Chad: Prevailing insecurity blocking solutions for IDPs

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^{31 December 2009}

At the end of 2009, almost 170,000 people were internally displaced in eastern Chad as a result of conflict and human rights abuses related to tensions between Chad and Sudan, internal armed conflict, and inter-ethnic violence. The number of IDPs fell slightly from a 2008 high of 185,000, about one fifth of the population of eastern Chad. IDPs were either gathered in 38 camps where they could access some level of international aid or being supported by host communities in remote areas with little to no humanitarian assistance. No new internal displacements were reported in 2009.

For most IDPs in eastern Chad, return was not a viable option in 2009. Some cited ongoing insecurity and others the lack of basic services in villages of origin as major obstacles to their return. Those IDPs that did return to their villages of origin went back to very unstable conditions and without the support from traditional leaders needed to resolve the inter-ethnic conflicts that may have caused their displacement in the first place. They returned because of the food insecurity, lack of access to land, and the lack of sources of income in IDP sites. Chad is an oil-producing country, but the government has used oil revenues to buy weapons with which to fight insurgent groups, rather than investing in social services, reducing poverty and improving governance, all of which are essential components for protecting and assisting IDPs and achieving durable solutions.

Meanwhile, the main protection risks facing IDPs were insecurity, circulation of small arms in IDP camps, arbitrary arrest, punitive fines, theft of property, and violence against women including domestic violence, early and forced marriage, and female genital mutilation. Displaced children also faced a range of threats. In IDP sites they had limited access to primary education and no chance of further schooling. Government armed forces continued to recruit children, despite a 2007 agreement with UNICEF to demobilise children from the army and integrated rebel groups.

Inter-ethnic violence has decreased considerably since 2007, only to be replaced by widespread attacks against civilians by road bandits and criminal gangs who have acted with almost total impunity. These criminal attacks have multiplied despite the presence of international military forces and Chadian police units. In March 2009, European Union troops deployed to Chad and CAR with a Security Council mandate to protect IDPs, refugees and humanitarian workers were replaced by a UN peacekeeping force known as MINURCAT.

Humanitarian organisations were increasingly targeted in eastern Chad. In the first nine months of 2009, there were 192 serious attacks on humanitarian workers, including killings and abductions, and the number of security incidents doubled from 2008 to 2009. The town of Abeche, a hub for humanitarian operations in Chad, had the highest-ever rates of crime against aid agencies. As a result, the delivery of aid was repeatedly interrupted, leaving displaced communities whose lives were already precarious without assistance. High levels of insecurity also prevented the access of humanitarian agencies to IDPs living with host communities in areas closer to the border with Sudan, rendering needs assessments and the delivery of aid particularly difficult.

The government of Chad has taken steps to respond to the situation of IDPs, but their impact has been limited. In 2007, it established a national committee to assist IDPs, but it had limited resources and staff, and has delivered only sporadic assistance. In 2008, the government set up the CONAFIT committee to coordinate humanitarian activities with EUFOR, MINURCAT, and the humanitarian organisations working in Chad. The government has yet to enact national legislation to protect IDPs. In 2009, Chad was not a signatory to the Kampala Convention. Ratification of the Convention would show Chad’s commitment to protecting the rights of IDPs and achieving their durable return, resettlement or reintegration.

More than 70 international humanitarian organisations provide assistance to displaced communities in eastern Chad, including IDPs and refugees from Darfur. The cluster system was introduced in Chad in 2007 to improve the protection and assistance of IDPs by humanitarian agencies. Thirteen clusters are now operational, including the protection cluster. By the end of 2009, 68 per cent of the $400 million requested in the 2009 CAP was funded. The Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) recognised that Chad was an underfunded emergency, and allocated $5.5 million for life-saving assistance programmes to IDPs.

With the government committed to military investment rather than social development, and national and international protection agencies hamstrung by access and capacity limitations, it remains unlikely that conditions in eastern Chad will permit durable solutions for IDPs in the foreseeable future.

28 May 2010: UN concerns that withdrawal of troops could endanger IDPs
 
The UN has expressed concerns over the situation of IDPs in eastern Chad after the Security Council agreed to withdraw UN peacekeeping troops from Chad and the Central African Republic (CAR). The MINURCAT force is to be withdrawn by the end of the year. Chadian President Idriss Déby reiterated assurances that his government will take responsibility to protect civilians, including refugees and IDPs, and the humanitarian community. However, UN officials have warned that Chad’s security forces lack the training, leadership, and technical capacity to ensure security.
 
Deby requested the end of the MINURCAT mission, stating the force had been slow to deploy and had failed to protect civilians or build promised infrastructure projects. Aid groups who have long been subject to armed car-jackings, kidnappings and robbery, counter that MINURCAT's presence has limited the impact of criminals groups. UN Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes said humanitarian agencies would discuss security commitments with the government. Holmes also expressed concern for the right conditions to be in place before IDPs begin to return in large numbers. “We will work closely with the Government on matters related to security, in the new situation, to ensure that we can continue to have the access we need, and help protect the civilian population. We also need to do more to assist in facilitating voluntary returns.”

Around 170,000 people were internally displaced in eastern Chad and living in 38 camps in mid-2010, as a result of internal armed conflict, inter-ethnic violence over land and natural resources, and attacks by bandits against civilians. The majority of internally displaced people (IDPs) had little or no means of sustaining themselves, making humanitarian assistance vital. Chad also hosts 270,000 Sudanese refugees in 12 camps along the eastern border with Sudan, and 81,000 Central African refugees in 11 camps along the southern border with CAR.

Ongoing protection monitoring of IDP camps has found the main protection risks of IDPs to be insecurity, circulation of small arms in camps, and violence against women including domestic violence, early and forced marriage, and female genital mutilation (FGM). Displaced children have also faced a range of threats. In IDP camps they have had limited access to primary education and no chance of further schooling. In June 2010, Chad was one of six African countries that signed the N’Djamena Declaration to end the recruitment and use of children by armed forces and groups. (...)

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^{2 July 2010}