The ‘protection’ gap: Unaccompanied Congolese young in Uganda

CHRISTINA CLARK argues that in order to fulfil the protection promises made under international legal instruments, UNHCR and the Government of Uganda should allow refugees freedom of movement and the choice to live where they feel most secure – whether in rural settlements, or urban centres.

UN agencies, NGOs and international legal documents often refer to unaccompanied young people displaced by conflict as “the most vulnerable category of an already vulnerable population". As such, they are often deemed to be in need of ‘special protection’. While assumptions of vulnerability should not necessarily be accepted at face value, it is the responsibility of refugee-hosting governments and the international community to fulfil their international protection commitments. However, unaccompanied Congolese young people in different refugee contexts in Uganda consistently report inadequate protection and assistance.

The Ugandan government’s refugee policy, condoned and upheld by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), is that refugees must be in designated rural refugee settlements in order to receive protection and assistance. This policy is based on administrative ease and the belief that refugees inherently pose security threats, rather than on the best interests or wishes of refugees themselves.

Upon arrival in a settlement, refugees are allocated a plot of land, some basic hand farming tools, initial food rations and domestic items. They are then told to construct their own mud hut and begin to farm for food. As part of the government’s self-reliance strategy, refugees’ rations are cut each month to encourage self-sufficiency in food. Refugees who decide for a variety of reasons to live outside of designated rural settlements are deemed ‘illegal aliens’ and subject to punitive action by Ugandan authorities. Some refugees in Kampala have been given exceptional leave to remain in the city, if they can prove their ability to sustain themselves or their families. This means that the legality of refugees' status in Kampala is based on an arbitrary determination of socio-economic status, rather than principles of freedom of movement or other rights.

Unaccompanied minors (UM) are designated as a particularly vulnerable category of refugees by the Ugandan government, UNHCR and NGOs. As such, they are fast-tracked through the refugee determination system and sent to rural settlements as soon as possible. Those who decide to remain in Kampala or ‘self-settle’ in border areas are left to their own devices.

UNHCR will not assist UM outside of settlements, even if they have very good reasons for choosing to live elsewhere (such as, psychological grief associated with massacres in camps and better employment prospects in the city). Seemingly because of fear of territoriality and turf wars, international organisations are also reluctant to get involved. Local organisations that help ‘vulnerable’ Ugandan young people, such as street children and girl mothers, do not feel they can provide assistance to refugee UM. Many think that specialised refugee organisations are/should be taking care of these children/young people.

This means that UM in Kampala often provide for themselves and their younger siblings, while some rely on adults, often Congolese refugees, to provide shelter. While many of the latter are described by the young people as ‘good people’ and in some cases young people congregate around such figures, even when they live elsewhere, there is a huge potential for economic and sexual exploitation. For example, one of my key informants had been taken in by a Congolese family and slept in the living room with about 10 other people. She was subject to unsolicited sexual advances by an adult member of the family and was afraid of being raped. When I reported her protection issues to UNHCR, the protection officer replied that UNHCR could not intervene because the young women had refused to go to a refugee settlement.

However, once UM arrive in refugee settlements, many feel that assistance and protection are no more than empty promises. Like other refugees, they are required to become self-sufficient, farming for food even if they have come from urban, pastoralist or fishing backgrounds. All of the over 100 young people I interviewed in Kyaka II refugee settlement in western Uganda reported that they had never received a visit from government and UNHCR staff. As a 16-year-old unaccompanied male said: "Those people there have no pity for refugees. Even when I came here, I was in very bad condition. They gave me the forest and told me to farm. If I hadn't found the family I am staying with, I don't know what would have happened."

A community services officer admitted that the three staff members allocated for follow-up on ‘vulnerable’ populations were inadequate for Kyaka II settlement, with a population of approximately 10,000 people spread out over hilly terrain. Refugee young people are also disappointed with the poor medical care and lack of educational facilities in the settlement. As one young man who had been living informally in the border area of Bundibugyo before being convinced to come to the settlement said, "When I arrived, I saw life was worse."

In order to fulfil the protection promises made under international legal instruments, UNHCR and the Government of Uganda should allow unaccompanied young people, as well as other refugees, freedom of movement and the choice to live where they feel most secure – whether in rural settlements, or urban centres. This would also contribute to their ability to provide for themselves, consistent with the self-reliance strategy. Unaccompanied refugee young people will also be better protected if they have more direct access to decision-making fora in which they can make their concerns heard. As one young woman eloquently argued, "Even if there isn't material assistance, at least they could talk to us. But they don't want to see us. They ignore people and make them wait for days. Sometimes we see that we are like animals. But, they should be treating us like people."

* Christina Clark is a Commonwealth Scholar at the Refugee Studies Centre, Queen Elizabeth House, Oxford University. She also volunteers with Fahamu. This article is based on 7 months’ field research in Uganda for her doctoral thesis on the political roles of displaced Congolese young people in Uganda.

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