CHAD COUNTRY PROFILE. 1. Country: CHAD Sept 2010

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1 CHAD COUNTRY PROFILE 1. Country: CHAD Sept Duty Station: a) Location: Ndjamena b) Classisfication: D Category c) Family/Non Family: Non Family 3. Required Language(s): French 4. Languages that would be an asset: Arabic and English 5. Country Situation: Chad is a low income land-locked country, located at a distance of 1,200 km from the Mediterranean Sea and 2,000 km from the Atlantic Ocean. Since 2003 the country has started receiving revenues from the exploitation of oil resources from its Southern region, which also has the greatest potential for agricultural production, and embarked on an ambitious programme for the development of infrastructures and improvement of population access to social services. More recently, the country has been hit by drought and 1.5 million people are affected by food insecurity and severe malnutrition particularly in the central and western Sahel region. On the external front, the spill over of the Darfur conflict into Eastern Chad has led to a deterioration of the security situation and to the diversion of resources from development objectives to military expenditures. On the internal side, a controversial referendum in 2005 led to the amendment of the constitution which allowed President Idriss Deby Itno, who has been in power since 1990, to stand for re-election for a third term in May The widelycriticized elections were boycotted by the principal opposition parties and characterized by low voter turn-out. This in turn has contributed to the erosion of the national political consensus and to the emergence of several rebellions operating from neighboring Sudan. The rebel groups have also been able to launch several attacks on the capital N Djamena, the last of which took place in February Since then, the whole country has been placed under Phase IV of the UN system security scale while N Djamena and several parts of the South and the West of the country remain at Phase III. Recent internal developments in Chad have been dominated by preparations for the forthcoming elections later this year and early in In his 2010 New Year address, President Déby called on rebel forces to lay down their arms, adding that conditions were ripe for everyone to satisfy their political ambitions through the ballot box. The President is seeking to gain public support ahead of the electoral cycle. In March 2010, a new cabinet and Prime Minister were appointed. The main opposition alliance is weak and there is little reason to believe that it has the capacity to win elections in the near future. There has also been a lull in fighting since between armed groups and government forces as both the Government and the Union des forces de la resistance (URF), a coalition of armed groups, have indicated their commitment to pursue dialogue. With the armed opposition weakened following its defeat in the fighting of May 2009, it is unlikely to mount an open challenge to the government before the elections. Until last year, attempts to resolve the conflict between Chad and Sudan were limited to a series of short-lived non-aggression pacts mediated by some countries in the region. However, on 15 January 2010, the Governments of Chad and Sudan signed a normalization of relations agreement and a border security protocol through which they agreed to deny proxy rebel groups from operating in their respective territories and create a joint force to patrol the borders. The Chiefs of each respective rebel groups were expelled from their safe heavens. The agreement was underscored by an exchange of bilateral visits of both Heads of state to each other s country. While obstacles remain in the normalization of relations between Chad

