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DR Congo

Congolese Situation - Responding to the needs of displaced Congolese and refugees Annex - The Democratic Republic of Congo - Supplementary Appeal, January - December 2018

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The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) country annex is part of the supplementary appeal for the Congolese situation, which outlines UNHCR’s protection interventions planned in 2018 and its response to the additional and most urgent needs of people of concern displaced within the DRC.

In 2017, the humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) deepened, affecting people in areas previously considered stable whilst putting additional pressure on the coping and survival mechanism of already affected populations. Across the country, there are more than 13.1 million people in need of humanitarian assistance and protection—nearly 14 per cent of the population initially projected for 2018.

The security situation has continued to deteriorate in eastern DRC, in particular in the provinces of the Haut-Katanga, Kasai, North and South Kivu and Tanganyika, due to incessant fighting between armed groups—much of it driven by intercommunity conflict—and the army or between militias and the army. The conflict in the DRC generated new displacement of 1.9 million people within the DRC and 120,000 Congolese who have fled to neighbouring countries in the past year.

In October 2017, the Emergency Relief Coordinator declared an IASC System-Wide L3 Emergency Response for the Kasai, South Kivu and Tanganyika region. Overall, North Kivu saw its security situation aggravate remarkably due to increased activism of armed groups across the province, leading mass displacement and an intensification of humanitarian needs. Neighbouring provinces of the Kasai region were also deeply affected by the situation.

The majority of IDPs are in remote areas with a highly volatile security situation and difficult physical access, including for humanitarian actors. Conditions in the spontaneous sites are extremely difficult. Increased displacement is putting severe pressure on the resilience of IDPs and host communities. With militia activities widespread, and unrest and violence fuelled by ethnic and political conflict affecting many areas within the DRC, OCHA expects 2.4 million new IDPs in 2018. UNHCR is scaling up its emergency and protection response to internally displaced populations within the L3 declared areas while at the same time and affected areas and affected while at the same time responding to urgent needs of IDPs in L3 affected areas.