Wednesday, October 15, 2008
The UN said this was the only way through which the crisis will be said to have been adequately sorted out.
Addressing a news conference in Nairobi on Wednesday during the launch of a Kiswahili version of the Guiding principle on Internal Displacement, UN Resident Coordinator in the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Aeneas Chuma said the Kenyan government has to address the underlying causes.
"Displacement ends when particular needs and vulnerabilities linked to the displacement are resolved and not always with return," Chuna told a news conference in Nairobi.
"For these people and for those who have not yet returned, continued assistance and support is required to find durable solutions," he said.
He asked the Ministry of Special Programs to invest in peace and reconciliation, and ensure that those who were not willing to return to their homes are resettled elsewhere.
The UN humanitarian agency's call came amid reports of apathy and neglect of the IDPs by the political class. "Displacement does not end when they (IDPs) leave the camps. Their needs have to be addressed," Chuma added.
The IDPs have accused Kenyan politicians of shifting focus from their plight to the 2012 presidential debate that has been raging lately.
"As we continue to assist the displaced populations renewed efforts are required to ensure consultation with the displaced communities to enhance their participation in the decision-making concerning their future, in addition to providing support for their continued access to livelihoods to sustain their lives," said Chuma.
However, Special Programs Permanent Secretary (PS) Ali Mohammed defended the government, citing "a challenge of shelter" for the returnees owing to the limited funds.
Mohammed said the government has built 10,000 houses, and an additional 40,000 are being built with the help of humanitarian agencies.
The government, the PS said, has spent 1.4 billion shillings (about 18.7 million U.S. dollars) on the resettlement exercise dubbed "Operation Rudi Nyumbani' (Return Home Operation) and the funds are as at now almost exhausted.
In this year's budget, the government set aside 750 million shillings to cater for IDPs. It is estimated that supplies to the IDPs cost the government 250 million shillings per month.
Mohammed clarified that the money being paid to IDPs is meant for the purchase of "very basic commodities." The displaced had complained that the money, 10,000 shillings, is too little to make them restart their lives.
The government, however, has come under attack from the humanitarian agency for the deadlines it gave to some IDPs over the closure of camps.
Chuma said there is need for the government to take all practical measures on a voluntary basis, as stipulated in the guidelines.
This year, 2008 marks the tenth anniversary of the original publication of the Guiding Principles.
To date the government estimates that less than 10,000 people remain in IDP camps and more than 228,000 have returned either from IDP camps or from within communities. This has in part been facilitated by the government's provision of start up funds and by the ongoing shelter project which aims to provide 40,000 houses to those whose homes were destroyed or badly damaged during the crisis.
Of those who have returned it is believed that at least 54,000 people are located in transit sites. A large number of those living in these sites do not own or have access to land and require alternative means of income generation.
Source: Xinhua, Oct 15, 2008