OCHA Situation Report
Guinea
March 2003
27 March 2003


Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)

Background on the West African Conflict(s)

The civil conflicts of the 1990s in the Sierra Leone and Liberia
transformed Guinea into one of the largest refugee hosting countries in
the world, with refugees at times comprising seven percent of the
population. Years of hosting a significant number of refugees and
intensified armed attacks along its borders with Liberia and Sierra Leone,
dealt a severe blow to Guinea's capacity to ensure the safety of its
population andto focus on economic development and political stability.


Chronology

The conflicts of the Mano River basin countries, namely Guinea, Sierra
Leone and Liberia, erupted in late1989, when a group of rebels named
National Patriotic Front (NPF) led by Charles Taylor inserted from Cote
d'Ivoire into Liberia. The rebels soon controlled relevant portions of the
country. In the early 1990s the war expanded into neighbouring Sierra
Leone where the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) supported by Taylor tried
to capture the capital Freetown. In July 1997, after numerous failed
negotiations, elections were held in Liberia and surprisingly won by
Taylor. Two months before, parts of the Sierra Leone Army sympathizing
with the RUF rebels had toppled the government of Ahmed Tejan Kabbah. In
February 1998 Kabbah was re-installed but at the beginning of 1999,
Freetown was again close to fall to the RUF rebels. The city was secured
in last minute by the Nigerian led intervention force from the Economic
Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Following a peace agreement in
the summer of 1999, this ECOWAS Cease-fire Monitoring Group (ECOMOG)
withdrew and the UN peace-keeping mission UNAMSIL moved in instead.

Tensions peaked towards the end of the year 2000 when fighting broke out
in the Parrot's Beak area, bordering on both Sierra Leone and Liberia. For
the first time, Guinea had to deal with the emergence of internally
displaced persons, as well as rising grievances of citizens who attribute
their plight to insecurity related to the presence of refugees. The
Revolutionary United Front (RUF) in Sierra Leone had launched attacks and
counter attacks along the border villages in the region, displacing large
numbers of Sierra Leonean refugees and their hosts. Of particular note,
was the destruction of the town of Pamelap in the southwest of Guinea,
which, prior to the conflict, had served as a major trade area for
populations in the region. As the Parrot's Beak increasingly became a war
zone, UNHCR advocated for the immediate relocation of refugees in the
area, with the full support of the international community. Residents of
the communities that had hosted the refugees also decided to seek refuge
in areas further away from the border, to avoid looting and abuses
perpetuated by the diverse armed groups involved in the fighting. In June
2001, an estimated 250,000 refugees and IDPs had been evacuated from the
Parrot's Beak area.

During 2001, the situation in the sub-region improved gradually. The year
brought consolidation of a safer living environment for refugees relocated
away from the borders, absence of cross border fighting between Guinea,
Liberia and Sierra Leone, as well as the return of around 60,000 refugees
to Sierra Leone. The release from prison of a prominent politician, Alpha
Conde, on 20 May 2001, was also seen as a positive step towards political
stability. Progress in the peace process in Sierra Leone, including the
re-activation of the Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR)
Programme, markedly improved the security situation within the country and
along its borders with Guinea, thus expanding the humanitarian space and
enabling agencies to operate in areas that were previously off limit.

Year 2002 has also brought encouraging signs for the Mano River basin
countries such as the formally declared end of the conflict in Sierra
Leone on 18 January 2002. UNHCR has been able to facilitate voluntary
repatriation of large amounts of Sierra Leonean refugees from Guinea and
prospects for stability and economic recovery in the sub-region received a
boost following the intervention of civil society. The Mano River Women
Peace Network who had met with the Heads of State of Liberia, Sierra Leone
and Guinea convinced President Lansana Conte of Guinea to agree to with
President Charles Taylor of Liberia, as part of efforts to normalise
relations in the Mano River Union. These initiatives culminated in a
Summit of the three Heads of State, which took place in Morocco on 27
February 2002.

But the situation deteriorated with the outbreak of armed conflict in Cote
d'Ivoire on 19th September 2002.


Current Situation

The countries are now taking major strides towards finding ways of
addressing the issue of rebel incursions within the Mano River Union and
the safety of citizens living in border areas.

