UN Emergency Relief Coordinator visits displaced communities in Northern Uganda

(Pader [Uganda] and New York, 21 October 2009): United Nations Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes has arrived in Uganda on a fourday visit, which will include participation in the African Union's Special Summit on Refugees, Returnees and internally displaced persons (IDPs).

Today, Mr. Holmes visited Pader District in the Acholi Region of northern Uganda to witness first-hand the challenges faced by IDPs, particularly those remaining in the camps, more than three years after the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (CHA) with the Lord's Resistance Army first signalled a return to security and stability in the conflict-stricken north. While there, he met displaced and host communities in the Geregere and Omot IDP camps, as well as representatives of regional and local government and UN and non-governmental organizations working in the area.

"Humanitarian, recovery and development actors must redouble their commitment to working with the Government and people of Uganda to help the most vulnerable members of the displaced population return to their homes, and to ensure that those who have already returned have the basic services they need," said Mr. Holmes.

"Since my first trip here in May 2007, there has been a dramatic improvement in the situation," he added, noting that 85 per cent of the camp population across the Acholi Region has now returned to their original homes. "However, some areas still lack the basics of clean water, and access to health and educational facilities, to make returns fully sustainable. As emergency relief needs reduce, development efforts need to be stepped up. Meanwhile most of the 15 per cent remaining in camps are particularly vulnerable - widows, the elderly and disabled, child-headed households and those suffering from HIV/AIDS. We must do more to help them too regain an independent life outside the camp," he stressed.

During his visits to the IDP camps, Mr. Holmes heard from a number of extremely vulnerable individuals (EVIs) about the difficulties impeding their return. Among the chief reasons cited were age and disability, which prevented them from building shelters or farming, as well as illness and disease. For example, lack of access to anti-retroviral medications in some health centres means that those living with HIV/AIDS cannot access treatment outside the camps. Others face difficult disputes over land rights and ownership and are unable to use the land for production until the cases are settled.

On his first mission to Uganda two and a half years ago, struck by the determination of the more than two million displaced northern Ugandans to recommence their normal lives, he called upon all humanitarian, recovery and development partners to lend their support to the recovery of northern Uganda.

On Friday 23 October, the Emergency Relief Coordinator is expected to visit the Karamoja region in the northeast, one of the most under-developed and marginalized regions of the country, which exemplifies the complex interaction between the effects of climate change, and more traditional humanitarian and development issues.

On Saturday 24 October, Mr. Holmes will give a final press conference wrapping up his visit to Uganda at 12:00 p.m. at the Sheraton Hotel in Kampala. Footage from his visit to Pader District can be made available to interested press.

For further information, please call: Kristen Knutson, OCHA-Uganda, mobile +256 772 760018, knutson@un.org; Stephanie Bunker, OCHA-New York, +1 917 367 5126, mobile +1 347 244 2106, bunker@un.org; Nicholas Reader +1 212 963 4961, mobile +1 646 752 3117, reader@un.org John Nyaga +1 917 367 9262, +1 917 318 8917, nyagaj@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 www.reliefweb.int.