Date: Wed, 9 Apr 2014 19:48:59 +0200
South Sudan: Shameful Attitude to Vulnerable Displaced Shown By Leadership
of United Nations Mission in South Sudan - UNMISS
9 April 2014
press release
In a shocking display of indifference, senior United Nations Mission in
South Sudan (UNMISS) officials have refused to improve living conditions for
21,000 displaced people living in a flood-prone part of a UN compound,
exposed to waterborne diseases and potential epidemics. Despite repeated
requests from humanitarian organisations, UNMISS is taking no actions in the
camp to improve their chances of survival. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)
today questions the UN's commitment to meeting the needs of the war-torn
country's most vulnerable groups and calls for immediate action to save
lives in Tomping camp.
The Tomping UN peacekeeping base, in the capital Juba, has been host to
people who fled for their lives when conflict erupted in December. They are
crowded into low-lying parts of the compound that are known to flood.
Diarrhoeal diseases, respiratory infections and skin diseases already make
up more than 60 percent of the cases in MSF's clinic in the camp. A UN plan
to establish an alternative site has been mired in implementation delays and
is now unrealistic. Repeated requests by MSF and other organizations to
expand the Tomping camp into available non-flooded space in the compound, at
least as a temporary life-saving measure, have been inexplicably refused.
UNMISS taking no actions to improve chances of survival
"The UNMISS decision not to improve conditions in Tomping is shameful," says
Carolina Lopez, MSF emergency coordinator. "In the first rainfall of the
season 150 latrines collapsed, mixing with floodwater. People are living in
natural drainage channels as there is no other space and there are 65 people
per latrine. The rains, which will last the best part of six months, are
getting heavier and if nothing is done right now the consequences, already
horrific, could become fatal. Whether as a permanent or as an interim
solution, expanding into the dry parts of the compound has to be an
immediate action."
Tomping camp 'at imminent risk of turning into a death trap'
On April 3, Hilde Johnson, head of UNMISS, stated herself that the Tomping
camp is 'at imminent risk of turning into a death trap'. She then announced
that it will be closed in May. However, only 1,118 residents have been moved
over the past 5 weeks. Although the plan may have been a valid option a
month ago, moving some 20,000 people to a space that is far from fully
prepared in this timeframe, with the rains starting, is unrealistic. In the
meantime, it is hard to understand why available space in Tomping cannot be
used to save lives.
"They say there is not enough space in Tomping, but this is a sickening
argument when on the other side of the barbed wire there are dry parking and
storage spaces," says Lopez.
Furthermore, many of the camp residents say they would not want to move to
the proposed 'Juba House' location, another UNMISS base on the outskirts of
Juba, as they would feel less safe there. MSF urges UNMISS to ensure that
any movements are voluntary.
In the capital city and therefore easily accessible, Tomping is the most
visible example of a shift in gear that is required country-wide. Elsewhere
in South Sudan there are hundreds of thousands of displaced people, tens of
thousands are in other UNMISS camps where MSF sees a disturbing lack of
preparedness for the impending floods. In the UNMISS base at Malakal, for
example, provisional data from MSF indicates alarming mortality rates, while
preparations to improve the situation are minimal.
Risk of diseases high as rainy season approaches
In Minkamman, which is an open camp rather than inside a UN compound, some
82,000 people who fled fighting in Bor are also living in appalling
conditions. MSF runs four clinics providing 2,000 consultations per week,
and with the current gaps in sanitation, the team is very concerned with the
possibility of water borne diseases. As the full rainy season approaches,
the urgency to take action increases
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Delays related to the inflexible UN system mean that plans are drawn up but
virtually no infrastructure is in place.
"The UN mission in South Sudan reported to the UN Security Council on 18
March that 'Protection of Civilians' is a key priority," says Jerome
Oberreit, MSF Secretary General. "We urge the UN leadership to remember that
protection means more than just corralling people in a guarded compound.
Adequate living conditions are also essential, and require urgent, pragmatic
action. People must be safe from disease as well as safe from violence."
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