OCHA Situation Report No. 16
Timor-Leste: Population Displacement
7 September 2006


Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

This report is based on information received from the United Nations
Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT), UN Agencies, international
NGOs and media sources.

SITUATION

1.During daytime, life in the streets of Dili seems to have returned to
normality with shops and markets open and traffic returning. The
International Police Forces (IPTL) patrol the streets on a 24/7 basis,
backed up by the Joint Task Force (JTF).

2.Over the last four weeks, there has been an upsurge of violence in the
streets of Dili, including arson and stone throwing on IDP camps and
people in the camps throwing stones back to the assaulters. Groups of
youth gangs roam the streets when dark sets in and their moves around
the town seem to be organised and coordinated. These groups are not
afraid to attack police staff and vehicles. On 1 September, a shooting,
subsequent stone throwing, and a gang fight occurred outside Seaport IDP
camp resulting in 8 injuries. Due to lack of space in the jails in and
around Dili, offenders caught red handed in those attacks were detained
for 12 hours and then released. The security situation is extremely
volatile, influenced by rumors more than by facts.

3.On 30 August 2006, Major Alfredo Reinaldo and 56 other detainees
escaped from Becora Prison, just east of Dili. United Nations Police
(UNPOL) and international security forces mounted a wide-spread search
effort. Investigations are ongoing.

4.As noted over the previous weeks, a large number of IDPs only spend
the night in the camps and run their normal business during the day,
with families returning to their homes. It is not known how many IDP
families have returned to their former homes, as most families still
keep a 'sit' in the camps as a safety net in case the situation
deteriorates again in their home area. Some had gone back to their areas
but returned to camps as they were either threatened or attacked by
their former neighbours. After several attacks in and around the camps,
more than two thirds of the IDPs sheltered at the Obrigado Barracks camp
opposite the UNMIT headquarters in Dili left the camp (2,000-3,000);
some went home and some joined other camps in Dili.

5.As a result of the unstable security situation, most of the IDPs do
not feel safe enough to return home. IDPs continue to express their
disappointment that the main issues behind the April/May crisis have not
been resolved: justice, impunity, weapons among the civilian population,
unresolved land and property issues; all those issues influence the
perception of the East-West divide.

6.The Security Council on 25 August (S/2006/686) approved the mission
proposed through the report of the UN Secretary-General, 'Report on
Timor-Leste pursuant to SecurityCouncil (SC) Resolution 1690 (2006)' to
the Security Council (S/2006/628, 8 August 2006). The Security Council
decided to establish a follow-on mission -- 'United Nations Integrated
Mission in Timor-Leste' (UNMIT) for an initial period of six months,
consisting of an appropriate civilian component, including up to 1,608
police officers and an initial component of up to 34 military liaison
and staff officers. The Security Council requested the Secretary-General
to review the arrangements to be established between UNMIT and the
international security forces and present his views no later than 25
October 2006.

RESPONSE

IDPs / Return and Reintegration

1. The Government has presented the 'Simu Malu - Mutual Acceptance'
programme (SM) to all stakeholders (Ministries, the diplomatic and the
aid communities). The programme aims to facilitate a safe and
sustainable return of IDPs to their homes, to establish a peaceful
environment in their areas of origin, through dialogue between them and
the receiving communities, to ensure the protection of the population
and try to end the violence. It is composed of three programmes:
Protection, Immediate Support, and Promotion of Dialogue. Various
ministries, sub-districts, NGOs, INGOs, UN agencies, church
representatives, camp management, IPTL/JTF etc. are to be engaged in the
programme. Dialogues in different parts of Dili have been held over the
past 4 weeks. The Simu Malu Working Group including a wide range of
stakeholders took up its work 2 weeks ago and implementation plans are
being drafted in the different Sectoral Working Groups.

Protection

2. Focal points for child protection have now been established in 51
camps in Dili. The Child Protection Working Group drafted messages that
are circulated in IDP camps. The international NGO, Plan International,
together with national NGOs organized play-based activities in Metinaro
camp and theatre workshops. Child rights banners are developed and Plan
International and Health International show movies as part of the health
promotion campaign.

3. UNFPA provided GBV training to staff of CARE International
Timor-Leste, and to Site Liaison Support (SLS)(1) The Site Liaison
Support facilitates the humanitarian and security assistance between the
camp manager and the Government/UN/INGOs. Camp Managers and GBV Focal
Points of 15 priority IDP camps. It is expected that this training will
be extended to other camps very shortly.

Food Security

4. The sixth cycle of food distribution started on Friday, 1 September
2006. A one-month ration of 8kg of rice per person plus complementary
food is provided to 69,600 food recipients in Dili. Total distribution
of government rice through IOM up to now is at 2995.058 MT. Since early
June 2006, WFP has provided 1,359 MT of assorted food commodities to
over 150,000 vulnerable people across Timor-Leste. In the sixth cycle of
food distribution, WFP, in partnership with the NGO Forum, is
distributing a one-month food ration of mung beans and vegetable oil, to
complement the Government's rice distribution.

