International Committee of the Red Cross Situation Report No. 1 Uganda 30 June 1999
General Situation Owing to the ongoing volatile situation in Uganda, the plight of some 500,000 internally displaced people throughout the country continues to be a matter of concern. Many still find it difficult to return to their homes and in certain areas have limited access to cultivable land, hygiene, health care, as well as inadequate food and economic security. In Acholiland in northern Uganda, since January 1999 the security situation has been relatively quiet. This has led to a number of improvements for the civilian population. The 320,000 displaced people living in camps in Gulu and Kitgum districts have benefited from increased freedom of movement and access to agricultural land. By the end of March, the majority had regular access to farmland and some have even been able to cultivate fields around their places of origin. However, despite this recent increased stability, the situation in the north remains fragile and the humanitarian impact of this low-intensity, cyclical conflict should continue to be carefully monitored. In contrast, the security situation in the Rwenzori mountain region in southwest Uganda has seriously deteriorated. Since the end of 1998 there has been an increase in activities by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), provoking massive displacements of the civilian population mainly in the district around Bundibugyo, where an estimated 85,000 displaced people have been reported. In Kasese district, the fate of the civilian population also remains fragile, with the continued displacement of some 23,000 people. The instability along the south-western border was brought to the attention of the western world at the beginning of March following the killing of eight foreigners in Bwindi National Park in Rukungiri district. From the beginning of November 1998, all ICRC field activities in the southwest of the country were put on hold after one of the armed opposition groups which claims to be active in the region withdrew the necessary security guarantees. At the end of May 1999 the ICRC finally received the appropriate guarantees to work in the region and was able to resume its activities. Meanwhile, Kampala has been the scene of eight bomb attacks since the beginning of the year, which have caused 15 deaths and numerous injuries. The country also continues to face additional challenges due to the ongoing regional conflict involving border countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan and Rwanda, with implications threatening to increase the country's instability and add to already substantial humanitarian concerns. People at risk and the ICRC response ASSISTANCE Displaced population in the southwest - resumption of ICRC activities In early June an ICRC assessment confirmed that urgent needs linked to the overall situation in the region need to be addressed and that some 80-85,000 people are directly or indirectly affected by the conflict. These include tens of thousands of displaced people located in 46 camps all over Bundibugyo district. The prevailing situation is likely to continue in the coming months as the population will only consider returning to their original dwellings once security has been restored. The camps where they are living are overcrowded and problems of hygiene, sanitation, lack of non-food items and inadequate medical monitoring of the displaced population have been reported. In mid-May the ICRC donated 6,000 jerry cans, 9,000 blankets and 3,000 tarpaulins to MSF France for distribution to some 6,000 families in Bundibugyo. Whilst on standby in the region, ICRC field officers have continued to provide ad hoc medical assistance to health facilities serving the displaced population. At present, the ICRC closely monitors the health situation in the camps, where the main problems are malaria, respiratory infections and diarrhoea. The ICRC is planning to set up an office structure in Bundibugyo at the end of June with a permanent presence of three expatriates and a national staff team. An additional assessment will be carried out in the southern part of the Kasese district in order to identify the requirements of the 23,000 displaced people who have previously been assisted by the ICRC. Displaced and local population in the north In Acholiland, where the ICRC maintains a permanent presence of four expatriates and 30 national staff, activities concentrate on 320,000 displaced people, the majority of whom have been displaced since the end of 1996/beginning of 1997. The main focus is on agricultural assistance for the population in Gulu (19 camps) and in Kitgum districts (9 camps) helping people to achieve economic security. To this end, a seed distribution for 63,422 families was carried out in March. In conjunction with the Ugandan Red Cross Society (URCS) a total of 760 tons of seeds (maize, beans, sorghum, ground nuts), 62,000 vegetable seed kits and 68,000 hoes were distributed together with soap. The seed package aims to provide 2,182 kilocalories and 81 grammes of protein per person per day for a period of six months. At the end of May the first technical assessment was carried out by the ICRC to study germination rates and seed quality and the second focused on food security and access to agricultural land. It appears that land access in both Gulu and Kitgum has improved in comparison with recent years and there have been sufficient quantities of rain, therefore the harvest at the end of June is expected to be very good. If the security situation does not deteriorate, the displaced peoples' food security should be guaranteed for the next six months. In March, the ICRC also carried out a large-scale non-food distribution for some 8,000 recently-displaced people in the northern part of Kitgum district. A total of 22.5 tonnes of seeds, 3,348 hoes, 5,020 blankets, 3,348 jerry cans and 5.2 tonnes of soap were distributed. At the end of 1998, the ICRC protected five springs in order to improve access to clean water for 40,000 displaced people in Gulu district and in April the ICRC trained 27 volunteers from the URCS so that they could perform health education sessions in Pabbo camp (Gulu) in order to improve hygiene practices. Health services Drugs are provided to health facilities on an ad hoc basis. This year the ICRC has donated a total of 70 emergency kits, containing dressing material, syringes, drugs, gloves and other basic medical items to ten hospitals in conflict areas where more than 100 war-wounded have been registered. At the end of July the ICRC will organize a two-day war surgery seminar for 50 Ugandan surgeons and medical officers. Orthopaedic workshop The ICRC's orthopaedic workshop in Fort Portal was