U.S. Committee for Refugees Mid-Year Country Report 2001 - Congo-Brazzaville

Background

Nearly a decade of politically motivated ethnic violence killed an estimated 20,000 people and displaced as many as 800,000 persons in Congo-Brazzaville during the 1990s. A 1999 cease-fire returned the country to a tenuous peace and allowed the vast majority of uprooted Congolese to return to their homes.

At the beginning of 2001, about 20,000 Congolese remained refugees in neighboring countries. Despite its own political and economic problems, Congo-Brazzaville hosted some 120,000 refugees from other African countries, primarily from Congo-Kinshasa and Angola.

Political/Military/Human Rights Developments through September

Congo-Brazzaville's fragile peace continued to hold during the first nine months of 2001. "Peace has been restored in villages where war once prevailed," President Sassou-Nguesso stated in September.

The government conducted a "national dialogue" to draft a new constitution. Groups opposed to the president refused to participate. The national parliament adopted the new constitution in September. Citizens are scheduled to vote in a referendum on the new constitution in late 2001. The government announced plans to form a panel to investigate disappearances that occurred during the violence of the 1990s. Efforts to clear landmines continued in the capital, Brazzaville.

The country's economically important Congo River reopened to commercial traffic in May after regional violence forced its closure for nearly three years.

New Uprooted Populations through September

Most citizens of Congo-Brazzaville continued the gradual process of reintegration and reconstruction during the first nine months of 2001. Approximately 150,000 persons remained internally displaced as of July, according to UN estimates. About 20,000 Congolese refugees remained outside the country despite growing interest in facilitating organized voluntary repatriation for them.

In May 2001, isolated clashes between army soldiers and armed supporters of the exiled former prime minister, Bernard Kolelas, temporarily pushed an estimated 30,000 Congolese from their homes in Mindouli, located south of Brazzaville. No other significant population upheavals were reported during the January-September period.

Congo-Brazzaville continued to host up to 90,000 refugees from Congo-Kinshasa as of September. Some refugees reportedly moved to different locations within Congo-Brazzaville in an effort to gain access to humanitarian aid. Additional influxes of refugees into Congo-Brazzaville did not occur. The country officially closed its border with neighboring Congo-Kinshasa in April because of concerns about the security situation in Congo-Kinshasa.

Humanitarian Conditions through September

Humanitarian agencies ended most emergency relief programs in early 2001 and switched to rehabilitation and development assistance. An estimated 150,000 internally displaced Congolese were able to support themselves and no longer required special emergency aid, relief agencies concluded.

Previously uprooted citizens of Congo-Brazzaville struggled to reconstruct their homes, businesses, and the country's social services. The country's health system remained in ruins – 60 percent of all health centers were closed, according to some reports. Medecins Sans Frontieres reported increased levels of potentially fatal sleeping sickness. The country's schools – many previously closed during the violence – also struggled to become fully operational in a country with only 10 percent literacy rates. Forty percent of the country's half-million school-age children did not attend school.

Reconstruction aid from international donors was meager. UNICEF, for example, received only $1 million in funding through September for programs requiring $4.9 million. UNICEF repaired and re-equipped 58 health centers and announced plans to repair 20 schools out of 1,700 schools needing of rehabilitation.

International aid agencies continued their efforts to improve humanitarian access to refugees from Congo-Kinshasa living in remote area of northern Congo-Brazzaville. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees expanded its fleet of boats in order to increase aid shipments to refugees living along the Congo River, an area without roads. The UN World Food Program supplied 700 tons of food for refugees and needy local residents in August.