SECRETARY-GENERAL APPEALS FOR $259.3 MILLION FOR HUMANITARIAN AID TO 1.5 MILLION PEOPLE AFFECTED BY CONFLICT IN EASTERN ZAIRE
Press Release
SG/2029
IHA/609
SECRETARY-GENERAL APPEALS FOR $259.3 MILLION FOR HUMANITARIAN AID TO 1.5 MILLION PEOPLE AFFECTED BY CONFLICT IN EASTERN ZAIRE
19961118 Inter-Agency Flash Appeal for Great Lakes Region Covers Three-Month Period, 1 November 1996-31 January 1997NEW YORK, 18 November (Department of Humanitarian Affairs) -- Secretary- General Boutros Boutros-Ghali today appealed to governments to provide $259.3 million for urgently needed humanitarian assistance to some 1.5 million refugees, internally displaced persons, returnees and other populations affected by the recent armed conflict in eastern Zaire.
The United Nations Consolidated Inter-Agency Flash Appeal for the Great Lakes Region in Response to the Crisis in Eastern Zaire, prepared by United Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations operating in the region, covers a three-month period, from 1 November 1996 to 31 January 1997. The Appeal is an emergency interim measure that will respond in a flexible and well-coordinated manner to the most pressing needs of the target population. The assistance sought from the international community will be used to supply emergency food aid and to address nutritional requirements, as well as to provide for clean water and sanitation, health services, shelter and other non-food needs.
To address the specific conditions which have arisen in recent days as a result of the mass return of refugees to Rwanda, the appeal will also cover activities for reintegration, justice and capacity-building. The High Commissioner for Human Rights has prepared a separate appeal, also launched today by the Secretary-General, to complement these activities.
The international community is faced with one of the largest humanitarian crises and is called upon to respond generously and without delay to this appeal for assistance.
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