Sudan HUMANITARIAN Overview During the past month, hundreds of families forcibly displaced from the Omdurman region of the Sudanese capital were relocated by police to the El Fateh 3 site, a desert plain 55 km north of the city. See page 4 for full story. THIS ISSUE'S HIGHLIGHTS FOCUS ON FORCED RELOCATIONS IN KHARTOUM US$55 MILLION NEEDED FOR RETURNS BEFORE YEAR-END UNIFIED HUMANITARIAN AID OFFICES SET UP IN SOUTH DARFUR PLAGUED BY INCREASING INSECURITY RETURNS FLOW INTO ABYEI Welcome to the first issue of Sudan Humanitarian Overview. Produced by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), in collaboration with other UN agencies and partner NGOs, Sudan Humanitarian Overview will strive to provide a twice-monthly overview of humanitarian trends and activities in Sudan, as well as to focus on particular issues of interest. Send comments, suggestions and contributions to sho@unsudanig.org KHARTOUM AND OTHER NORTHERN STATES KHARTOUM Forced relocation of IDPs continued in and around Khartoum, even though Khartoum State authorities had given assurances that no relocations would occur until after the rainy season (see Focus, page 4). Meanwhile, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) opened 12 information centres for IDPs currently living in camps and squatter areas in and around Khartoum who wish to return to their home areas. The centres aim to provide up-to-date information on various aspects related to travel and living conditions in southern Sudan. According to a recent survey carried out by the IOM in partnership with the Sudanese government, UN agencies and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), 67% of IDPs said they would return to their home areas, but that they first needed more information. WHITE NILE Humanitarian agencies expressed concern about the inhumane conditions of returnees travelling on cargo barges up the Nile. The cargo barges are completely lacking in physical security (e.g. railings), sanitary facilities, potable water, cooking space and shelter. The erratic schedules of barges has led to hundreds of displaced families arriving in Kosti, White Nile State, who wish to travel to areas such as Upper Nile, Jongli and Bahr el Jebel being forced to wait for up to three weeks at the wharf. The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) and the Fellowship for African Relief (FAR) have worked together to improve conditions for returnees during this waiting period, but it remains somewhat short of ideal. Once the barges depart, travel to Juba can take up to four weeks. Although travelling by barge is cheaper than using other modes of transport, some families are also finding themselves stranded at Kosti, as they can not afford to purchase barge tickets. Humanitarian agencies are encouraging the River Transport Corporation (RTC) to provide passenger barges and to operate according to more regular schedules. Robert Turner, Director of the UN Returns and Reintegration Unit, noted that it was crucial that information reaches returnees on what to expect when using river transport. OCHA is assessing current and future passenger barge capacity. Once the results of this study are available, the UN will develop a policy concerning provision of information to IDPs on existing conditions for return by barge. In addition, the Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC), the Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (SRRC), and the UN are in constant consultations with the RTC on future initiatives to improve conditions for returnees in their journey. (see related item on page 4)
PAGE 2 SOUTH SUDAN Food deliveries into South Sudan continued to be hampered by jet fuel shortages in El Obeid. WFP said it was highly concerned by malnutrition levels that were peaking toward the end of the annual hunger season in the south, where a funding shortfall was further hindering its operations. Some recent cases of looting of food aid by rogue military elements in Northern Bahr el Ghazal were a serious concern; the SPLM responded proactively to the situation, and the problem was brought under control. WFP reported that no major incidents of looting have been reported since the two that occurred in August. Mechanisms to ensure the regular payment of salaries and distribution of food to the intended beneficiaries still need to be strengthened