HUMANITARIAN CRISIS LOOMING IN WESTERN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

NEW YORK, 19 April (OCHA) -- A humanitarian crisis is looming as more than 40,000 Congolese have been expelled from Angola into desperate conditions in the Bandundu and WesternKasaiProvinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

“There is a real chance for a humanitarian crisis as people are being expelled to remote areas where food, water and shelter are lacking, and to which access is extremely difficult”, said Jan Egeland, the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator.

As part of the Government of Angola’s policy of expelling Congolese civilians working as illegal labourers in diamond production, an estimated 2,500 Congolese are now leaving Angola each day.  Since the beginning of April, some 40,000 persons have been registered after crossing the TungilaRiver, which separates the Democratic Republic of the Congo from Angola.  The Congolese are being expelled into the remote regions, roughly 700 kilometres from Kinshasa where supplies of food, shelter and water are scarce and humanitarian operations limited.  Many of the expellees are living in the streets, or seeking shelter in public buildings.  Others are being cared for by religious organizations and non-governmental organizations, who lack the supplies necessary to meet the needs of the rapidly growing population of expellees.

“Based on the reports United Nations staff have received from the Congolese who have returned, we are very concerned that the expellees are also at risk because of the very nature of the returns”, Mr. Egeland said.  Drownings have been reported as expellees must cross a dangerous river back into the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  Entire families of expellees, including children, are reportedly subject to physical maltreatment, including invasive bodily searches.

“While a State has a legitimate right to control who lives or works within its borders, returns of migrant workers must be done without jeopardizing people’s physical safety and dignity”, he continued.

A humanitarian assessment mission to the area has revealed urgent needs for food, water, health, shelter, clean water supplies and inflatable boats for crossing the river.  So far, United Nations agencies and their non-governmental organization partners have delivered enough food, blankets, and jerrycans for carrying water for 2,000 people.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is planning another assessment mission to WesternKasaiProvince, where an estimated 18,000 people have been registered.  OCHA’s office in Angola will be in contact with the Government of Angola regarding the nature of the returns and is working to send a team to Angola’s remote LundaNorteProvince, from which the Congolese are being expelled.

For further information, please call: Stephanie Bunker, OCHA New York, tel. (917) 367-5126, mobile: (917) 892-1679; Elizabeth Byrs, OCHA Geneva, tel. 41 22 917 2653, mobile 41(0) 79 473 4570.

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