In government-controlled zones, Tutsi survivors of the August 1998 debacle remain in hiding or protective custody, some under trying conditions. Steps are being taken to relocate them to third countries. A recent study by the UN Development Program and the Food and Agriculture Organization, on food security and economic conditions in Kinshasa, indicates that the food consumption of households in the capital has fallen by half since the start of the war. Given the meagerness of the household ration even in the best of times, it is to be feared that a critical threshold is about to be reached. Short of massive infusion of capital and goods, a real risk of economic asphyxiation looms.
All accounts suggest that a similar state of disarray prevails in major cities under rebel control.
The scope and magnitude of the problems would far outweigh the capacity of UN humanitarian agencies in Kinshasa even if they were not, as unfortunately is the case, chronically underfunded. First, the international community must do more to put life into the peace mediation process. As has been said time and time again, humanitarian assistance should not become an alibi for political inaction. Turning away from Kosovo to take a glance at Central Africa is long overdue. The outgoing Belgian minister of cooperation, R ginald Moreels, has proposed an international humanitarian conference.