UN HUMANITARIAN ENVOY FOR CRISIS IN CÔTE D’IVOIRE VISITS GUINEA

UN HUMANITARIAN ENVOY FOR CRISIS IN CÔTE D’IVOIRE VISITS GUINEA

NEW YORK, 4 February (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs)   -- In Guinea today, Carolyn McAskie, the Secretary-General’s Humanitarian Envoy for the crisis in Côte d’Ivoire, is continuing her assessment of the impact of the crisis on neighbouring countries.

During her mission in Guinea, Ms. McAskie will be looking at the humanitarian response to the needs created by the crisis, and ways to ensure that the response is well coordinated.  In this connection, Ms. McAskie plans to meet with local authorities, representatives of the donor community, and representatives of non-governmental organizations.

While in Guinea, Ms. McAskie will be visiting refugees and others in the N’Zerekore region displaced by violence in Côte d’Ivoire.  She will also be trying to assess the effect population influxes are having on host communities.  Upon arrival in Guinea, Ms. McAskie praised Guinea for its long-standing generosity in hosting refugees from conflicts in West Africa.

The United Nations estimates that more than 50,000 Guineans have fled Côte d’Ivoire for Guinea since violence erupted in September.  The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is currently assisting nearly

3,000 Ivorian refugees at the Nonah camp, while the Guinean Red Cross has registered almost 11,000 refugees from Côte d’Ivoire.  The Guinean Red Cross has also registered some more than 15,000 persons of other African nationalities, crossing the border into Guinea from Côte d’Ivoire.  The vast majority of these people are passing through the country in transit to their countries of origin, which include Liberia, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Senegal, Niger and Nigeria.

Prior to the outbreak of armed conflict in Côte d’Ivoire on 19 September 2002, Guinea hosted more than 92,000 refugees from Liberia and Sierra Leone. Guinea continues to rank among the least developed countries in the world, with only 49 per cent of the population having access to drinking water, 45 per cent to health care and 19 per cent to sanitation.  In November, the United Nations asked donors for $54 Million dollars to meet the humanitarian needs of Guineans and the refugees they host.

For further information, please contact CONAKRY:  Madeleine Maka,

224 012 66 30 86.

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