DRC: The humanitarian community reorganizes itself in the East

The humanitarian community in the East of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) set up a strategy in order to continue its activities in this part of the country.
Humanitarian aid has been affected both quantitatively and qualitatively throughout the eastern portion of the country following the events of Bukavu.

Almost 200 humanitarian workers, working in more than 30 international organizations, were relocated to Goma, capital of the province of North Kivu. Having to choose between suspending programs or having national staff run them, some of these humanitarian organizations are now attempting to undertake short assessment missions in order to determine the nature of new needs.

Discovering New Needs

The head of the NGO AVSI, an Italian organization working in Walikale in the province of Nord Kivu in food security, returned to its office from Goma in order to determine the extent of damage to its offices and the possibility of returning. The damage was extensive, and the prevailing security situation is not conducive to their return right away.

Another NGO working in South Kivu, World Vision, organized an assessment mission to three villages on the road from Bukavu to Kalehe. According to their mission findings, acts of sexual violence were systematically committed against women and girls from the ages of 3 to 75. Troops moving along this road had looted food and livestock. The same fate awaited crops not yet harvested. The NGO added that all food resources were lost from all villages from Minova to Bukavu.

In Bukavu, UNICEF participated in a medical meeting at the provincial level. The health situation is particularly alarming: a number of health centers were looted. A number of gunshot victims were registered, and cases of rape were also recorded in the health centers. Some of these health centers now barely function, others are completely bare of any needed medication.

These few examples show the magnitude of humanitarian needs in only one zone of a limited part of South Kivu. We can only for now imagine the true extent of the harm caused, and see the need to rapidly start up humanitarian activities again.

Motivated by the will to alleviate suffering on the part of vulnerable communities, humanitarian actors, with the support of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) have adopted on Saturday a Common Humanitarian Framework in order to take up activities again.

After the June 3rd attacks on humanitarian organizations, Jahal de Meritens, the head of OCHA, stated, "Humanitarians are not bitter. Even though they regret the loss of material and equipment needed for their work to assist vulnerable populations, they still are conscious of the urgent and indispensable nature of their presence on behalf of these populations."

Recalling the neutrality, impartiality and independence of humanitarians

The main idea of the Common Humanitarian Framework consists of the promotion of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) from which practical initiatives can follow. IHL safeguards civilian populations and humanitarian actors from becoming a part of a conflict. Nevertheless, recent events in the DRC demonstrated the ignorance of or lack of respect for these concepts. Some civilians have been victim to lootings, sexual abuse or other violations of their human rights. Meanwhile, humanitarian actors who are neutral, impartial and independent have been attacked in many of the country's larger cities.

Influenced by IHL, the humanitarian community in eastern DRC will update a document which they wrote in 1998 and which reiterates the humanitarian rights and obligations that must be observed by the political, military and humanitarian authorities. Its diffusion and resultant application at all levels will set the tone for a common humanitarian stance to facilitate the continuation or the restarting of humanitarian actions.

Humanitarian actors will then take up advocacy for the respect of humanitarian principles at a national, provincial, and local level. The purpose is to sensitize the population as well as civilian and military authorities to these rules. Then the intent is to get these authorities to diffuse these principles.

The goal will then be to have a wide dissemination of these principles, and an effective application in the field. The promotion of humanitarian values will at the same time reaffirm a clear humanitarian identity to possibly avoid the very events that occurred here.

Nevertheless, the civilian population's attacks against the UN and NGOs did not seem to be the result of any particular animosity towards the humanitarian community.

In Kindu, the capital of Maniema Province, in which humanitarians were heavily targeted, some student meetings after the demonstrations allowed them to measure the consequences that targeting humanitarian actors has had on them. As for local authorities, they noticed a void after humanitarians relocated, and some have started to talk to their constituents about the necessary protection of humanitarian actors in order to prompt them to come back

A humanitarian community closer to the population

These stories have encouraged the humanitarian community to strengthen its communication infrastructure.

Outside the community, efforts will be made to teach the population, both nationally and locally, as to what is humanitarian action. Examples are press conferences or the creation of a Humanitarian Day to contribute to this goal.

Internally, mechanisms to share humanitarian and security information, within the humanitarian community as well as through a committee made up of civil and military authorities. Through this exchange of information humanitarian actors will be able to evaluate the security situation, the opportunity of assessment missions and the actions to take afterwards.

The cost of damages owing to the events of the past week is believed to be quite high, even though estimations are not all in. Financial support will be necessary to help the humanitarian community in its goal of alleviating suffering and assisting communities to live with dignity.