UN high official calls for an investigation on abuse of deportees from Angola

UN high official calls for an investigation on abuse of deportees from Angola

2010-11-11 12:34:01 GMT+7 (ICT)

UNITED NATIONS (BNO NEWS) -- An United Nations high official on Wednesday called for an investigation into the reported abuses, including sexual violence, of hundreds of people deported from Angola and forced to cross the border into the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

"These allegations of abuse need to be investigated as a matter of urgency," said Valerie Amos, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. "And every effort must be taken to prevent any further abuse."

Reports from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) indicate that around 7,000 people have arrived in DRC during the last two months after being expelled from Angola.

OCHA also noted that the United Nations first learned of the violations on October 23 from non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Protection officials with humanitarian organizations said that 6,621 people arrived in two areas of DRC's Western Kasai province, while another 322 people arrived to the Tembo area.

"We call upon all parties to take all necessary measures to ensure the protection of affected populations in full respect of international human rights and humanitarian and refugee laws," said Mohamed Boukry, Regional Representative of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

The deportees were illegal immigrants who had lived in Angola and most of them citizens of DRC but some other were from other African countries. Human rights abuses have been continuously reported including rapes and other forms of sexual violence.

According to OCHA, the results of a humanitarian assessment mission in Tembo, from the 322 people deported, 99 women and 15 men suffered sexual violence. Another report indicates that more than 600 of those expelled to Western Kasai also alleged that they suffered sexual violence.

Expulsion of alleged illegal immigrants between Angola and the DRC is a common practice which has been linked to widespread poverty and lack of employment opportunities in the two countries. In October 2009, tens of thousands of people were expelled from both countries, suffering shortage of food and water as well as lack of proper sanitation and shelter.

"It is crucial for illegal immigrants to be able to transit in an orderly manner so that humanitarian problems can be prevented, including potential epidemics," said Fidèle Sarassoro, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the DRC.

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