Round-table discussions organized by OCHA with the Civil Society on the current humanitarian activities in North Kivu
Round-Table discussions between Actors of the Civil Society and the United Nations Office of the Coordination of the Humanitarian Aid (OCHA) in Goma, North Kivu in line with the Commemoration of the International Day of Humanitarian Aid
Participants posing for a Group Photo after the round-table discussions held at Linda Hotel in Goma on Tuesday August 20th, 2024.
This was our last activity after the field visit in Sam Sam IDP Camp in Goma where we were informed that IDPs have now 9 months without getting aid, we organized a public debate on relief aid, we also distributed relief aid to IDPs in Bulengo from Lavigerie Choir, we later on organized a religious concert to mobilize aid to IDPs, we also engaged the media, after addressing an open letter to OCHA in Goma on issues around relief aid.
It is therefore a sentiment of satisfaction that we engaged OCHA in discussions on relief aid in North Kivu during the round-table which actually should have been a dialogue but later on turned to be an information session.
The session started by the over view of the security situation in which humanitarian actors are operating mainly security incidents, attacks and killing of Humanitarian actors, which we strongly condemned in the meeting and asked that measures should be taken in order to ensure relief aid workers are protected and working in a safe environment. We presented our condolences to all those who lost their relatives while on mission to save the lives of others and we clearly positioned that “no one should lose his/her life while saving the lives of others”, we pledged to advocate for them not because we are convinced about the importance of what they are doing but because they are human beings. However we stressed it in the meeting that responsibilities should be drawn in order to understand better and hold accountable those who send others in mission in highly risky places.
We therefore requested OCHA to put aside the theory of the so called Humanitarian Principles which are not observed in North Kivu among them: Transparency, Accountability, neutrality, impartiality and independence and Humanity which are highly violated in North Kivu and requested OCHA to come up with clear details on how we can help them to achieve what they described in the above.
The other participants pointed out the embezzlement of relief aid, the culture of impunity, the type of the aid which is given, the decision making process and requested information about the available aide, and how are the partners selected to implement but how they mobilize the aid.
Outcome of the meeting
Participants engaging on crucial issues that affect the Province and facing a dilemma between the theory from OCHA and the reality of the ground
There was a clear common view that Humanitarian Relief Aid is not the way to go, it cannot solve the situation but will only stop the death of so many people at ago,
The representative from Save the Children underlined the necessity to integrate development and peace in all humanitarian interventions, and the OCHA Coordinator for Relief Aid explained about Humanitarian Diplomacy which will focus on peace issues. So the meeting pointed at the three key main issues which the Civil Society is concerned about, however we observed the absence of justice.
But questions remained unanswered and may need more engagement on issues of humanitarian relief workers and development especially infrastructure such as constructing roads among others. Another debate was also not finished about transport allowances in one side participants who argued that it is legitimate to be granted transport refund when they come for such meetings and should also benefit from the allowances for the services rendered and humanitarian actors who claimed they do not money to refund transport for participants who come for meetings, and also called for volunteerism.
It is important to note that most of actors of the Civil Society are already volunteers and they are doing a lot work in their respective communities, which cons cost them a lot of money and yet they do not source of funding, in this way it may be legitimate to be considered for transport refund, and actually those who plan for events should consider all these issues. It may not be genuine for someone who is earning thousands of dollars per month to preach the gospel of volunteering free of charge to community members.
While we recognize the importance of the relief aid to affected communities, we also know that humanitarian actors are highly criticized in North Kivu because of their incapacity to address the situation, every single day that passes the beneficiaries are sinking into destitution. This meeting served as the step forward in order to build a common understanding and it will depend on the attitudes of Humanitarian Actors how best they can capitalize the need to come together.
It is important to note that participants to the meeting were partly flexible actors of the Civil Society and Pro-Democracy Pressure Groups while others who are totally opposed to relief aid did not even take part.
The meeting also observed that most visible actors are humanitarian relief aid workers and in most cases those in human rights, peace, justice, development are not visible on ground. That is why we proposed an integrated approach towards the situation, and ensure that they do not operate in the shadow of the DRC Government, especially they do not appear as substitutes of the Government.
