UN Relief Chief and Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support on a joint mission in Ethiopia

WHO: Mark Lowcock, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator and Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support Oscar Fernandez-Taranco

WHAT: Joint mission to Ethiopia

WHEN: 8-11 September 2019

WHERE: Addis Ababa, Chitu

Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock and Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support Oscar Fernandez-Taranco will be on a joint mission to Ethiopia from 8 to 11 September to see firsthand the response to the displacement crisis in Ethiopia and the Government’s initiatives to find durable solutions for millions of internally displaced persons (IDPs).

Mr. Lowcock and Mr. Fernandez-Taranco will be joined by the Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons, Cecilia Jimenez-Damary, during a visit to Chitu kebele of Yirgachefe district, located in the Gedeo zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People’s Region (SNNPR).

They will meet with people that have been returned to their home areas who need urgent food assistance and other aid. Many of their homes were destroyed and some have regained a livelihood. The delegation will meet other people displaced by conflict and host communities, and discuss with authorities and partners how to further enhance support for those most in need of humanitarian assistance and recovery.

Gedeo is one of the zones most affected by inter-communal conflicts that caused massive displacement and loss of livelihoods since 2018.

Prior to Government efforts of returning people to their areas of origin, which started in May 2019, there were 3.2 million IDPs in Ethiopia. Of these, some 2.6 million fled conflict, 500,000 from the impact of climate related causes, and 72,000 from other reasons.