UN Humanitarian Chief sees glimmer of hope in Democratic Republic of Congo but warns grave problems remain

(NEW YORK, 7 February 2009): On the second day of his visit to eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, UN Under-Secretary-General and Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes met some of the civilians gravely injured by armed conflict in the region, as well as Rwandan refugees who now seem ready to return home in greater numbers.

Mr. Holmes saw first-hand the devastating physical and psychological impact of crimes committed during the conflict at the Heal Africa hospital, in Goma. The specialist center treats disabled children, war injured, and women victims of sexual violence. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has seen some of the highest levels of sexual violence in the world.

At the center, Mr. Holmes reiterated his message that the Congolese authorities must work harder, in partnership with the international community, to protect civilians. "I am shocked that crimes against women are still happening in such large numbers," said Mr. Holmes. "We have all agreed more must be done to end this - now is the time to change the culture of impunity, and build the police, prisons and judiciary to deal with this disgraceful situation."

Later in the day, Mr. Holmes saw a glimmer of hope in the increasing demand for repatriation by Rwandan refugees. At a UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) center in Goma, which is handling the repatriation of Rwandan refugees (most of whom arrived after the Rwandan genocide in 1994), Mr. Holmes discussed their motives for returning to Rwanda, and their expectations.

In the last month, there has been a significant increase in the number of refugees who transited the repatriation center. While in 2008, just 3,809 Rwandans were repatriated from North Kivu, since the beginning of 2009 584 have already gone home, while hundreds of others have registered. The figures from South Kivu are even higher.

This upsurge in returns is happening in the context of joint Rwandan and Forces Armées de la République Démocratique du Congo (FARDC) military operations against Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda (FDLR) rebels, who have been in DRC since 1994.

"With all the changes in the security situation, there is now a real opportunity to resolve the suffering of the people of Congo," he said. "Refugees could be showing the way, but we must ensure their return is both voluntary, and supported properly. We also have to work to ensure that the military operation itself does not have dreadful consequences for the civilian population"

On Monday. Mr. Holmes will travel directly to Haut Uele province to assess the needs of the victims of recent Lords Resistance Army (LRA) attacks, before travelling back to Kinshasa.

For further information, please call:

Christophe Illemassene, OCHA-DRC, +243 8198 89195, illemassene@un.org,
Stephanie Bunker, OCHA-New York, +1 917 367 5126, mobile +1 917 892 1679, bunker@un.org;
Nicholas Reader, OCHA-New York, +1 212 963 4961, mobile +1 646 752 3117, reader@un.org,
Elisabeth Byrs, OCHA-Geneva, +41 22 917 2653, mobile, +41 79 473 4570, byrs@un.org.
OCHA press releases are available at http://ochaonline.un.org or http://www.reliefweb.int.