or, in most cases, set up. Despite pockets of insecurity, overall humanitarian access continued to improve in the South. Bentiu, Unity State, is again accessible to UN staff after one and half months. All UN agencies that were in Bentiu have now returned, namely OCHA, WFP and UNICEF. However, protection issues remain a primary concern, as a steady influx of returnees arriving in town on a daily basis are often subjected to taxation of 400 Sudanese Dinars (about US $1.75) and in some cases, arbitrary arrest. WEST DARFUR NORTH DARFUR SOUTH DARFUR 0 200 400 IMU OCHA Kilometres MAP OF SUDAN NORTHERN WEST KORDOFAN WESTERN NORTH KORDOFAN WHITE NILE SOUTH KORDOFAN NORTHERN UNITY BAHR EL Bentiu GHAZAL Aweil WARAB Warrap WESTERN Wau BAHR EL GHAZAL Yambio Prepared and compiled by OCHA IMU Sudan. Rumbek LAKES KHARTOUM GEZIRA UPPER NILE Malakal Bor JONGLEI RIVER NILE SENNAR BLUE NILE EASTERN Juba Kapoeta CENTRAL The boundaries and names shown on this map are approximate and do not imply official endorsement/ acceptance by the United Nations. KEY RED SEA KASSALA GEDAREF State Boundary County Boundary River South State Capitals Security in Lekongole, Upper Nile, has improved, thereby increasing the possibility of providing support to the population in need. However, heavy rains continued to limit access to populations in need across the region, while suspected LRA activity in Eastern Equatoria and Bahr el Jebel continued to make the delivery of humanitarian assistance precarious. A major breakthrough in the unification of humanitarian operations in the south under the Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (SRRC) was achieved on 11 September with the completion of the handover by the Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC) of coordination offices to the SRRC. It is planned that in the coming months, SRRC offices will be opened in all of the 10 South Sudan state capitals. Each office will be headed by an SRRC representative, with former HAC personnel serving as integral members of the teams. Numerous UN agencies are collaborating to provide the SRRC and HAC with offices, equipment and operating expenses until year-end. For its part, the UN has also moved forward in unifying its southern operations, which now cover former garrison towns as well as SPLM areas. In the past, UN agencies operating in Government of Sudan (GoS)-controlled areas reported to their headquarters in Khartoum while those operating in SPLM-held areas reported to Nairobi or Rumbek. In addition to unifying South Sudan operations and management structures in Rumbek and Juba, UN agencies, as well as NGOs, are increasing their presence throughout the south, thereby supporting the establishment of the Government of South Sudan. The first UN Country Team meeting for the south was held in Juba on 31 August, and most agencies have committed to move senior management to Juba by the end of October. Training of field protection monitors continued at the SRRC office in Rumbek, Lakes State. The monitors will supervise the registration of returnees by enumerators, monitor protection issues, and assess basic needs in places of return. An inter-agency assessment mission traveled to Deim Zubeir in mid-august to meet with representatives of the estimated 4,000 Mabia IDPs residing in Bili, as well as representatives of the SPLM and local administrators. It was agreed that Bili was not a suitable place for returnees, and that it would therefore remain a transit camp until the end of the rainy season. Returnees originating from Deim Zubeir were asked to return to their home areas, while returnees from Raja and surrounding villages would remain in Bili until the end of the rainy season. UPDATE ON WORK PLAN 2006 UN agencies, together with Sudanese Government counterparts, partner NGOs and donors, are in the process of preparing the nationwide United Nations and Partners Work Plan for 2006. Missions are being undertaken to Blue Nile, Abyei and the eastern locations of Kassala and Port Sudan, where UN and NGO presence is limited, in order to ensure area-based priorities are portrayed accurately. Following important strides in implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), activities focusing on recovery and return and reintegration will have increased prominence in 2006. The Work Plan is to be completed by early November.
