The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) is extremely concerned about the devastating consequences for displaced people of recurring attacks by armed groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC, DR Congo) and is calling for humanitarian efforts to be urgently supported. With 7.5 million displaced women, children, and men, the situation in the DRC is one of the world’s most complex and protracted humanitarian crises.
While at least 6.2 million people are internally displaced, more than 1.3 million Congolese have crossed to neighboring countries to seek refuge. In the eastern North Kivu Province, a staggering 1.2 million people have been forced to flee their homes since March 2022 when clashes between armed groups – mainly rebels from the Mouvement du 23 mars (M23) - and government forces reignited.
UNHCR noted Friday that hundreds of thousands, who have fled the violence, now endure dire living conditions in rudimentary shelters around North Kivu’s provincial capital, Goma, and the Kanyaruchinya district on its outskirts.
“In the third week of April, senior UNHCR officials arrived in North and South Kivu to hear the voices of the displaced. Families are longing for peace in their places of origin so they can return to their homes and revive their livelihoods”, said Elizabeth Tan, UNHCR’s Director of International Protection at a press briefing Friday in Geneva.
Tan said significant overcrowding and inadequate shelter could be spotted everywhere; there were also worrying reports of measles and a risk of cholera.
Spontaneous displacement sites, at times only a few kilometers from the frontlines of conflict between non-state armed groups and DRC forces in North Kivu, offer relative safety to populations who have been forced to flee the violence.
According to the UN agency, on the outskirts of Goma - a city of two million people, and in the adjacent territory of Nyiragongo, as many as 564,000 people remain displaced. A lack of infrastructure and sanitation has led to significant health threats. The monsoon season in recent months has intensified the urgent need for adequate shelter.
In Buchagara, an official site for internally displaced persons (IDPs) on the outskirts of Goma hosting more than 15,500 displaced people, vulnerable individuals and families are now housed in 3,000 emergency shelters alongside recently installed community kitchens and water and sanitation infrastructure.
“Currently, the emergency shelter provided only covers 3 percent of the estimated needs. Women and youth are particularly exposed to protection risks, including gender-based violence. Protection interventions to support women and youth are critical to ease their suffering and prevent abuse and exploitation”, the UNHCR official said.
Displaced people in the Buchagara site appealed for more shelters for those in need and for livelihood activities in agriculture or small businesses to ease their lack of income. Adequate shelter is key to restoring personal security and dignity.
According to UNHCR, conversations with local hosting communities have also underscored the need for proper shelter. More than 180,000 displaced people have recently arrived in Kalehe territory, tens of thousands of whom are sheltering in the town of Minova, a 2-hour drive south of Goma. Local hosting communities have generously shared their limited resources with the displaced populations so far, but they are under enormous strain.
“With a lull in clashes in recent weeks following a fragile ceasefire in North Kivu, some displaced people have attempted to return to their homes. However, many of these returnees are motivated by the dire conditions in which they are living and a need to access their homes to cultivate their fields despite the ongoing insecurity”, Tan said.
UNHCR has scaled up its shelter, site management and protection response with funding from the international community. However, while the needs are great, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is one of the most underfunded humanitarian situations globally. The UN refugee agency requires $233 million to respond to the needs of displaced people in DRC this year, but so far, has only received 15 percent of that amount.
Eastern DRC is home to multiple armed groups, including the rebel M23 force, Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels, the CODECO armed group and Zaire militants. A dramatic resurgence of clashes between the M23 and the Armed Forces of the DR Congo began in March 2022. The humanitarian situation in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo drastically deteriorated due to the escalation of the conflict in the North Kivu province.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is facing one of the worst humanitarian disasters in the world, and the situation in the country is one of the most neglected displacement crises globally. For decades, the country has endured multiple, overlapping emergencies driven mainly by conflict and forced displacement. The UN estimates that 26.4 million require humanitarian assistance in the country this year.
The DRC already suffers the largest internal displacement crisis in Africa due to the ongoing violence. 7.5 million people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have been forced to flee their homes. Among them are 6.2 internally displaced person (IDPs) and 1.3 million refugees, that have sought safety in neighboring countries.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is a United Nations agency mandated to assist and protect refugees, displaced persons and stateless people. The organization is known by its short name, UN Refugee Agency. UNHCR was established by the United Nations General Assembly on December 14, 1950, to provide assistance to refugees from World War II. On January 1, 1951, the UNHCR began its work. Each year, the UN Refugee Agency helps millions of refugees and displaced persons worldwide. UNHCR is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and has offices in 134 countries.
Further information
Full text: UNHCR warns of mounting needs in DR Congo as forced displacement continues, UNHCR briefing notes, May 5, 2023
https://www.unhcr.org/news/unhcr-warns-mounting-needs-dr-congo-forced-displacement-continues