UN Humanitarian Affairs chief meets Congolese, aid officials in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

(New York/Kinshasa, 4 September 2007): In Kinshasa today, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mr. John Holmes, met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, with whom he discussed the current situation in Kivus, the protection of civilians, and sexual violence. The Minister of Foreign Affairs reiterated his willingness to help resolve administrative issues as required. The ERC also met United Nations agencies, with whom he discussed the major humanitarian challenges confronting the country. Earlier in the day, he met the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC), with whom he discussed the current situation in the country and the need to support local and national institutions. With the International Committee of the Red Cross/Red Crescent and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), he emphasized the need for protection of civilians in the country. He is also scheduled to meet various donor representatives.

On 5 September, the ERC is scheduled to meet Congolese government officials and also travel to Bukavu in South Kivu. Later in his mission, he is scheduled to travel to North Kivu. He will visit camps for displaced persons (mainly made up of women and children), centres for children formerly associated with armed groups and health centres specialized in caring for victims of sexual violence.

The ERC arrived in the DRC on Monday, 3 September. In his mission, Mr. Holmes will focus on issues including sexual violence, the fight against impunity, protection of civilians, assistance to internally displaced persons, and the implementation of humanitarian reform.

Today more than one million people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have become internally displaced due to insecurity created by armed confrontations and the presence of armed groups. The majority of the displaced are in the provinces of North Kivu (640,000) and South Kivu (266,000) and the District of Ituri (152,000) in Province Orientale. In North Kivu, since the beginning of this year, as many as 224,000 people have been displaced. Another factor that further unsettled the region has been the initiation, in January this year, of a new reintegration process ("mixage") of armed groups into the Congolese armed forces (FARDC). The current level of extreme insecurity in certain areas has significantly reduced humanitarian access, meaning that thousands of vulnerable civilians in need are not getting the help they require.

Mr. Holmes' mission to the DRC constitutes the first since his nomination as UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator on 3 January 2007. In this capacity he has already visited Darfur in Sudan, Chad, the Central African Republic, Somalia, Kenya, and Sri Lanka. His mission to the DRC will end on Saturday, 8 September, when he is scheduled to leave Goma for Nairobi, Kenya.

For further information, please call: Stephanie Bunker, OCHA-New York, +1 917 367 5126, mobile +1 917 892 1679; Dizery Salim, 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.