Currently, a frail calm prevails in the border areas and the situation
remains volatile with the resumption of fighting in Liberia and the fluid
situation in Cote d'Ivoire. Both borders remain officially closed, except
for humanitarian purposes, in which case access is subject to the
decisions of local authorities. As such, the Guinea - Liberia border has
been entirely closed several times in 2003 due to the increased load of
stranded civilians at volatile border points presenting security and
humanitarian concerns, as well as the uncontrolled movement of civilians
back and forth across the border. However, as party to various
international humanitarian conventions, Guinea is obliged to facilitate
access to persons seeking shelter from persecution and war. The border
with Cote d'Ivoire has been closed since October 2002, although the
Guinean authorities allow movement for humanitarian purposes.


Liberia / Cote d'Ivoire crisis

Notwithstanding these initiatives, the situation has changed drastically
in recent months with intensified fighting in Liberia between LURD rebels
and Government forces. Adding to the pressure on the Liberian Government,
armed incursions from Cote d'Ivoire due to the alleged involvement of
Liberian mercenaries in the rebel forces fighting against the Ivorian
Government have occurred in the last month, culminating in the attack in
Toe Town in early March by Ivorian Government forces.

By the end of February 2003, the Liberian Government submitted a letter to
the UN Security Council, accusing Guinea for aiding the LURD rebel
movement, stating that, "the government of Guinea facilitated the
establishment of LURD by permitting the recruitment, training and arming
of Liberian refugees living in refugee camps in the territory of Guinea."
As such, Liberia requested "the Security Council to take necessary urgent
measures to end this destabilization and destruction of Liberia in keeping
with its responsibility for international peace and security."

By March 2002, some 82,000 Guinean IDPs remain displaced around the
country as a consequence of armed incursions from Liberia into Guinea in
2000-01. Approximately 44% are currently residing in Prefectures within
Forest Guinea alone.

The conflict in Cote d'Ivoire has placed great peril on the humanitarian
situation in Guinea, particularly in the prefectures in the Forest region.
Already suffering great instability from the large presence of refugees,
IDPs, illicit LURD presence and border instability with Liberia, the
outbreak of violence in Cote d'Ivoire has prompted a multifaceted influx
of people into Guinea, divided between Guinean evacuees, refugees and
foreign nationals in transit. The majority of persons have arrived at
entry points mainly in the Prefectures of Lola, Beyla and Youmou in the
Guinea Forestiere region, although arrivals have also been registered in
the Prefecture of Mandiana, as well as in Conakry.

Between end-September 2002 and March 1, 2003 some 86,000 persons had
entered Guinea as a direct consequence of the war in Cote d'Ivoire: At
least 56,000 Guinean evacuees, some 18,000 prima facie refugees (Ivorian
and Liberian), and more than 12,000 foreign nationals in transit.



CHALLENGES AND CONSTRAINTS

In Guinea, current challenges for the humanitarian community include:

   Facilitate access and basic assistance to all vulnerable groups
   arriving due to conflicts in Liberia and Cote d'Ivoire. Primarily, this
   entails raising donors' awareness of the critical funding situation
   related to the sudden need for accommodation, protection and transport
   of tens of thousands Guinean evacuees, refugees and third country
   nationals in transit.

   Address the unmet needs of IDPs and Guinean nationals evacuated from
   Cote d'Ivoire to ensure broad protection and facilitate return to areas
   of origin.

   Provide necessary protection and assistance to refugees particularly
   for Liberians and Ivorians, who recently arrived in the country.

   Assess the impact of under-funding on protection and mobilize more
   resources to cover unmet protection needs.

   Identify new accommodation space for refugees arriving from Liberia and
   Cote d'Ivoire.

   Facilitate the smooth implementation of the relocation of Liberian
   refugees from the Kouankan camp to the Albadaria camps.

   Lay the foundation for a sustainable peace at the national and possibly
   sub-regional level, notably by using civil-society organizations (CSA).

   Ensure a timely and effective transition from relief to recovery and
   rehabilitation.

   Prevent and mitigate natural disasters that led to population
   displacements in 2001.

   Facilitate coordination and information exchange with a view to
   strengthen emergency humanitarian assistance, enhance preparedness and
   where possible establish linkages to all of the UN efforts in Guinea.

   Solve critical problems with infrastructure impeding the urgent
   provision of humanitarian aid to vital parts of the country.