PAGE 3 EAST RED SEA AND KASSALA Access from Sudan to Hamesh Koreib, in Kassala State remains impossible. This is particularly worrisome following reports of a case of acute flaccid paralysis in the area. A 3-day polio campaign in all areas of Kassala State other than Hamesh Koreib will be launched on 27 September with the support of the UN and NGOs. In Port Sudan, Red Sea State, WFP and HAC led an inter-agency rapid assessment of areas affected by a heavy storm on 31 August. Some 16,700 persons were affected. Over 3,300 houses were completely destroyed and 5,400 damaged. Food distribution was undertaken by WFP, but shelter and non-food items continue to be a major concern. The GoS has contributed with food rations to some 200 families. WFP also appealed to donors to cover an $8.3 million shortfall in funding to feed 90,000 Eritrean and Ethiopian refugees who fled armed conflict, drought and famine in their countries and are now living in camps in the East. ABYEI th Since August 26, an estimated 2,800 returnees have arrived in Abyei in organized buses, and more continue to arrive on a daily basis. Most of them have the intention to settle in and around the town. The influx an increase of 43% in the town's population poses major challenges for humanitarian agencies. Consequently, over the last two weeks, the number of outpatients in the GOAL primary health clinic has increased dramatically to an average of 120 patients a day, a large percentage of whom are returnees. Due to overuse, one of the six hand pumps in Abyei was broken, and INGOs and UN agencies are taking steps to have it repaired as quickly as possible. People are also using stagnant river water polluted with human waste for consumption. The risk of water-borne diseases is growing progressively. Basic schools have registered over 240 returnee students during the last two weeks, pushing school capacity over the limit with the average class size over 100 pupils. Although no security incident has been reported yet, security concerns are rising as the numbers of returnees increase, and their living conditions remain precarious. Starting from 11 September, WFP and its cooperating partner, Save the Children-US, have been providing a 15-day full ration of food to all recent returnees. DARFUR AT A GLANCE Total affected population: about 3.4 million people (1.8 million IDPs and 1.6 residents): North Darfur: 1,142,959 South Darfur: 1,134,026 West Darfur: 1,104,661 Presence in field: 13 UN Agencies, 81 NGOs, ICRC, comprised of 1,000 international staff and 12,500 national staff Total area of three Darfur states: roughly equivalent to that of France or Texas DARFUR Increasing insecurity murder, looting, banditry, abductions, ambushes, beatings and rape remained the overriding concern throughout Darfur. In West Darfur, intertribal fighting has caused the displacement of 850 households who sought refuge in Abu Sorog IDP camp. The area remains a no-go zone for UN agencies. Fighting between armed groups and the resulting insecurity has severely impacted humanitarian access and led to NGO staff reductions in areas on the border of North and South Dar fur. Humanitarian access continued to encounter many limitations, leading the African Union (AU) to announce that its peacekeeping forces would increase presence in areas where the security situation is particularly volatile. During a visit to Geneina, West Darfur, on 5 September, the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Humanitarian Coordinator, Manuel Aranda Da Silva, met with representatives of the international community, aid groups, the GoS, the AU and rebel factions. Da Silva said that efforts were expected from government authorities to improve the operating environment for humanitarian work. Following his visit, WFP made a helicopter available for the transport of aid workers. Ongoing efforts to resolve the conflict in Darfur continued with the resumption of talks on 15 September in Abuja, Nigeria, among the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A), the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), and Sudanese authorities, under the auspices of the AU and observed by the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS). The security situation around Kalma IDP camp the largest in Darfur with an estimated 150,000 people has further deteriorated with a large number of incidents reported, especially to the north and northeast of the camp. The commercial blockade of the camp, which was imposed after the 20 May riots, remains in place. Daily reports continue to be received of violence inside the camp. Lack of support from authorities has resulted in continued failure to complete a headcount for registration of IDPs for food distributions, leaving Kalma among the last locations where a registration has yet to be conducted. IDPs have been willing to relocate to a new camp in a safer area, due largely to IDP mistrust of government officials. And unwillingness of GoS authorities to renew the Norwegian Refugee Council's agreement as camp coordinator, which expired on 15 August, has been detrimental to the camp. However, it is important to note significant accomplishments achieved throughout Darfur despite so many obstacles. In August, ICRC and WFP succeeded in delivering 47,500MT to 2.6 million beneficiaries in a region located 1,000 miles from the nearest port, during the rainy season. Also, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that there were no epidemics of disease, while an outbreak of Hepatitis E in Mukjar was brought under control. The amount of land under cultivation near IDP camps and sites has been increasing during this second half of the rainy season. Humanitarian response to accessible areas continues to be more effective and encompassing. This is partly reflected in the fact that the percentage of affected people that received sustained humanitarian assistance in the lifesaving sectors of food, water, sanitation, shelter and health has steadily increased from January to August, despite the fact that, in the same period, the number of affected people has increased by 1 million.
