Oxfam “Mission incomplete: why civilians remain at risk in Chad ” report
Oxfam International Press Release
10 September 2008
Spiralling insecurity in eastern Chad has left civilians vulnerable to violence and abuse because the vital police component of a UN protection mission is not adequate and has yet to deploy, leaving European troop’s struggling with growing lawlessness and banditry, according to a report released today by the international aid agency, Oxfam International.
The report, “Mission incomplete: why civilians remain at risk in Chad ”
reviews the performance of the protection mission in eastern Chad, made up of the UN police component, MINURCAT - in charge of security inside refugee camps and sites for internally displaced - and a European military force (EUFOR), in charge of general security. Based on interviews with the civilian population, experts and aid workers, it depicts a mission marked by serious delays of deployment, bureaucratic hurdles and lack of coordination. It concludes that almost half a million affected people are not adequately protected and are still exposed to attacks, thefts, rape and forced recruitment on a daily basis.
Roland Van Hauwermeiren , Oxfam Country Director in Chad, said:
“Eastern Chad is a volatile and lawless land and people marooned here are facing a perilous situation. Banditry is thriving in Chad's wild west atmosphere. On a daily basis, people face the theft of livestock, beatings while working in the fields, robberies in camps and sites, and rape. They are afraid to plant their fields or collect firewood. EU peacekeepers are doing their job in attempting to keep a lid on the violence, but they cannot do it alone, and urgently need the back up of the mission’s police component.”
The report states that EUFOR, which is almost fully deployed, has made many feel safer by patrolling the main roads, destroying unexploded ordnances, and by positioning battalions around camps and sites during rebel and government fighting. But EUFOR is alone on the ground and is a military force, not a police force, which makes it less capable of dealing with the upsurge in banditry and criminality.
One year after getting the green light from the UN, MINURCAT is not operational. Only 230 of a total of 850 police have been trained in Chad and none have been sent to the camps and sites they are meant to protect. This law and order vacuum has resulted in attacks on aid workers and civilians mushrooming as bandits realise they can rob and kill without fear.
Spokesperson Roland Van Hauwermeiren, said:
“The EU, must ensure that the International Community’s response to Chad’s crisis actually works. They have indeed deployed troops, but they have failed to address the root causes of insecurity in Chad so far. The EU, as a major donor to MINURCAT, must ensure it is deployed and tasked to promote rule of law at the country level.”.
Ireland as a leading contributor of troops to the EUFOR mission which is also commanded by an Irish army officer Lieut General Pat Nash can use its authority and influence to urge the United Nations to strengthen the mission and further protect the lives of civilians.
With the mission’s mandate coming up for renewal on the 25 September, Oxfam International is urging the United Nations Security Council to make the mission capable of dealing with eastern Chad’s current security context. Specifically it is calling for the UN to:
- Immediately deploy MINURCAT and speed up training.
- Revise and strengthen MINURCAT’s original mandate so as to deploy UN police squads to camps to plug the security gap in the short-term.
- Extend MINURCAT’s mandate to the whole country, not just the east, to assist judicial and administrative capacity, as well as promote human rights and gender equity.
Oxfam International is also calling on the international community to start working for a negotiated settlement of the crisis in Chad. Without a comprehensive and inclusive peace and democratisation process, violence will continue to plague civilians in eastern Chad.
Download the Oxfam International Report
For more information or interviews, please contact:
In Chad, Judith Enriquez-Sarano on +235 6970964 or jsarano@oxfam.org.uk
ROI: Paul Dunphy, Media and Communications Executive, 01 635 0422, paul.dunphy [at] oxfamireland.org
NI: Phillip Graham, Media and Communications Officer, 028 9089 5959, phillip.graham [at] oxfamireland.org
Notes to Editor
The UN Security Council’s three-pronged mission in eastern Chad consists of:
- MINURCAT, the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad comprising UN police trainers and civilian staff charged with helping to build up Chad’s justice system and monitor the human rights situation; The establishment of a new 850-strong Chadian police and gendarme unit, the Detachement Integré de Securité (DIS). DIS personnel would be trained and monitored by the UN police to provide 24-hour security in the refugee camps and IDP sites;
- EUFOR, a European Union military force of 3,700 soldiers. This was intended to provide the ‘wide-area security’ needed for the deployment of the first two elements of the mission and was also mandated to ‘contribute to protecting civilians in danger, particularly refugees and displaced persons’.
2. There are nearly half a million people displaced in Eastern Chad, this population is made up of Darfuri refugees and those displaced by Chad’s own internal conflict. Oxfam's aid effort has been reaching more than 160,000 people with clean water, safe sanitation, food and public health promotion.
Oxfam Ireland is an independent member of Oxfam International- a group of thirteen non-governmental agencies dedicated to fighting poverty and related injustice around the world.
Media Resources