5. As part of the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) and School Feeding
(SF) programs, WFP conducted training workshops and cooking
demonstrations for Head Masters and Parent Teacher Associations PTAs) of
39 schools in Bobonaro district during the reporting period. In
addition, 11 MT of rice, 156 MT of mung beans, 40 MT of vegetable oil,
13 MT of CSB and 3 MT of sugar were dispatched for SF to Maliana, and
Atabae and Balibo sub-districts in Bobonaro district.

6. The Emergency Food Security Assessment has been completed in 12 of 13
districts. The report is expected to be published in two weeks.

Health and Nutrition

7. UNICEF is working with the Ministry of Health (MoH) on the follow-up
monitoring around community health centres for malnourished children
identified in last month's screening.

8. The Ministry of Health ran a workshop on in-patient therapeutic
feeding for severely malnourished children. UNICEF, Care International
and Health Alliance International supported the workshop. UNICEF also
supplies the national hospital with therapeutic milk used to treat
malnourished children.

9. The Ministry of Health's measles and Vitamin A supplementation
campaign for children is now vaccinating children in districts outside
Dili. Vaccination in Los Palos district has finished. More than 25,000
children have been vaccinated so far, more than 7400 given Vitamin A
supplementation and almost 22,000 de-wormed. The campaign is supported
by UNICEF and other local and international NGOs.

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene

10. In preparation for the upcoming rainy season, maintenance and
improvements to water and sanitation facilities in the IDP camps are
being carried out by CARE contractors, Oxfam, Triangle Generation
Humanitaire and UNICEF contractors. Three camps will be at serious
threat of flooding during the rainy season and solutions have to be
found for the IDPs located in those camps.

11. Water trucking continues. An average of 125,000 litres per day is
trucked to camps in Dili. A drilling rig will be available this month.
Camps are being assessed for suitability of bore-hole drilling.

Camp Management

12. IOM has begun moving some tents 10-15m away from the front gate of
the airport to keep IDPs out of reach of stone throwers. The CIMIC
Liaison Office has agreed to build a fence around the perimeter of the
camp after the tents are moved.

13. 471 Internally Displaced Persons of Metiaut camp close to the Prime
Minister's house left the camp on 20 August. UNHCR retrieved the tents
that were left behind by the IDPs.

Education

14. The Ministry of Education and Culture (MEC) has asked UNICEF to look
at providing the psycho-social module from its emergency
teacher-training program to all teachers affected by the crisis. UNICEF
has prepared a budget for this and is continuing to discuss it with the
Ministry.

15. The Minister will attend a launch of the Back-to-school campaign on
4 September. UNICEF has briefed Ministry superintendents on distribution
of materials (240,000 students' backpacks, stationery and 5,600
teachers' bags).

Communication and Information

16. The UNDP Communication to IDPs project aims to assist the sectoral
working groups in disseminating information to the IDPs within Dili and
in the districts. It is comprised of 6 information teams which have each
been assigned responsibility for a group of camps in Dili and for
particular districts throughout Timor-Leste. The teams are building
relationships with the Camp Managers, Communication Leaders and the
communities within the camps and report back regularly on feedback they
are receiving from the IDPs about the messages being disseminated.

17. The Information Centre, which is located in the Ministry of Labour
and Community Reinsertion (MTRC) and supported by OCHA, IOM and UNDP,
has developed a repository of information for the humanitarian community
that includes sitreps, meeting minutes and assessments. Most of the
information is collected from the sector working groups and consolidated
into different products. Matrices showing the different activities done
by different agencies in the districts and camps were sent out to the
humanitarian community. This will be updated on a monthly basis and its
aim is to give an overall picture of the humanitarian activity currently
taking place in Timor Leste.

OCHA is in close contact with the UN Country Team and UNMIT in Dili and
will revert with further information as it becomes available. This
situation report, together with further information on ongoing
emergencies, is also available on the OCHA Internet Website at
http://www.reliefweb.int.

Tel.: +41-22-917 12 34
Fax: +41-22-917 0023
E-mail: ochagva@un.org

In case of emergency only: Tel. +41-22-917 20 10

Desk Officer:
  Ms. Ute Kollies - Tel. +41-22-917-3173
  Mr. Wojtek Wilk (in NY) Tel. +1-917-367-9748

Press contact:
  GVA - Ms. Elizabeth Byrs - Tel. +41-22-917 2653
  NYC - Ms. Stephanie Bunker - Tel. + 1-917 367 5126

Notes:
  (1) The Site Liaison Support facilitates the humanitarian and security
assistance between the camp manager and the Government/UN/INGOs.

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