   Maintain the proper staffing resources.

   Complete the voluntary repatriation of Sierra Leonean refugees.

   Find sustainable solutions to the transport of Third Country Nationals
   in transit.

   Enhancing the humanitarian coordination mechanisms.



I POLITICAL AND SECURITY DEVELOPMENTS

1. 1 National

Political

The presence of large groups of stranded foreign nationals in transit at
entry-points in Diecke and Thuo along the Guinea - Liberia border caused
local authorities to close again these entry-points, citing security
concerns. Although the Guinea - Liberia border has been officially closed
for the past two years, certain entry-points have been kept de facto open
for humanitarian purposes. A recent increased of influx at these
entry-points coincided with an acute funding crisis for IOM Guinea, thus
leaving no option for the UN to facilitate the transport of foreign
nationals in transit and Guinean evacuees. This situation has caused the
accumulation of civilians at volatile border locations compounded by the
fact that these people where left without means and in urgent need of
basic assistance. The UNS is consulting with Guinean authorities and
donors to find a sustainable solution to this obstacle, as it is expected
that many more people will need to enter Guinea from Liberia.

The Guinean Electricity Company is currently facing severe difficulties in
supplying electricity and water to the population of Conakry as well as to
populations in the rural areas. Despite promises by the Minister of Energy
and Hydraulique to correct this situation, the power service is still
alternatively provided 6 hours per zone every 3 to 4 days, generally
between midnight and 06.00. The tension is growing among the population,
particularly as informal sources predict that nothing can be done until
the onset of the rainy season in June.


Security updates

Conakry: Generally calm. Several demonstrations have occurred in the
outskirts of the capital due to the drastic decline in provision of water
and electricity over the past six weeks. The authorities allegedly
forestalled a general strike scheduled for 10 February.

Forest Guinea: The situation remains calm. However, due to the fluid
security situation in both Liberia and Cote d'Ivoire, humanitarian staff
operating in the border areas are asked to exert prudence in their
interventions.

Upper - Guinea: Students in Kankan launched street-protests against the
authorities.


Culture of Peace

During her visit, the Humanitarian Envoy, Ms. Carolyn McAskie, met with
the Mano River Union Women's Network to discuss aspects of the Culture of
Peace programs being promoted by this group. OCHA Guinea is in the process
of developing a community-based program to replicate the non-aggression
pact that prevailed in Nzerekore during the September 2000 attacks.  This
program will use traditional leaders (both men and women) whose
cross-border extended networks could help in deterring possible violence
in border areas between Guinea and Cote d'Ivoire. The draft project
document is being reviewed prior to submission to the donors-community.


1.2 Sub-regional

Political

Recent developments in Cote d'Ivoire and Liberia are being watched
closely, while the preparations for an increased humanitarian influx
continue between the UNS, NGO partners and the Government of Guinea.



II HUMANITARIAN HIGHLIGHTS

1 Refugees

Influx

>From the 19th of September 2002 until February 1, 2003, the Croix Rouge
Guineenne registered some 82,000 persons arriving in Guinea due to the
crisis in Cote d'Ivoire. Of these, 53,500 were Guinean evacuees, 16,953
were Ivorian and Liberian prima facie refugees, and 12,193 were foreign
nationals in transit. The UNS and NGO partners are offering basic
assistance in reception centres at the main entry-points, as well as at
transit centres located further inland. UNHCR has transferred some 3,500
Liberian and 3,148 Ivorian refugees to the camps of Laine and Nonah. It
should be noted that the discrepancy between the number of Ivorians
registered at entry points and those transferred to the Nonah camp is
caused by the large number of Ivorians either merely transiting via Guinea
to return to Abidjan from Conakry or residing with host-families along the
border.


