Lake Chad Basin conflicts: Red Cross calls for urgent efforts to protect civilians.

The call is contained a press release issued during the just ended third Lake Chad Region Conference organised in Niamey, Niger from January 23-24.

In the release, out of the 11.3 million people in need of assistance to survive across the Lake Chad Basin bordering Cameroon, Nigeria, Niger and Chad, at least 3 million have been forced to flee their homes because of the violence.

It further mentioned that some entire communities are living in limbo and unsure of returning home.

The ICRC’s vice president, Dr Gilles Carbonnier, is cited in the release saying that “despite efforts by state, humanitarian and development actors, the situation in the Lake Chad region remains dire”.

“Millions have been forced to leave their homes. Thousands of families are living in extremely precarious conditions, without proper access to food, healthcare and education,” he added, stressing that “the fate of displaced people must be recognized as a top priority in the Lake Chad Basin”.

After more than a decade, the conflict in the Lake Chad Basin is protracted and its toll on people caught in the middle keeps rising.

The ICRC has registered over 26,188 cases of disappearances across the four Lake Chad Basin countries; Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria with almost 15,000 being minors at the time of their disappearance.

To effectively respond to the protracted and dynamic nature of the conflict, ICRC noted that a greater level of complementarity and agility is needed from multiple actors working together in a more synergetic approach.

An approach that brings together the International Red Cross  and Red Crescent Movement as well as governmental, peace, development and other humanitarian partners to find long-term solutions to the crisis.

“We prioritize respect for international humanitarian law together with neutral, impartial and independent humanitarian action to protect and assist people in need across the Lake Chad Basin,” Carbonnier said, adding that: “ If we are to meet growing humanitarian needs and achieve better results with and for populations affected by protracted conflict, innovative partnerships are also part of the solution”.

The ICRC has encouraged the government of Cameroon, likewise other states to ratify the Kampala Convention and to adopt national implementation mechanisms. The Convention ensures protection and a layer of safety for internally displaced people, and provides governments with a framework to respond to displacement crises.

While most of African states are said to have ratified it, action is required to incorporate the Convention’s provisions into domestic legal frameworks and operationalize them.