2 and Sudan, both Governments have a mutual interest in reducing external threats and focusing on domestic issues during their electoral cycles in 2010 and The spill-over from the conflicts in Darfur has, since 2005, led to the influx of about 255,000 Sudanese refugees into Eastern Chad. Inter-communal and ethnic conflicts have caused 168,000 internally displaced people in the Eastern Chad while 64,000 refugees from the north of the Central African Republic have, due to prevailing insecurity, settled in the south-east of Chad. The vulnerable populations remain dependent on humanitarian assistance provided by the international community; if host communities are taken into account, there are about 700,000 people affected by the conflict in the east of the country. Since 2008, there have been limited returns of between 20,000 and 25,000 IDPs. The precarious security situation and the threats to peace and security in the sub-region led the Security Council, by its Resolution 1778 of 25 September 2007, to establish the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT) to assist the Government of Chad in creating the security conditions conducive to a voluntary, secure and sustainable return of refugees and displaced persons, promoting human rights and protecting the population and humanitarian workers. MINURCAT has been supported by EUFOR, a European Union-led stabilization force of 3700 troops, operational since 17 March It took over fully from EUFOR on 15 March 2009 in line with Security Council Resolution 1861 of 14 January (2009). Through a note verbale on 15 January 2010, the Government of Chad expressed its dissatisfaction with the slow deployment of MINURCAT and its failure to deliver on key infrastructures and thereafter requested its departure from Chad. After intensive negotiations, the withdrawal of MINURCAT s force was consensually agreed to start on 15 July and completed by 15 October The remaining civilian and administrative personnel will leave by 31 December 2010 in line with Security Country Resolution 1923 of 25 May On 13 August 2007 the mouvance présidentielle (President Deby s MPS and allies) and the CPDC (Coordination des Parties politiques pour la Défense de la Constitution, a group of opposition parties) signed a Political agreement on the strengthening of the democratic process in Chad. Under this accord, the parties pledged to revise the electoral framework in the country in order to enable the holding of free and fair legislative elections. To that end, they agreed, inter alia, to: a) establish an independent national electoral commission and other institutions involved in the organization of the elections; b) revise the electoral law: and c) improve the environment for the organization of the elections, including security conditions. A Follow-up Committee, composed in equal number of representatives of the Presidential majority and the opposition parties was established to follow up the implementation of the political agreement. UNDP, the European Union, the African Union, France, Germany and the United States attend the meetings of the Committee as observers. Legislative and local elections have been set for 28 November and 12 December 2010 respectively. The presidential elections are scheduled to be held on 23 April A National Independent Electoral Commission (with equal representation of majority and opposition parties) has been created, the electoral code adopted and the electoral census is ongoing. Following a needs assessment mission conducted by the Department of Political Affairs (DPA), in August-September 2009, UNDP was requested by the Government of Chad and the group of international partners (EU, France, Germany, Switzerland, the African Union and the Organisation International de la Francophonie) to lead the assistance to the electoral process. A Basket Fund has been created to finance the electoral assistance project (PACE) and signed by the Government of Chad and UNDP. Individual agreements for financing have been made with the EU, France, Germany, and Switzerland. The Government of Chad (GoC) with the assistance of the UNDP/UN as well as the WB and other development partners prepared a Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) in The HIPC completion point was not reached by the end of 2004, as expected, due to several shortcomings in the budget management and reforms. The first PRSP did not fully incorporate the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Chad published its first MDG report in January In 2002, with the assistance of the World Bank, the Government prepared a National

3 Strategy for Good Governance (NSGG), whose main elements were incorporated in the PRSP. The review of the implementation of the PRSP over the period June 2003-June 2006, informed the preparation of the 2 nd generation PRSP (PRSP 2) which incorporates MDGs and reflects strategies for their achievement. The PRSP 2 was adopted by the Government in April However, the fragile security situation, which led to rising military expenditures and the disagreement between the government and the World Bank on the management of oil revenues, led to the temporary suspension of the World Bank programme. A new programme is now being negotiated and the World Bank Resident representative. In the meantime, the Government agreed with IMF on an interim macroeconomic and stabilization programme but failed to succeed in its implementation. The ongoing UNDAF covers the period of with five main outcomes: 1) strengthen Human Capital, 2) Good Governance, 3) management of natural resources, 4) crisis prevention and response, and 5) fight against HIV/AIDS. The formulation process for the new UNDAF ( ) is well advanced and the approval of the document is scheduled for January 2011 to ensure that each agency will be able to process its own programme documents within Will there be additional coordination functions, e.g. Humanitarian Coordinator? Yes: As indicated in the above country situation, there are large number of Sudanese refugees and IDPs in the eastern part of Chad. The country hosts roughly 55,000 Central African refugees in the South, close to the border with the CAR. Drought and epidemics are also the cause of humanitarian emergencies. The emerging food insecurity and malnutrition crisis affecting at least 1.6 million people in the drought-affected Sahel belt, requires more urgent attention and response. The main OCHA office is in N Djamena and 4 sub-offices are established in the East of the country (Farchana, Goz Beida, Koukou and Abeche). OCHA has increased its presence in Mao (Kanem Region) to support coordination needs emerging from the food insecurity and malnutrition crisis. 7. Is RC also Director of UNIC? No. 8. Is there an SRSG or other Special Envoy of the SG assigned to the country?: Yes. There is an SRSG based in N Djamena who oversees MINURCAT operations. A Deputy SRSG for MINURCAT is based in Abeche until the imminent withdrawal of the mission by 31 December However, the RR is the Resident Coordinator. The UNCT is not integrated with MINURCAT. The SRSG is the Designated Official for Security. 9. UN Funds, Programmes and Agencies (incl. Regional bodies) represented: With offices in Chad: FAO, UNDP*, UNFPA, UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, WHO, World Bank, IMF, OCHA UNAIDS (to be collocated with UNICEF), UNESCO*, HABITAT*, ICC*. (* Agencies sharing common premises) Without country offices (20): UNCTAD, UNIDO, ILO, UNESCO, DHA, ECA, DESA, UNITAR, INSTRAW, UNOPS, UNEP, IFAD, OMT, UNCHS, ITC, WIPO, UPU, ITU, IAEA, UNDCP.