Refugee Repatriation

Refugee repatriation per 19 February 2003 - Data provided by UNHCR Guinea

|------------+------------+---------+-------+--------+-------+-------|
|            |            |         |       |        |CAMP OF|       |
|            |            |         |       |        |ORIGIN |       |
|------------+------------+---------+-------+--------+-------+-------|
| Period     |Sembakounya |Kountaya |Boreah |Telikoro|Others | TOTAL |
|------------+------------+---------+-------+--------+-------+-------|
|Report      |       1,600|   10,199|  4,077|   4,855|    933| 21,664|
|Dec 02      |            |         |       |        |       |       |
|------------+------------+---------+-------+--------+-------+-------|
|January 03  |         383|      901|    644|     358|     23|  2,309|
|------------+------------+---------+-------+--------+-------+-------|
|Until 19    |         153|      346|    454|     425|     38|  1,416|
|February 03 |            |         |       |        |       |       |
|------------+------------+---------+-------+--------+-------+-------|
|Total       |       2,136|   11,446|  5,175|   5,638|    994| 25,389|
|------------+------------+---------+-------+--------+-------+-------|



The UNHCR Guinea is aiming at repatriating some 34,000 Sierra Leonean
refugees by the end of June 2003. The opening in March 2003 of a new route
in the Languette, connecting Guinea and Sierra Leone with a footbridge is
expected to expedite the repatriation process.

The Malian Government has arranged the transport of some 1,000 Malian
nationals stranded by the entry-point of Diecke at the Guinean - Liberian
border. An acute funding crisis in IOM Guinea has seriously affected the
movement of Guinean evacuees and foreign nationals in transit who have
arrived in Guinea due to the conflict in Cote d'Ivoire.


Refugee Care and maintenance

Relocation of Liberian refugees from the Kuankan camp to Albadaria

The Guinean Government has authorized the relocation of Liberian refugees
from the Kounkan refugee-camp to camps in the Albadaria area.

Since August 2002 the UNS Guinea has been working with the Government
examining the options for relocating Liberian refugees currently residing
in the camp. The decision for this action was based on informal reports of
increased strain placed on the refugees, mainly caused by the
deterioration of the security and safety conditions of this camp as well
as general overcrowding. Presently, the camp is hosting some 33,000
refugees while originally built for 9,000, and being extended to hold
13,500 in 2001.

The UNHCR reports that the budget and operational plans are in place, and
that a starting date will be agreed upon shortly. To help facilitating a
smooth implementation of the relocation process, UNHCR has also launched a
sensitization campaign in the Kouankan camp. UNHCR foresees to complete
the relocation operation by the end of June 2003.


Laine refugee camp

Discussions between the UNS and the Guinean Government concerning the
extension of the Laine refugee camp, holding Liberian refugees are
ongoing. While initially built to house 6,000 persons, the Laine camp is
now holding 11,000 - 12,000 persons, according to humanitarian partners
operating in the field. Additionally, there is a concern that certain
areas of the camp located between the hills will be flooded with the onset
of the rainy season next months, placing further stress on the refugees
residing there.


2 Host communities

The UNS Emergency Response Plan to the crisis in Cote d'Ivoire is planning
for some 88,000 persons to be affected as host-communities by the influx
of refugees and Guinean nationals from the ongoing crisis. Multi-sector
interventions by several UN agencies have been proposed under the 2003 CAP
to alleviate the already heavy burden placed upon these communities for so
many years. They include emergency school feeding, food for seeds
protection programs, emergency supplies of seeds, immunization campaigns,
child mortality reduction programs, programs to prevent child malnutrition
and the promotion of culture-of-peace programs.



III COORDINATION AND CAPACITY BUILDING

1 Strategic level

Emergency response plan

Following the inception of the CDI crisis, OCHA established an
inter-agency working group to assess the situation and prepare a response
that specifically addresses new needs emerging from this situation. As a
result of the proceedings of the working group, an Inter-Agency Emergency
Response Plan for the crisis in Cote d'Ivoire was finalized, and later
approved by the Government of Guinea prior to submission to the
donor-community on January 23. The plan consolidates agency agreements on
planning figures, target populations, nature and type of interventions,
existing resources and capacities as well as outlining complementarities
among involved actors. The main projected beneficiaries are Guinean
evacuees, host-communities, refugees and foreign nationals in transit. To
foster the implementation of the plan, OCHA is now heading a UN/NGO
working group to provide practical and operational responses deriving from
the Emergency Response Plan and meetings were held accordingly.

