Democratic Republic of Congo: Whether World Food Program workers were coerced by rebels of the Alliance des forces démocratiques de libération (AFDL) of Congo-Zaïre into distributing poisoned food in refugee camps in the Bukavu area (late 1996 - early 1997)
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 February 1999 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | RDC31206.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Democratic Republic of Congo: Whether World Food Program workers were coerced by rebels of the Alliance des forces démocratiques de libération (AFDL) of Congo-Zaïre into distributing poisoned food in refugee camps in the Bukavu area (late 1996 - early 1997), 1 February 1999, RDC31206.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ac1e44.html [accessed 31 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
The current program manager for Rwanda, the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo for the Rome-based World Food Program (WFP), who also occupied this position in 1996 and 1997, stated in an 8 February 1999 telephone interview that, due to the conflict that was taking place in eastern Zaire in 1996 and 1997, the WFP international personnel was evacuated from the Bukavu area in October 1996, leaving WFP national personnel to conduct food distribution operations under instructions received from abroad. The WFP international personnel returned to the Bukavu area towards the end of January or the beginning of February 1997 (ibid.). The program manager also stated that, among all kind of absurd rumours that circulated in Zaire at that time, the allegations that WFP personnel were used by rebel troops to distribute poisoned or tainted food in the Bukavu area were the most ludicrous and could be labelled as pure science-fiction. According to the program manager, there were no refugees in the Bukavu camps during the rebel occupation. The Rwandese refugees either crossed the border in Rwanda or moved further west into the Zairean tropical forest. The Alliance des forces démocratiques du Congo-Zaïre (AFDL) rebels looted most of the WFP food reserves in Bukavu and the remainder was distributed to the local population (ibid.). When some Rwandan refugees began to emerge from the forest, heading back to the Bukavu area, national WFP personnel were instructed to assist their return to Rwanda by setting up food relief points located at every 20 kilometres along their path. Mobile food relief units were also set up in order to provide additional assistance. These operations were supervised by WFP international staff upon their return to Bukavu.
A 26 October 1996 Radio France International broadcast states that, due to tensions in Eastern Zaire, the WFP cancelled a food airlift to the city of Bukavu and that over one hundred international humanitarian staff had been evacuated from the town of Bukavu.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
Radio France International (RFI) [Paris, in French]. 26 October 1996. "Zaire: UNHCR
Spokesman Details Evacuation, Humanitarian Situation." (FBIS-AFR-96-209 26 Oct. 1996/WNC).
United Nations World Food Program (WFP), Rome. 8 February 1999. Telephone interview with the program manager for Rwanda, the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo for 1996 and 1997.
Additional Sources Consulted
Electronic Sources : IRB databases, LEXIS/NEXIS, REFWORLD, Internet, United Nations: Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA-Online) [Internet], WNC.
