Executive Summary
The United Nations Mission in Eastern Chad and the Central African Republic (MINURCAT) is a support mission. Its mandate includes the protection of civilians, and contributing to the rule of law and regional peace in the conflict-prone region bordering Darfur and the Central African Republic. This report examines the situation of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) against refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in eastern Chad, and responses of the MINURCAT and other UN agencies. It also discusses the implications for the exit of MINURCAT, with termination scheduled for 31 December 2010, and for early recovery initiatives, as well as the prospects of protection measures provided by the government of Chad.
As with any other country, it is difficult to gauge the exact extent of SGBV committed against civilians in Chad. However, SGBV is high on the agenda and a cross-cutting issue for various sectors in MINURCAT and humanitarian agencies. SGBV appears to have been used as a part of a deliberate conflict tactic, with women being attacked once they leave camps to fetch firewood, water etc. On the other hand, many of the reported cases of SGBV are committed inside the camps by family members and neighbours. A central focus of the fight against SGBV has been to sensitize the targeted population, refugees and IDPs to harmful customary practices and human rights violations as preventive measures, as well as to encourage victims to
report SGBV and other violations. This work has been especially important for the various gender and women’s committees in the refugee camps. Other main activities have been area security and facilitating returns for the displaced population, provided by MINURCAT and its partners to ensure the protection of civilians.
A major achievement has been to establish the national community policing, Détachement Intégré de Sécurité
(DIS). The DIS is responsible for maintaining the rule of law in refugee and IDP camps and key towns within a 10 km radius. Members of the DIS have been trained in gender issues, and all its units have a gender focal point. Throughout our field visit, however, we were told that the importantwork of the DIS was being hampered by a dysfunctional judicial system, as well as a substantive lack of material and personnel capacity. Furthermore, SGBV victims who report their cases to DIS are vulnerable to reprisals and stigmatization from their communities, so it was proposed that victims should be offered protection in a safe house next to the DIS compound within 24 to 72 hours of filing a report.
All in all, MINURCAT and the DIS have managed to improve security in eastern Chad and enable the return of some IDPs. However, after only two years of deployment, MINURCAT, at the request of the Government of Chad, started its drawdown on 26 May, and is to leave the country by 31 December 2010. MINURCAT will hand over its main tasks to Chad and the UN agencies present. This work includes security of refugees, IDPs and humanitarian workers in eastern Chad, and continued support to the 850-strong DIS, so far trained and mentored by MINURCAT. The role of DIS remains crucial for most protection concerns in eastern Chad. Its future is still uncertain as its capacity is contingent on continued donor support, or that the government takes over ownership of DIS and upholds the necessary funding. Here we must ask: will the government of Chad be able to provide the necessary security and take on the wider responsibility of protection to prevent a relapse into conflict and, most crucially, to enable the return of IDPs?
The new mandate is a bad deal for the international community. It will continue to finance MINURCAT’s 1900 troops, but these generally stay in their camps and civilian sections without access to IDP returnee areas, due to limited capacity for escorts and patrols of the host government. There is a high risk that eastern Chad, which was on its way to early recovery, may again become a humanitarian crisis. The key benchmark – the return of a critical mass of IDPs – had seemed within striking distance, but is once again an elusive goal.
