Introduction

The work of the ICRC's regional delegation in Nairobi continued to expand in 1995, not only in connection with growing activities in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, but also because of the regional delegation's role as a coordinating centre for specialist and support services for other ICRC operations in the region, particularly those in Burundi, Rwanda, Somalia, the Sudan and Zaire. Providing services for these operations accounted for over 80percent of the regional delegation's activity in 1995; it included agricultural and veterinary expertise, water/sanitation work, tracing, logistics/air operations, procurement and management of emergency stocks, the running of a regional technical workshop, transport services, administrative and staff support, and liaison with the media. All of these services proved, as in previous years, to be much more effective and economical when carried out in Nairobi rather than in Geneva, and in the event of an emergency the ICRC's response could be much quicker. Furthermore, some of the services assumed varying degrees of coordination responsibility for certain operational delegations; for example, the tracing staff in Nairobi were in charge of centralizing data on unaccompanied children in the Great Lakes region.

In 1995the ICRC: centralized data concerning 65,000 unaccompanied children in the Great Lakes region; locally procured 3,800 tonnes and dispatched a total of over 41,400 tonnes of food and other assistance for ICRC operations in Burundi (580 tonnes), Rwanda (39,400 tonnes), Somalia (400 tonnes), the Sudan (900 tonnes) and Zaire (120 tonnes); procured locally and dispatched surgical and medical supplies worth Sfr 3,305,302 million for ICRC operations at Lokichokio and in the Sudan, Somalia, Rwanda, Burundi, Zaire, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Madagascar and Malawi.

Djibouti

A peace agreement signed between the government and the FRUD* opposition on 26 December 1994 had put an end to three years of internal armed conflict. Although not completely calm, the situation was relatively stable in 1995.

In June the ICRC visited four security detainees, including two who were seen for the first time, at the central prison.

During the year the ICRC's office in Djibouti served as a logistics base for the operation in Somaliland.


* FRUD: Front for the Restoration of Unity and Democracy

Kenya

A polarization of political opinion emerged in Kenya in 1995 and opposition to the government became more outspoken than ever before. The February Eighteenth Movement made it known that its aim was to oust the President from office. As a result, Kenya's relations with Uganda became strained, as Nairobi accused Kampala of harbouring the Movement's leader.

Interethnic violence and clashes over land appeared to have abated by year's end, although 100,000 people were still displaced in the Rift Valley. These disturbances were connected with the central issues of land allocation and voting rights, which were put on ice by the authorities, leaving the door open to greater tension.

During the year the ICRC's main activities in Kenya included the distribution of assistance through the Kenya Red Cross Society to displaced families in parts of the Rift Valley affected by political violence; hydrogeological studies, carried out at Lokichokio and in the Moi N'Dabi settlement to investigate underground possibilities for water supply for the rising numbers of displaced people; first-aid and disaster preparedness training for local Red Cross volunteers; a campaign to enhance respect for the red cross emblem, conducted with the invaluable support of the National Society; and further tracing work for Somali refugees.

Tanzania

The most important concern of the ICRC in Tanzania in 1995 was the fate of some 750,000 Rwandan and Burundian refugees along the western border who were restricted to refugee camps under the guard of Tanzanian soldiers, and denied the possibility to work. The uncertainty facing these people grew in September when the Tanzanian government informed UNHCR that it expected a near-complete repatriation by mid-1996.

The ICRC's main activity in the Ngara region of Tanzania was tracing, though no cross-border operations could be carried out to reunite families as the border remained closed. Nonetheless, in June the ICRC arranged for eight children in refugee camps in Zaire to be flown to Tanzania to rejoin their families, and a similar operation was carried out in the opposite direction. Over the year the volume of Red Cross messages collected and distributed in the Ngara area increased considerably (for tracing statistics, see Rwanda).

Also in Ngara the ICRC, together with the Tanzania Red Cross National Society and the Federation, began work on a joint "Red Cross Programme" for a local radio station aimed at refugees and the resident population. A series of dissemination workshops was also organized for some 500 Tanzanian Red Cross volunteers working in the refugee camps.

Uganda

On the economic front Uganda fared better than most African nations, but at the same time suffered a resurgence of armed opposition to the government, in the insidious form so common in Uganda in the 1980s with the abduction of children, the terrorizing of civilians and the indiscriminate laying of mines, once again affecting the West Nile and Northern provinces of the country. The LRA, believed to receive support from the Sudanese government in retaliation for Kampala's support for the SPLA (see Sudan), was said to be behind the terror campaign aimed at destabilizing the Ugandan government. Long-standing rumours of armed attacks to be launched from Zairian and Sudanese soil by the West Nile Bank Front were finally confirmed in 1995, though the attacks occurred only on a small scale.

The ICRC posted a delegate to the north of the country in mid-1995 to monitor the humanitarian situation there. Visits were made to people arrested in connection with the conflict and insurgency-related incidents. At the same time the ICRC attempted to establish direct contact with the LRA, but this proved very difficult until October, when delegates finally met representatives of the movement. Their aim was to promote respect for basic rules of humanitarian law and improve security. The ICRC's activities in northern Uganda, including the provision of non-food assistance to civilians affected by clashes, were carried out in close cooperation with the Uganda Red Cross Society.

Disturbances involving anti-government rebel movements in other areas were noted earlier in the year, but these died down following military intervention.

Other ICRC activities in Uganda in 1995 involved tracing work in connection with the Rwandan crisis, including registering and keeping track of unaccompanied children living in camps in southern Uganda. The ICRC's formal requests for access to detainees classified as ``NRA* deserters'' remained unanswered during the year under review, though visits were allowed to other categories of security detainees and reports were duly handed over to the Minister of the Interior. In June the authorities requested the ICRC to act as facilitator between donor embassies and agencies to try and ensure an optimal use of resources in the prisons.

* NRA: National Resistance Army