PAGE 4 FOCUS ON FORCED RELOCATION IN KHARTOUM During the past month, hundreds of families forcibly displaced from Omdurman, the northwest portion of the Sudanese capital, were relocated by police to the El Fateh 3 site, a desert plain 55 km north of the city. This latest round of forced displacement by Khartoum State authorities began on 16-17 August with the removal of some 700 families from the Shikan squatter area in Omdurman to El Fateh 3. More families have been forcibly evicted from other areas to this new location. There are now an estimated 830 families or some 5,000 people residing in an area lacking minimum basic social services. The Ministry of Planning and Public Utilities has stated that all families would be allocated plots. However, according to IDPs, only those from Shikan have been informed that they would be receiving plots, and many have not been told where those plots would be located. IDPs from areas other than Shikan have been told nothing. In the interim, people have erected haphazard and flimsy burlap- and plastic-covered huts that provide little shelter from the harsh living conditions they are experiencing. The economic consequences of forced displacement have been dire for the IDPs of El Fateh, who depend on income from casual labour in domestic services and construction in Omdurman for their survival. Since their removal from Shikan and other areas of Omdurman, they have been unable to work, as the cost of round-trip transport to and from the city 500 Sudanese Dinars, about US $2.00 is at least the same if not higher than their potential daily wage. The provision of basic services throughout El Fateh is grossly inadequate, particularly in El Fateh 3, where there are no latrines, roads, schools, health centres or electricity. The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) has thus far managed to put several water bladders in place, but with water being delivered via cistern trucks once per day by the Government water authority, overall need remains unmet. Since 2004, the Government of Sudan has been forcibly evicting IDPs from areas in Khartoum to El Fateh as part of a replanning process in the state, with a major relocation of some 12,000 people having taken place in early January 2005. The practice of demolition and relocation in Khartoum IDP camps and squatter areas has been ongoing for the past two decades. Since 1989, at least 665,000 IDPs have been forcibly relocated in Khartoum State, of whom at least 300,000 since 2004. At present, of the four million IDPs in Sudan (excluding Darfur), approximately two million currently reside in and around Khartoum, including 325,000 in four official IDP camps and 1.7 million in about 30 squatter areas. In May, following the violent reactions to the relocations in Soba Aradi which led to the death of 20 people, the UN, donor countries and the Governor of Khartoum formed a Consultative Committee on Re-Planning Affecting IDPs to ensure that replanning policy and its implementation were consistent with international legal obligations and guaranteed provision of adequate services to IDPs and other vulnerable groups. While the committee has had a series of positive discussions, members are disappointed that the Khartoum State Government has not honoured its pledges of no further relocations until after the end of the rainy season in October. While the UN supports the Government's intention to replan Khartoum and other areas of displacement with the purpose of improving living conditions, the manner in which the process has been and continues to be carried out violates fundamental human rights, including the right to housing, the right to an adequate standard of living and the prohibition of arbitrary interference in the home and family, said Manuel Aranda da Silva, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator and Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General (HC/DSRSG) in Sudan. Forced relocations, further displacement and forced evictions result in increased IDP vulnerability and undermine the right to return voluntarily, in an informed, safe and dignified manner. In recent years, donors have been reluctant to commit funds to assist Khartoum's two million IDPs because of the government's failure to provide information about their plans for these communities. With a Government of National Unity due to be in place in the coming days, and which will include representatives from many of the IDPs' places of origin, the UN is repeating its call for the respect of the fundamental human rights of all Sudanese citizens. In particular, the Government of National Unity must ensure durable solutions for IDPs in Sudan, including the right of return, providing opportunities for effective integration at places of displacement and reintegration at places of return, the HC/DSRSG stated. Failure to ensure durable solutions for the displaced will seriously disrupt the development of sustainable peace in Sudan.
