In Brief

Appeal No.01.21/2004;

Programme Update no. 2;

Period covered: July to November 2004;

Appeal coverage: 58.6%;

Outstanding needs: CHF 2,146,843 (USD 1,896,500 or EUR 1,391,300).

Click here to go directly to the attached Contributions List, also available on the website.Appeal target: CHF 5,184,993 (USD 3,894,098 or EUR 3,337,619)

UNITA demand politicisation of Electoral Commission

The largest opposition party, UNITA, has demanded that an Independent Electoral Commission be set up in such a way that it is itself represented, along with churches and civil society.

On 6 December UNITA leader Isaias Samakuva told a workshop of opposition parliamentarians that the creation of an independent electoral commission must be at the centre of a new electoral law for the next election, which is expected to be held in September 2006.

Samakuva also raised UNITA's opposition

(Extract)
Spokesperson: Niurka Piñeiro

ANGOLA - Return Operation Suspended Due to Heavy Rains - IOM's return operation of Angolan refugees in Zambia and Namibia has been suspended due to frequent and heavy rains in Angola's central Huambo province and eastern Moxico province.

"The heavy rains have turned landing strips and roads into a quagmire making the organized return operation difficult for the time being," says IOM Luanda Chief of Mission Mike Pillinger. "IOM plans to resume its organized return operation

DUKWI REFUGEE CAMP, Botswana (UNHCR) -- For a change, the searing heat of Botswana's north-eastern region isn't the ice-breaker between refugees in Dukwi camp. The recent buzz has been about the 62 Angolan refugees leaving Botswana for Angola under the UNHCR-organised voluntary repatriation programme. They are the first and only group to be leaving Botswana this year before the heavy seasonal rains make this exercise too hazardous to undertake.

On this fine day of December 3, the buoyant mood of the departing adults rubs off on the children who are too young

FAONEWSRELEASE 04/140 e
Nutritious, income generating, biological pest control

Rome, 8 November 2004 -- Edible insects, like caterpillars and grubs, are important sources of protein and should be considered an alternative in efforts to increase food security in central African countries, FAO said today.

Caterpillars are already an important food intake for many in central Africa, according to an FAO study published today: About 85 percent of participants in a survey in the Central African Republic consume caterpillars; 70 percent in the Democratic Republic of

Luanda, Oct 31 - About 90,000 Angolan refugees settled in neighbouring countries may return home this year, in the framework of a voluntary and organized repatriation process being carried out by the local Government and supported by the UNHCR, an official source has announced.

According a source with the Angola's Welfare Minister (Minars), the people will come from Congo Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Zambia and later from Namibia, Botswana and South Africa.

The first group proceeding from Brazzaville may arrive from November, added the source.

RIACSO provides support to national efforts in addressing the southern African triple threat of food insecurity, weakened capacity for governance and HIV/AIDS and ensures cohesion and complementarity of the effort at a regional level. In addition, RIACSO supports the UN Secretary General's Special Envoy for Humanitarian Needs in Southern Africa, Mr. James Morris, in his mandate to raise awareness of the situation, its underlying causes and to provide recommendations on how to strengthen the response and mobilise donor support.

REGIONAL AND COUNTRY SPECIFIC DEVELOPMENTS

Poor response to UN aid appeal

Despite recent donations from the European Commission and France to the United Nations joint appeal for Angola, the appeal remains woefully under-funded, with little prospect of aid flows matching donations given last year. Last year's UN Consolidated Inter Agency Appeal for Angola raised $173 million, down from $206 million in 2002. However, by 8 October, this year's appeal, which is supposed to bridge the period between emergency and recovery, has only raised $104 million, or 58 percent of the total requested under the umbrella appeal.

This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Ron Redmond - to whom quoted text may be attributed - at the press briefing, on 24 August 2004, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

UNHCR started airlifting Angolan refugees from Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), back to Angola over the weekend as part of an effort to boost the voluntary repatriation programme currently underway. On Sunday, 215 Angolan refugees who had been sheltering for many years in Kinshasa, flew on a UN-chartered