Military

DATE=10/24/00

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

NUMBER=2-268366

TITLE=U-N / ETHIOPIA / ERITREA (L-only)

BYLINE=LISA SCHLEIN

DATELINE=GENEVA

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: A United Nations mission to Ethiopia and Eritrea finds that hundreds of thousands of internally-displaced people are in urgent need of international assistance. Lisa Schlein in Geneva reports U-N officials are appealing to donors to help these people now, and not wait for the peace process to be implemented.

TEXT: The United Nations estimates there are 25-million internally-displaced people in the world. This is twice the number of global refugees.

Africa has the largest number of displaced people. About 12-million have been made homeless by war. Yet the United Nations says problems affecting these people are largely hidden, because no specific agency exists to deal with their needs.

Dennis McNamara has been appointed U-N special coordinator on internal displacement, to shine a light [focus] on this human tragedy. He led a weeklong mission to Ethiopia and Eritrea to see what needs to be done for an estimated 600-thousand people displaced by the war. He says their food needs are being met. But aid workers in the field say donors are reluctant to fund non-food items until they are sure the peace process is going ahead.

/// 1ST McNAMARA ACT ///

But our point is that you can't wait. Displaced people need the shelter. They need clothes. They need water and medicine now. Peace process or no peace process, that has to be met. Hundreds of thousands of them have already gone home. They need agricultural support tools, implements, seeds to start a new program, [but] they are not getting it. The funds have not come through for that. /// OPT /// So, it is a chicken-and-egg [situation]. But we think the egg has to come before the chicken, I suppose. It can't wait. It can't be captive to political processes. /// END OPT ///

/// END ACT ///

Mr. McNamara says up to 90 percent of the internally-displaced people are women and children. This is a higher percentage than most refugee situations. He says a major concern is that of land mines. He says displaced people are likely to rush back to former areas of conflict once U-N peacekeepers are deployed. He says this may result in many casualties.

/// 2ND McNAMARA ACT ///

We've seen this in Kosovo and elsewhere. If the people rush back with the first troops, the mines won't be cleared. And the priority for the military will be military de-mining; they don't do humanitarian de-mining [remove mines for other than military purposes]. So, we're making a strong appeal for urgent funding for humanitarian mine identification, mine awareness, mine removal, victim assistance. Otherwise, we're going to have, we fear, casualties. There have been civilian casualties. They will increase if people rush back without that.

/// END ACT ///

The United Nations will be holding a special donors' meeting on Thursday, Mr. McNamara says, appealing for 60-million dollars in non-food assistance for the hundreds of thousands of internally displaced war victims in Ethiopia and Eritrea. (Signed)

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