UN Inter-Agency Appeal for the Great Lakes Emergency.

Events in the Great Lakes since October 1996 have further complicated what may be the worst humanitarian crisis currently facing the international community. Protracted civil conflict and ethnic strife continue to plague Burundi, Rwanda and Eastern Zaire, with consequences that extend throughout the region and beyond.

As of mid-March 1997, the war in Zaire between the Government forces and the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire (ADFL) had intensified and was spreading further into Zaire. An estimated 400,000 Rwandan and Burundi refugees, more than half unaccounted for, some 40,000 Zairian internally displaced, and others caught up in the conflict are living in inhumane conditions. In Burundi, civil war and violence have uprooted over a million people and claimed the lives of tens of thousands. Limited access to some provinces and pervasive insecurity have undermined relief efforts and prevented monitoring of returnees. The recent coup attempt has only added to the tensions in Burundi.

As long as the conflicts remain unresolved, the humanitarian consequences will be measured by thousands of lives lost and massive numbers of people requiring assistance. Unfortunately, security problems and political restrictions are severely testing the ability of humanitarian organizations to deliver relief to those in need.

Regional framework

Because of the volatile nature of the conflicts in Zaire and Burundi, and the shifting conditions throughout the region, projects in the United Nations Inter-Agency Appeal for the Great Lakes Emergency in Eastern Zaire, Burundi and the United Republic of Tanzania have been designed on a region-wide basis so that material and human resources can be quickly transferred to the areas of greatest need. Interim reviews of the Appeal and its planning assumptions will take place in May and September 1997.

The Appeal is based on the following principles:

* Access to all people in need;

* Security for the victims of conflict;

* Security for humanitarian workers; and

* Respect for sovereignty.

The overall objectives of the 1997 humanitarian programme for the Great Lakes are to:

* Prevent mass deaths and suffering;

* Promote voluntary repatriation of Rwandan refugees; and

* Provide sufficient assistance to enable internally displaced and conflict-affected persons to return to normal economic and social livelihoods.

In order to ensure the distribution of food supplies throughout the Great Lakes region...