by Alicia Burke

19 June 2007

The Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) fall strictly within the mandate of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and aim to improve the humanitarian conditions of refugees.  They are, therefore, not linked in any manner whatsoever to any political options being considered regarding the Western Sahara.

The immediate aim of the CBMs is to meet the humanitarian needs of those families who have been separated by the conflict for a long period of time by allowing them to communicate and stay in contact with each other.  It is hoped that the CBMs will contribute to establishing confidence among the parties affected by the conflict in Western Sahara.  The CBMs comprise four activities: an exchange of family visits, a telephone service, a mail service and the organization of seminars.

With the key baseline of UNHCR CBM activities now operational, namely family visits, the first seminar is increasingly the priority.  No significant change has been made to the postal service. It is worth noting that the flights allow beneficiaries to carry mail during their visits, creating, in effect, an informal mail service. This highlights the important fact that the humanitarian value of the flights should not be judged simply in terms of the numbers that directly benefit but also the vast amount of information on the well-being of other separated family members that is passed on (verbally or in writing).

UNV volunteers at work
UNV volunteers are considered core staff of this operation at the field level by UNHCR.  Within the framework of the UNHCR CBM programme, UNVs undertake an array of tasks.  For example, the telephone centres are the responsibility of the UNV volunteers working in Tindouf, who ensure their smooth operation by providing support to the national staff working there, and by updating the telephone statistics and reporting any technical problems.  

During the exchange of family visits UNV volunteers – both in Tindouf, Southern Algeria, and Laayoune, Western Sahara – are involved in the selection of beneficiaries of the family visit cycle.  The selection of beneficiaries is conducted over a number of steps, including: the initial selection of registered beneficiaries, the various formalities of verification, the production of the final list, the briefings before and during the visits and procedures for the return journey to complete the cycle of the visit.  During this process the assistance of UNV volunteers, in particular the Arabic speakers, is crucial.  By interpreting to and from Arabic they contribute significantly to enabling the specific targeting of certain categories of beneficiaries, in particular the vulnerable: the elderly, female-headed households and humanitarian cases.

During the exchange of family visits, monitoring is an ongoing process and will involve one specific visit to each family during the exchange.  UNV volunteers usually undertake monitoring by themselves with the support of one civilian police. During the five-day family visit, UNV volunteers with other UNHCR CBM staff are required to be on standby 24 hours a day to intervene and provide support, should this become necessary.  UNV volunteers are also asked to accompany cases in need of medical assistance and report each case to the respective parties with the assistance of civilian police.  They are also required to ensure arrival and departure procedures proceed smoothly.  

At the end of each family visit, UNV volunteers are required to prepare a flight report which details the family visit from beginning to end, outlining the stages of verification, the production of the final list, the briefings before and during the visits, the visit itself, any medical cases, and the end of the family visit cycle.  Besides giving support to the family visits, UNV volunteers will also provide follow-ups on statistics and ensure both parties and United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) remain informed and updated with regular reports.  UNV volunteers also contribute to fundraising by preparing newsletters and information brochures, by keeping donors informed and by generally creating awareness on the CBM programme.  

Some facts and figures:

• At this stage the programme comprises two central elements:
  • 1. The exchange of family visits.
  • 2. A no-cost telephone service between the refugee camps and towns in Western Sahara.
• To date, 71 family visits have been organized, since the flights began in 2004.  Some 3,900 people have benefited, covering all the main cities in the Territory and the refugee camps in Tindouf, with an average of 60% women benefiting, and mothers and parents being the largest category selected.   
• Under present conditions it will take more than seven years to clear the current list.
• Over 75,000 telephone calls have been placed since the first telephone centre was opened in 2004.