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- PRESS RELEASE -

Bujumbura, 24.09.00

The United Nations Country Team in Burundi will officially launch on 27 September 2000 an Emergency Plan appealing for USD 107,5 million and aimed at: 1) meeting the immediate need of a humanitarian challenge of increasing complexity (USD 26 million) ;

2) increasing the capacity of local communities to absorb the return of additional community members. (USD 54 million for reconstruction and rehabilitation and USD 27.5 million for Community Development).

The Emergency Plan will be presented at the Novotel in Bujumbura to the main donors represented in the region. The launch will be preceded, on 26 September, by a field visit to Muyinga province, where the delegations will visit a camp of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and a few projects of different United Nations agencies.

The presentation of the Emergency Plan comes one month after the conclusion of the Arusha peace agreement that has now been signed by all 19 Burundian parties. The Plan, which has been elaborated while taking into account existing programmes and interventions by other actors (such as governmental authorities, bilateral donors and NGOs), endeavours to increase the preparedness of the Burundian society to receive about one million internally and externally displaced who may return in a non-organized matter to their areas of origin as soon as the security situation in the country allows it. The Plan forms an integrated whole to be implemented immediately and in its entirety, in order to ensure a meaningful impact and a sustainable transition from emergency relief to development assistance.

Political instability in Burundi since the outbreak of the crisis in 1993 has caused a prolonged disruption in the social and economic development of its population. More than 340,000 Burundians have fled into neighbouring countries, mainly Tanzania, while an additional 500,000 live in camps for displaced inside the country. The majority of the remaining population of some 5.7 million suffers from insufficient access to food, basic social services and limited economic opportunities. In this period, the country has seen many of its social and economic indicators regressing to the level of at least 20 years back.

Refugees and IDPs are expected to start moving as security is restored. As the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Burundi, Mr. Georg Charpentier, points out, "in order to be ready when the refugees and IDPs start to return, we have to build up a response capacity now; if we wait until they start to move, we will be late and we will not be able to support the return process meaningfully". "The inadequate funding response to previous appeals makes this appeal the more acute", continues Mr. Charpentier, who emphasizes that "the international community has to re-engage now and give the Burundian population the benefit of the doubt by improving their living conditions and opportunities while the peace process evolves".

For more information, please contact:

UNDP, Ms. Audrey Serret, phone : (257) 223135, fax : (257) 215213

OCHA, Ms. Caroline Stiebler, phone : (257) 218034, fax : (257) 218035