UNITED NATIONS HUMANITARIAN AGENCIES EXPRESS "GRAVE CONCERN" OVER KISANGANI FIGHTING

Press Release
AFR/243
IHA/709

UNITED NATIONS HUMANITARIAN AGENCIES EXPRESS ‘GRAVE CONCERN’ OVER KISANGANI FIGHTING

New York, 9 June (OCHA) -- The chiefs of five United Nations Humanitarian organizations expressed "grave concern" today about the deteriorating situation for civilians in the town of Kisangani in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where fighting has been raging between troops from Rwanda and Uganda. Civilian deaths and injuries, lack of water, food and electricity and dimmed prospects for a major polio campaign were cited as the chief concerns.

In a joint statement issued in New York, echoing statements made by the United Nations Security Council and Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the heads of the World Food Programme (WFP), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) called on all parties involved in the fighting to cease hostilities immediately.

"We are deeply dismayed about the situation facing civilians in Kisangani, especially children and women, many of whom are already malnourished", the heads of the organizations said. "We urge the Governments of Rwanda and Uganda to immediately end the fighting that is killing innocent civilians."

The United Nations organizations said that the entire civilian population of Kisangani was under fire and completely cut off from humanitarian relief. In the last several days, 19 children were killed while in school, the UNICEF compound was hit and the hospital was shelled.

They underscored their concern about the current inability of humanitarian organizations to move urgently needed relief goods across front lines. In addition, they noted that vaccines in cold storage in Kisangani were being compromised due to the lack of electricity for refrigeration. The agencies said that a polio immunization campaign slated for July in the Kisangani province -- covering an area the size of France -- was now in serious jeopardy.

The agency heads urged all parties to the conflict to:

-- Bring the fighting to an immediate end and deploy out of areas populated by civilians;

-- Honour the rights of civilians to receive humanitarian assistance;

- 2 - Press Release AFR/243 IHA/709 9 June 2000

-- Guarantee safety and security of humanitarian workers to reach all civilians in need;

-- Respect the sanctity of hospitals and schools;

-- Allow the swift restoration of power to store vaccines, and water to avert disease outbreaks; and

-- Provide immediate and unhindered access for humanitarian relief to get through to Kisangani safely.

Staff from all five United Nations organizations are currently active in Kisangani and neighbouring provinces, along with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and several international non-governmental relief organizations.

The agency chiefs, who issued the statement, include Catherine Bertini, Executive Director of the WFP; Sadako Ogata, High Commissioner for Refugees; Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland, Director-General of WHO; Carolyn McAskie, United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator a.i.; and Carol Bellamy, Executive Director of UNICEF.

For further information, contact: Phyllis Lee, OCHA (212) 963-4832; Alfred Ironside, UNICEF (212) 326-7261; Francis Mwanza, WFP, Rome (390) 65132623; Robyn Groves, UNHCR (212) 963-6904; or Gregory Hartl, WHO, Geneva (4122) 791-4458.

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