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13 October 2000
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13 October 2000
Geneva, New York - A UN-led inter-agency mission will visit Ethiopia and Eritrea on a one-week mission starting Saturday, 14 October to look into the problems of internally displaced persons, particularly due to the recent conflict.
Dennis McNamara, UN Special Coordinator on Internal Displacement, will lead a group of representatives from humanitarian agencies and NGOs, members of the recently established Senior Inter-Agency Network on Internal Displacement. This Network will review the situation of internally displaced populations and will make proposals for an improved international response to their needs. Ethiopia and Eritrea are the first countries to be visited on a priority list, set up by the new Network, which includes Angola, Burundi, Colombia and Indonesia.
The plight of forced population displacement within the borders of states, as a result in particular of conflicts or human rights abuses, affects up to 25 million people, roughly twice the size of the global refugee population.
ANo single humanitarian agency has an exclusive operational mandate to respond to the needs of displaced persons, McNamara recalled after his recent appointment. And yet many agencies are deeply involved in assisting those populations. Our role is to see where, and how this response can be improved.
In establishing the Senior Inter-Agency Network, humanitarian organizations have recognized that the problem of displaced populations is now a major global humanitarian concern. There is widespread recognition that the international community should address the problem in a more systematic and effective manner.
The mission to Ethiopia and Eritrea, will be carried out in close cooperation with the UN country teams. The mission will involve all the major partners of the UN humanitarian community (OCHA, FAO, OHCHR, UNDP, UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP and WHO), international organizations such as IOM, as well as representatives of the NGO community. It will be undertaken in close consultation with the Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement.
Starting in Nairobi, on 16 October, the mission will engage in a series of field visits to displacement sites in Ethiopia and Eritrea. The delegation will also meet with government authorities in Addis-Ababa and Asmara, where both governments have pledged full support to this mission.
A press-conference is scheduled on Monday, 16 October in Nairobi at the UN Press Center at 10:00 a.m. local time, prior to the departure of the team to the mission area.
For more information please contact: Donato Kiniger Passigli, 41-22-917-2653, OCHA-Geneva or Rosa Malango, 1-212-963-2380, OCHA-New York.
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Geneva, New York - A UN-led inter-agency mission will visit Ethiopia and Eritrea on a one-week mission starting Saturday, 14 October to look into the problems of internally displaced persons, particularly due to the recent conflict.
Dennis McNamara, UN Special Coordinator on Internal Displacement, will lead a group of representatives from humanitarian agencies and NGOs, members of the recently established Senior Inter-Agency Network on Internal Displacement. This Network will review the situation of internally displaced populations and will make proposals for an improved international response to their needs. Ethiopia and Eritrea are the first countries to be visited on a priority list, set up by the new Network, which includes Angola, Burundi, Colombia and Indonesia.
The plight of forced population displacement within the borders of states, as a result in particular of conflicts or human rights abuses, affects up to 25 million people, roughly twice the size of the global refugee population.
ANo single humanitarian agency has an exclusive operational mandate to respond to the needs of displaced persons, McNamara recalled after his recent appointment. And yet many agencies are deeply involved in assisting those populations. Our role is to see where, and how this response can be improved.
In establishing the Senior Inter-Agency Network, humanitarian organizations have recognized that the problem of displaced populations is now a major global humanitarian concern. There is widespread recognition that the international community should address the problem in a more systematic and effective manner.
The mission to Ethiopia and Eritrea, will be carried out in close cooperation with the UN country teams. The mission will involve all the major partners of the UN humanitarian community (OCHA, FAO, OHCHR, UNDP, UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP and WHO), international organizations such as IOM, as well as representatives of the NGO community. It will be undertaken in close consultation with the Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement.
Starting in Nairobi, on 16 October, the mission will engage in a series of field visits to displacement sites in Ethiopia and Eritrea. The delegation will also meet with government authorities in Addis-Ababa and Asmara, where both governments have pledged full support to this mission.
A press-conference is scheduled on Monday, 16 October in Nairobi at the UN Press Center at 10:00 a.m. local time, prior to the departure of the team to the mission area.
For more information please contact: Donato Kiniger Passigli, 41-22-917-2653, OCHA-Geneva or Rosa Malango, 1-212-963-2380, OCHA-New York.
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