UNDER-SECRETARY-GENERAL FOR HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS REAFFIRMS MORAL OBLIGATION TO ASSIST VULNERABLE PEOPLE IN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

UNDER-SECRETARY-GENERAL FOR HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS REAFFIRMS MORAL OBLIGATION

TO ASSIST VULNERABLE PEOPLE IN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

NEW YORK, 13 November (OCHA) -- Jan Egeland, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, has reaffirmed the moral obligation of the international community to assist the vulnerable people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

“We know the Congolese have high expectations of how we can and will assist you.  Next week we launch an international appeal for increased assistance to the Congo in 2004.  But we also have high expectations of the people and the authorities of this country.  You must comply with the agreements signed in order to bring about the much needed peace and respect for human rights that Congo has long sought”, he said in a meeting with the press in the capital, Kinshasa.

Mr. Egeland underscored the need for more access to vulnerable people in conflict areas and noted that implementation of the disarmament programme would help realize that.  “Peace is the door and access is the key”, he said.

The eyes of the international community were focused on both the aid community and the performance of the Congolese authorities, Mr. Egeland noted.  “Your obligation is to be the primary protectors of your citizens.  We will work hand in hand with you to achieve this protection”, he said, adding that the level of suffering in the country was unconscionable.  Flagrant human rights abuses continue, including sexual violence against women and children.

Today, the Under-Secretary-General travelled to the towns of Kindu and Bukavu in the eastern Congolese provinces of Maniema and South Kivu respectively.  He noted the large development challenge that lies ahead during the consolidation of peace due to the serious deterioration of the infrastructure.

Mr. Egeland also visited a nutrition centre run by an Italian non-governmental organization that houses 137 severely malnourished children.  He later met non-governmental and United Nations personnel as well as members of the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC).  They informed him that access around Kindu -- which had been cut off for several years –- is now becoming easier.  However, as they move outside Kindu, they are finding large-scale humanitarian needs.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is the biggest humanitarian crisis in the world, with 3.5 million displaced people.

For further information, please contact:  Stephanie Bunker, OCHA New York, tel.:  917 367-5126, mobile:  917 892-1679; Elisabeth Byrs, OCHA Geneva, tel.:  41 22 917 2653, mobile:  41 (O) 79 473 4570.

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