The OCHA Field office in N'Zerekore has continued its coordination efforts
with humanitarian partners and local Government authorities in the area.
This includes the coordination of the establishment of ad-hoc reception
facilities at the Baala and Dieke entry points along the Guinea - Liberia
border, where there were sudden surges in influxes of mainly foreign
nationals in transit and Guinean evacuees. These operations involved
UNICEF, WFP, MSF-CH, Premiere Urgence and ACF. Furthermore, the
field-office has participated in various joint missions to border-points
and reception facilities along both the Guinea - Liberia and the Guinea -
Cote d'Ivoire borders to evaluate the situations there.

The OCHA Field-office has established an information-sharing mechanism
outlining recent activities of humanitarian partners operating in the
Guinea Forestière region. The newsletter is distributed monthly among the
involved organizations.

To raise urgent fund for the transport of Guinean nationals and foreign
nationals in transit, the UNS and IOM approached bi-laterally with donors
concerning the need for finding a sustainable solution to the swift
transportation of these groups upon arriving at entry-points.


2 Sectoral level

In consultation with OCHA and the UN agencies, the Humanitarian
Coordinator is proposing to redesign the strategic framework for
humanitarian coordination in Guinea. This approach, currently at the draft
level, will seek to reinforce the work of the existing five sectoral
groups through recommendations emanating from the Comité National de Suivi
de l'Action Humanitaire (CNSAH) composed of the Government, the UNS,
donors and technical Ministries.


3 Capacity building

OCHA continues to provide support to the Service National d'Action
Humanitaire (SENAH) at both national and regional levels. The OCHA
Field-office has conducted field-missions with the Bureau Regional
d'Action Humanitaire in N'Zerekore.


4 Information management

The Information Manager has been permanently transferred to the OCHA
Regional Support Office for West Africa in Abidjan.


5 Transition from relief to development

The influx of Guinean nationals from CDI requires that further attention
and resources be developed to ensure proper integration of these civilians
into host communities. OCHA will reactivate consultations held with UNDP,
the World Bank, the EU and the IMF that spanned from October to December
2001 on the subject of transition and will revisit a concept paper
prepared for this purpose in November 2001.



IV FUNDING UPDATE

As of 20th March 2003, the Guinea Consolidated Appeals 2003 (US$
54,083,515) has received funding of US$ 214'920 according to Relief Web.
The amount is equivalent to 0,66% of the total requirements and was
received by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), OCHA and
UNICEF.

Guinea is involved in developing the CAP for Cote d'Ivoire and the
sub-region due to the impact of the crisis in Guinea.

For further reporting, agencies and donors may use the financial tracking
system found on www.reliefweb.int. The latest Financial Tables can at any
time be viewed on-line at www.reliefweb.int/fts

The CAP 2003 was budgeted to support the management and coordination of
the refugee situation, to address the needs of persons forced to flee
their homes after cross-border rebel attacks in 2000 and 2001, and to
support host communities in order to maintain a conducive asylum
environment by improving living conditions in these areas. The CAP 2003
also covers support to Culture of Peace projects, which, via inter-state
mechanisms, seek to support efforts by civil society actors operating in
various organizations within the Mano River Union at improving conditions
for development in the region.

The CAP 2003 did not take into consideration the outbreak of violence in
Cote d'Ivoire, hence the increased humanitarian strain this event would
place upon Guinea. Since September 27 2002, more than 86,000 persons have
entered Guinea as a cause of the crisis in Cote d'Ivoire. As the global
CAP 2003 deadline coincided with the outbreak of conflict in Cote
d'Ivoire, none of the neighboring countries now directly affected planned
such costs into their appeals. Consequently, UN country teams in this
group of countries comprising Guinea, Mali, Liberia, Burkina Faso, Ghana
and Cote d'Ivoire are currently preparing a sub-regional emergency CAP to
appeal for funding to cover extraordinary costs resulting for the crisis.

One of the challenges is the declining interest in Guinea from the
Donor-community, reflected in the narrow response to cumulative
consolidated appeals of 2001, 2002 and 2003.  According to the web-based
Financial Tracking System (FTS), only 32% of the West Africa CAP 2001 and
47,4% of the Guinea CAP 2002 have been funded, while so far 0.66% of the
CAP 2003 has received funding. Yet, in January 2003 European Commission
announced the provision of a combined humanitarian assistance package to
the Mano River Union countries of Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea worth
US $ 2,1 million earmarked for the continuing relief efforts targeting
refugees, IDPs and host-communities in areas within the region affected by
conflict.


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