opened in August 1998 and since then a total of 34 prostheses and 36 orthoses have been fitted. In April the ICRC constructed a hostel attached to the workshop for patients to have access to free accommodation whilst they are being measured and trained to use their new limbs. A radio campaign was launched to inform the local population about the workshop and since then a number of new patients have arrived for fitting. The average stay for a trans-tibial (below the knee) amputation is three weeks. One of the aims of the workshop was to introduce the use of polypropylene technology throughout the country. This has been a great success and the Ministry of Health has now stated that all orthopaedic workshops in Uganda will use this technology. In June the ICRC will install the necessary machinery in the MoH/AVSI workshop in Gulu and in July three orthopaedic technicians from Gulu will receive training at the ICRC workshop in Fort Portal. PROTECTION People deprived of their freedom The ICRC is currently visiting a total of 1,414 detainees who are held in 49 places of detention (including the central prisons, military barracks and police stations) throughout the country. 80% of detainees visited by the ICRC are held in the capital. In addition, the ICRC continues to visit Sudanese prisoners of war. Although visits to some places of detention were carried out in the southwest in the last few months, this will be one of the priorities for the ICRC when activities are fully resumed in the area, as new detainees are expected following the recent increase in fighting. In 1998 the ICRC established a programme in order to facilitate visits to detainees held in Kampala by their families from the north of the country. In 1999 the programme was extended to the southwest. The ICRC pays for the transport and accommodation of each family member and 314 such visits have been facilitated by the ICRC this year. All detainees have the opportunity to exchange Red Cross Messages (RCMs) with their families. So far this year a total of 809 RCMs have been received by detainees and 548 distributed. The ICRC provides ad hoc assistance such as medical and recreation items to permanent places of detention and soap is provided to the main prisons on a monthly basis. In February a vegetable seeds programme was established in 20 prisons in Uganda. The programme enables detainees to grow their own vegetables thereby improving the variety in their diet. A total of 211 kg of seeds (spinach, tomato, carrot, cabbage, egg plant and onion) were distributed as well as 10 hose pipes and 775 hoes. The ICRC provided both seeds and technical advice for the programme. The ICRC is currently undertaking extensive water and sanitation work in two of the main prisons in Kampala for the benefit of 3,000 detainees. Sanitation blocks are being renovated, showers and toilets repaired and the sewage system improved. In the kitchens, stoves are being repaired and new ones supplied. The work, which is being carried out by the prison services and the detainees, and supervised by the ICRC, should be completed by mid-September. Each month the ICRC facilitates a meeting held in the Kampala office between the authorities, local NGOs and representatives of the donor community in order to offer a platform for discussion of issues related to the country's prison situation. These meetings, which are a good opportunity for the open exchange of information, have seen positive results with the direct support of the donor community in the field of prison renovations and the rehabilitation of kitchen and sanitation facilities. Civilians The ICRC is gathering information on violations of international humanitarian law (IHL) in the field, in order to inform, through oral or written confidential representations, those responsible for unlawful acts committed against the local population, aiming to bring such practices to a halt and to trigger appropriate remedial action. PREVENTIVE ACTION Armed forces and other bearers of weapons In the light of the continued cooperation between the UPDF and the ICRC with regard to the teaching and dissemination of the Law of Armed Conflicts (LOAC), several training and refresher courses have been conducted in Gulu, Mbale and Mbarara. Dissemination sessions on the Red Cross in Uganda and the basic rules of Conduct for Combatants are carried out with soldiers, Local Defence Units and Homeguards on a regular basis in the conflict-affected areas. In order to reach all armed groups through a widespread communication channel, a set of radio spots and posters have been produced in five local languages as well as in English, focusing on basic principles of humanitarian law. In June discussions were held with 40 religious leaders in Gulu district in order to disseminate the role of the ICRC in the field of the protection of the civilian population. COOPERATION WITH THE NATIONAL SOCIETY The ICRC have supported the URCS in the field of information/promotion of URCS activities by assisting in the production of promotion material, such as the 1999 Red Cross calendar, the monthly bulletin and the quarterly newsletter "The Humanitarian", as well as supporting the media dialogue organized by URCS in order to generate local support. In terms of dissemination, sessions were organized targeting volunteers, the newly-elected branch governing board, school youth, teachers and refugee leaders. The dissemination department played an active and important role in training UPDF first-aiders in Gulu and Mbarara, together with a number of Red Cross staff and volunteers throughout the URCS. Dissemination and Tracing sessions have been carried out in four refugee camps in the north with the aim of raising the awareness of camp refugee leaders and UNHCR implementing partners operating in the camps about Red Cross activities. More than 20 tracing cases and 5,000 RCMs have been handled (distributed and collected) through the URCS tracing services and structure, approximately one quarter being detention messages. The URCS Kasese branch, with the support of the ICRC, continued working on the malaria awareness project. Volunteers and local leaders from 11 parishes in two sub-counties were trained and carried out a baseline survey by visiting 550 homes. Malaria awareness days were organized in targeted parishes with the active involvement of the Kasese Red Cross Drama Group. A Malaria Case Management Workshop was organized by URCS and the Ministry of Health with the support of ICRC and took place in June targeting community-based health personnel. distributed by - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Volunteers in Technical Assistance sitreps nat-dsr web: www.vita.org appeal fireline - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -