SECRETARY-GENERAL’S HUMANITARIAN COORDINATOR FOR CÔTE D’IVOIRE DEEPLY CONCERNED AT REPORTED CIVILIAN CASUALTIES FROM FIGHTING, HELICOPTER ATTACKS

AFR/609

IHA/778

SECRETARY-GENERAL’S HUMANITARIAN COORDINATOR FOR CÔTE D’IVOIRE DEEPLY CONCERNED ATREPORTED CIVILIAN CASUALTIES FROM FIGHTING, HELICOPTER ATTACKS

United Nations   Nations Unies

Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs [OCHA]

      NEW YORKew York, 25 April2003) (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs):--Today, Carolyn McAskie, the Secretary-General’s Humanitarian Envoy for the Crisis in Côote d’Ivoire, visited the towns of Man and Guiglo in the western part of that country.  The United Nations Coordinator for Liberia, Marc Destanne de Bernis, accompanied Ms. McAskie.  They visited   affected populations and assessed the impact of cross-border conflict. 

      Tens of thousands of people are believed to be displaced in the west, finding shelter with host families or hiding in the bush.  The towns of Guiglo and Duekoue have received thousands of mostly Burkinabe internally displaced personsIDPs, who are stayingin makeshift internally displaced personsIDP transit centers. 
A steady stream of people continues to flee the sporadic fighting and insecurity in the west.   .   

      Ms. McAskie expressed deep concern over reported civilian casualties due to fighting and helicopter attacks.  The non-governmental organizationNGOss MSFMédecins Sans Frontières and Méedecins du Monde have reported that at least 50 civilians claiming to be victims of attacks on 15 April were treated at the Hospital of Man, and at least eight died.  The safety of civilians is further jeopardized by unaligned anduncontrolled armed groups in the west.  Ms.    McAskie also deplored the attack on and subsequent pillaging of the Burulli Ulcer Centre in Zouan-Hounien, close to the border with Liberia, where Catholic priests treated victims of a disfiguring skin disease.   “Such indiscriminate targeting of civilians, and of medical facilities, is entirely unacceptable,”, McAskie said.   “The protection of civilians is the over-riding concern.”

Since the emergence of the rebel groups MPIGO and MJP in western
  Côote d'Ivoire in late November 2002, and subsequent fighting there, access to populations in need of humanitarian aid has been prevented.  UNUnited Nations staff have been unable to deliver badly needed aid to those in certain inaccessibleareas.  Humanitarian organiszations are also concerned that delivering food and other supplies to those in need could turn theminto targets of armed elements.

The World Food ProgrammeFP is now permanently operating out of the
  inter-agency United Nations office in Man, where it has begun assessing humanitarian needs and has launched emergency feeding for internally displaced personIDPs and other food-insecure/vulnerable groups affected by the crisis, including a schoolfeeding programme.  The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)UNICEF has also arrived in the region to begin programmes. 

      For further information, please call:  Jeff Brez, OCHA, Abijan,
tel.:   225 07692124.

* *** *Bureau de la Coordination des Affaires Humanitaires

Regional Support Office for West Africa  - Bureau Regional d’Appui pour l’Afrique de l’Ouest

PRESS RELEASE

US 15.9 million can avert a massive humanitarian crisis in Cote d’Ivoire and the sub-region

UN agencies and other humanitarian actors, estimate that about 3.9 million persons need assistance and support in terms of shelter, water and sanitation, food, health, education and protection IN Côte d'Ivoire AND THE SUB-REGION during the next three months.

On 21 November 2002, humanitarian agencies in Abidjan, Cote d’ Ivoire launched a Flash Appeal to mobilize US$ 15.9 million to cover from November 2002 to January 2003, the immediate pressing humanitarian needs and to avert a large-scale humanitarian crisis in Côte d’Ivoire and three priority (neighbouring?) countries, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana.

Within Côte d’ Ivoire, justabout US$ 7 million are being sought to provide humanitarian assistance to forover 3.4 million beneficiaries targeted for humanitarian assistanceout of a total population of 15.3 million people (about 20% of the totaloverallpopulation). In Burkina Faso US$ 1.1 million is needed for some 143,600 vulnerable people,  being targeted, while in Ghana just over US$ 819,500 is needed for about 187,000 people. In addition, US$ 818,800 is being sought for about 95,000 evacuees, transiting populations, asylum seekers and host communities targeted for assistance in Mali. A total of US$ 6 million is needed for relevant regional response capacities.  (This is confusing.  How does it add up to the 15.9 million above?)

The working scenario for this flash appealassumesthat a  remains a military stalemate will prevail, with the insurgents holding part of the north, while the Government controls the southern portion of the country. national territory.With an interposition force to be deployed shortly as part of within the context ofthe peace settlement process initiated by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), humanitarian organizations are closely monitoring developments and the strain the current crisis is placing on the Ivorian society. This will enable relief organizations to ensure that their operations remain relevant and efficient for those made destitute, homeless or otherwise vulnerable. The number of status quo is expected to exacerbate existing vulnerabilities and multiply the number of people requiring some sort of relief assistance during the next 90 daysis expected to increase. .

[Nature of problem:  IDPs, economic disruption, etc.  Then—what the aid community has done so far.  “In the past weeks the aid community in CDI has”…done what to gear up?  Set up new presence in Yamoussoukro, etc….]

The ability of the humanitarian community including national and international actors to address current emergency needs and more importantly to target relief aid so as to avert a massive humanitarian crisis depends on the swift and equitable allocation of resources for the interventions outlined in the appeal and for other initiatives undertaken to complement efforts included in this Inter-Agency Appeal. This sub-regional crisis, stemming from the situation in c

Cote d’iIvoire,represents a unique opportunity for for the implementation of the concept of cconflict prevention as part of an integral component ofan integrated response to a humanitarian emergency that has the potential to forbecome ing a regional humanitarian tragedy of unmanageable proportions.

For further information please contact:

Mrs. Besida Tonwe

Head of OCHA Regional Support Office for West Africa

Tel: (225) 22405170

Cell phone: (225) 07013663

Ms. Rosa Malango

Humanitarian Affairs Officer, OCHA Regional Support Office for West Africa

Tel: (225) 22405171

Cell phone: (225) 07013664