordinator, is scheduled to meet with senior Government officials in N'Djamena and then continue on the last leg of his three-country mission, travelling on to the Central African Republic in the afternoon.

For further information, please call: Stephanie Bunker, OCHA-New York, +1 917 367 5126, mobile +1 917 892 1679; Kristen Knutson, OCHA-New York, +1 917 367 9262; Elisabeth Byrs, OCHA-Geneva, +41 22 917 2653, mobile, +41 79 473 4570. OCHA press releases are available at http://ochaonline.un.org or www.reliefweb.int.