4 10. Inter-Agency Task Forces and/or UN Theme Groups operational in the country: UN Heads of Agencies Coordination Committee (UNCT); UN Heads of Agencies Security Management Team (SMT); UN Inter-Agency Humanitarian Coordination Group (IAHCG) Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) UN Programme Harmonization Committee; UN Operations Committee; UN Information/Communication Committee UN Theme Group and Technical Working Group on AIDS. 11. Status of Development Planning Instruments: National Strategy for Good Governance prepared in 2002; Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP 1) approved in 2003 covering years PRSP 2 adopted in April 2008 covering years Second CCA produced in September 2004 and Second UNDAF produced in UNDAF to be review in 2008 to incorporate national priorities in PRSP 2. Harmonization of programme cycles: Second harmonized programme cycle started in January General Population Census (2009) Planning discussions currently well advanced to commence the next UNDAF cycle. 12. Key political and socioeconomic issues significant for UN System Development Assistance As Chad is at a crossroads, the UN and the other development partners must be flexible enough yet vigilant in their policy dialogue with national counterparts to ensure that humanitarian principles and human rights are respected and social investments are made for poverty reduction; Humanitarian crises have increased the country s overall vulnerability; this requires sustained UN support and response capacity backed by strong coordination mechanisms; In view of the legacy of decades of civil strife, there is a need for massive, sustained capacity building at all levels of government, civil society and private sector. 13. Highlights of Collaborative UN Assistance There is a concrete inter-agency cooperation at the level of Heads of Agencies (including the Bretton Woods Institutions) through regular inter-agency consultations on priority issues of UN system support to government, coordination of humanitarian assistance, security, staffing and cost shared services. To enhance the operational efficiency of the UN system in responding to Chad development needs and priorities through a strengthened RC system, sub committees are working on different areas. 14. Key elements of Current Year s RC Work Plan UNCT commitment to redress the imbalance between humanitarian and development interventions in particular to take over the civilian activities of MINURCAT. In this regard, the UN country team will: (a) focus more attention on the preparation of joint development programmes in order to effectively formulate at least two joint programmes by the end of the year (b) implement more effectively its interventions related to crosscutting themes such as human rights and gender through the new Theme Group on Gender and Human Rights; (c) formulate the new UNDAF and align it with national

5 development and humanitarian priorities; (d) support the strengthening of national M & E capacities to report on the MDG achievement. The second major aspect of the 2010 workplan will consist of pursuing even more effectively the response to the humanitarian challenges in the volatile security environment characterized by wide-spread criminal activities : (1) maintain support to the refugee programmes; (2) finalize an early recovery strategy and programme of intervention and implement multi-sectorial programmes of protection and assistance to non-refugee vulnerable groups comprising essentially over 168,000 IDPs and host populations of affected areas. Another important aspect of the 2010 workplan will include the actions for the expansion of common services and the relocation to more secured premises of agencies in the capital and the decentralized sub-offices. The formulation and approval of the UNDAF Mid-term Review with GoC March UNDAF orientation workshop April UNDAF Result Matrix August Draft UNDAF document submitted to GoC November Approval by HQ Inter-Agency Committee February Start UNDAF January Status of Common Services Travel services: agencies shared the same travel service; Security; Dispensary.