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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 06 February 2006

UGANDA: UNICEF calls for renewed effort to end suffering in the north

KAMPALA, 6 Feb 2006 (IRIN) - There is a need for new ideas and a fresh resolve to end the suffering of children in northern Uganda, a top official of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has said.

During a three-day visit to the conflict-ridden region, Rima Salah, the deputy executive director of UNICEF, said she had witnessed "the impact of the total collapse of a secure environment on the most innocent and most vulnerable members of society."

Salah had visited the region to acquaint herself with the issues on the ground regarding women and children.

"Now is the time for new ideas, new action, new funding and a reinvigorated resolve to stem the suffering of the children of northern Uganda," she told reporters on Saturday.

Salah said a common theme of her conversations with the children and adults she met in camps in northern Uganda was a desire to return home - many have lived in the camps for close to two decades.

"In the absence of a lasting peace and security, however, this basic wish to be protected by the social fabric of the family will remain unfulfilled," she noted.

For almost 20 years, a brutal war has raged in northern Uganda, pitting government forces against the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). The conflict has forced more than 1.7 million people from their homes into displaced persons' camps scattered across the region.

Salah noted that 935,000 of those displaced were children, some of whom had been abducted by the LRA. Some former abductees recounted to her the extreme violence and abuse they faced during captivity.

"The insights shared by those I met are invaluable. The images in my mind of the children - living each day with the effects of this brutal and murderous conflict - these images are indelible," she said.

Also visiting the region over the weekend was French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy, who called on the Ugandan government to boost security for the displaced persons' camps, which have been a target of rebel attacks in the past.

"I would like the Ugandan authorities to maximise security at the camps and to make efforts for the education and reintegration of these children," Douste-Blazy told reporters. "The security of the camps depends first and foremost on the Ugandan forces."

Douste-Blazy announced his government's pledge of 1 million euros (US $1.2 million) for the rehabilitation of northern Uganda.

[ENDS]

This material comes to you via IRIN, a UN humanitarian information unit, but May not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies. If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Quotations or extracts should include attribution to the original sources. All materials copyright © UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2006