PAGE 5 TH UN, HAC & SRRC LAUNCH EMERGENCY APPEAL FOR $55 MILLION FOR 4 QUARTER 2005 The UN, together with both the HAC and the SRRC, jointly briefed donors on the urgent requirement for an estimated $55 million in funding to cover essential needs for returning IDPs and refugees during the last quarter of 2005. The activities set out in the operational plan for the period after 30 September were predicated on the assumption that new funding would be received by September, enabling agencies to implement planned assistance to spontaneous returns until the end of the year. However, few funds have as yet been received, other than a major $32 million contribution (for the coming 12 months) from Japan, with pledges made by the Netherlands and Norway. Agencies were therefore asked to select priority activities by area of intervention for the rest of the year, and to identify minimum resources required to complete them (see table below). Robert Turner, Director of the UN Returns and Reintegration Unit, noted that the amount being requested was disciplined and pragmatic aimed simply at implementing only the most essential activities for tens of thousands of returnees until yearend. In a recent meeting with donors, Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator for South Sudan, David Gressly, emphasised the critical element of timing in funding support for returns. "UN Agencies were able to borrow more than $100 million at the start of 2005 for all of Sudan, based on written donor commitments for funding in the immediate future," noted Gressly. "All that is needed is a letter, the cash can come later, and agencies can move forward in getting programmes running, knowing the funds are in the pipeline. Any actions undertaken in the final three months of 2005 would be a first step for a far more extensive programme to be undertaken in connection with the 2006 Work Plan for Sudan, which is currently being finalized by UN agencies and partner NGOs. FUNDING REQUIREMENT FOR ASSISTED RETURNS UPDATE OCTOBER DECEMBER 2005 SECTOR AGENCY REQUIRED FUNDING (US$) TOTAL REQUIRED (US$) Education UNHCR (SUD-05/E04) 1,600,000 4,100,000 UNICEF 2,500,000 Food Aid WFP 15,000,000 15,000,000 Food Security UNHCR (SUD-05/A07) 100,000 100,000 Health UNHCR (SUD-05/H19) 2,000,000 10,994,000 UNICEF 8,994,400 Information Campaign UNICEF 500,000 500,000 Infrastructure UNHCR (SUD-05/MS05) 800,000 800,000 NFI Distribution UNICEF 6,900,000 7,100,000 UNJLC (SUD-05/CSS08) 200,000 Protection UNHCR (New Project) 2,100,000 2,330,000 UNICEF 230,000 Nutrition UNICEF 500,000 500,000 Registration NRC (SUD-05/MS18) 721,857 721,857 Tracking and Monitoring OCHA 189,830 189,830 Transportation of Vulnerables IOM (SUD-05 / MS-02) 3,501,747 3,501,747 Water and Sanitation UNHCR (SUD-05/WS04) 500,000 4,000,000 UNICEF 3,500,000 Way Stations IOM (SUD-05 / MS-02) 3,037,955 5,865,829 NRC (SUD-05/MS20) 827,874 UNHCR (SUD-05/MS16) 2,000,000 GRAND TOTAL 55,703,263 UPCOMING & ONGOING MEETINGS & EVENTS OF NOTE 25 September: Khartoum State Inter-agency Meeting 2-6 October: MDTF Meetings in Khartoum 6 October: MDTF Meeting in Juba