Central Africa and the Great Lakes

Operational Environment and Strategy

Despite being one of the world’s richest regions in terms of natural resources, Central Africa and the Great Lakes subregion continues to be highly unstable. Even though certain countries have been relatively stable, situations within the DRC, Burundi and the Central African Republic have caused significant level of displacement throughout the subregion. In addition to the relatively recent refugee crisis in Burundi that forced close to 325,000 people to flee their country since 2015, the situation in South Sudan has added to an already complex displacement climate, triggering new arrivals to the Central African Republic (CAR) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

UNHCR will continue to closely monitor the situation in light of upcoming elections in the DRC, as it could lead to subsequent population movements. The elections that were due to take place in November 2016 have been postponed until April 2018, causing friction amongst the majority of opposition parties. Internal displacement has been significant in the eastern part of the country and a half a million refugees have fled to neighbouring countries. By September 2016, 1.7 million people had been internally displaced in the DRC. 

In December 2013, hundreds of thousands of people were forced to flee their homes as violence spread across the Central African Republic. Currently, over 450,000 Central African refugees are hosted in Cameroon, Chad, the DRC, and the Republic of Congo. Despite a relatively peaceful election in February 2016, the security situation remains volatile and over 384,000 people are still internally displaced inside the Central African Republic. 

Efforts to resolve the long-standing Rwandan refugee situation in the region are made within the framework of the Comprehensive Solutions Strategy for Rwandan Refugees. The Strategy, issued in October 2009, includes the promotion of voluntary repatriation; the pursuit of local integration and the continued international protection for those unable to return to Rwanda for protection related reasons. UNHCR’s Representative in Kinshasa, who is also acting as Regional Refugee Coordinator for the Burundi Situation, is tasked with streamlining coordination efforts between the different operations. 

Child protection activities as well as preventing and responding to sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) remains a top priority for UNHCR in the region in 2017. Basic needs, such as health care, education for children and livelihood/self-reliance activities, will also remain priorities in 2017. Furthermore, UNHCR will continue to pursue its efforts to secure durable solution for both refugee and IDP populations. 
 
UNHCR will continue to lead the protection cluster for IDPs (where activated) in conducting protection monitoring, tracking and mapping spontaneous returns in main areas of return across the subregion.

Restricted humanitarian access and logistical constraints constitute major obstacles for UNHCR in the subregion. UNHCR and partners are facing difficulties in reaching the most vulnerable populations, especially in eastern parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in the Central African Republic. 

Global attention has largely shifted away from the subregion due to the multiple high-profile emergency operations worldwide. Funding constraints result in reduced operational capacity and limitations in UNHCR’s ability to fulfil its protection responsibilities. 
 

Response and Implementation

Operations in Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo (Republic of the), the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and the United Republic of Tanzania are presented in separate chapters. For other countries where UNHCR operates in the subregion, please see below.

Gabon

As of August 2016, Gabon is hosting some 910 refugees and some 1,990 asylum-seekers, from CAR, Chad, the DRC and other countries. UNHCR is supporting the Government in restructuring the refugee status determination (RSD) procedure, while continuing efforts to secure durable solutions, including voluntary repatriation. Local integration prospects are limited in Gabon, due to the high cost of a residence permit and the lengthy and expensive process of naturalization. UNHCR will continue to monitor the situation following post-electoral violence that broke out in September 2016.