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STATEMENT BY MR. CHALOKA BEYANI
SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF INTERNALLY
DISPLACED PERSONS
Twenty-Third Session of the Human Rights Council
GENEVA, 30 March 2013
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Mr. President, Distinguished Representatives, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am pleased to present my third report to the Council in my capacity as Special
Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons. As I complete the
first segment of my mandate at the end of these three years, I wish to express my
appreciation for the support by Member States, United Nations agencies such as
OHCHR, UNHCR, and OCHA, as well as IOM, civil society, and internally displaced
persons (IDPs) who share with me the many challenges of displacement they face daily
and from whose experiences I am always privileged to learn.
Mr. President,
Last year marked the 20th anniversary of this mandate. During the last two decades
much has been achieved, many problems continue to challenge us however, such as
ensuring a better transition from humanitarian to development activities – the latter
often being indispensible to ensuring a durable solution to displacement. I will be
presenting my next report to the General Assembly on this issue in September 2013. In
my current report before you today, I review the situation of internally displaced
women, with the aim of assessing the progress achieved to date and providing
recommendations on the way forward in areas where responses still need to be
significantly improved. The gender dimensions of internal displacement is a theme
which I will continue to mainstream throughout my mandate activities.
I am also mandated to mainstream more broadly the human rights of IDPs within the
United Nations and to work closely with key UN agencies. Over the course of this
last year, I am happy to report that I have reinforced my cooperation with OCHA and
UNHCR, so that more human resources will be available for activities of mutual
interest. I have also been cooperating closely with the Joint IDP Profiling Service, an
inter-agency project seeking to support Governments and other actors with datacollection activities in displacement contexts. I remain committed to contributing to
other inter-agency processes as well, such as the Inter-Agency Standing Committee
and the Global Protection Cluster, which represent important venues within which to
highlight and mainstream the rights of IDPs. Training and capacity building activities
provide equally important opportunities to increase understanding and expertise on
internal displacement. I have continued to undertake these activities, in cooperation
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with the Brookings-LSE Project on Internal Displacement, OHCHR, UNHCR and the
Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC). We continue to offer the flagship
course on the Law of Internal Displacement, which takes place in San Remo every
year and provides a one week training course to Government officials from countries
affected by internal displacement from all over the world.
I also participate in
regional workshops on internal displacement, and in country-specific workshops at
the invitation of concerned Governments, such as in the case of Afghanistan.
Mr. President,
The 6th of December 2012, marked a memorable occasion for all persons concerned
with ensuring the protection of the human rights of internally displaced persons, with
the coming into force of the African Union Convention for the Protection and
Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons 2009 (Kampala Convention), the first
binding treaty on internally displaced persons. With this achievement come new
responsibilities. I will continue to encourage more Member States of the African
Union to ratify this Convention, as well as to support those that have already ratified
it to enact domestic frameworks, including national legislation and policies, so as to
make this Convention a reality. In addition to congratulating Member States of the
African Union, I also take this opportunity to encourage all other States to develop
national frameworks on internal displacement. These can serve to prevent, manage
and frame solutions to all types of internal displacement situations, be they related to
situations of violence or conflict, or natural and human- made hazards.
Mr. President,
In keeping with the priorities I identified when I assumed the mandatte, this year, I
have dedicated my thematic report to this Council to the situation of internally
displaced women, with a view to taking stock of the progress to date with regard to
their protection and assistance, examining some of the outstanding challenges, and
offering initial recommendations to address these. I have found that, particularly
since the late 1990’s, significant progress has been made in the form of the
development of a range of resolutions, policies and guidelines, as well as
mainstreaming efforts and programmes focusing on the rights and needs of women
and girls in emergency and post-conflict situations. While these have helped to
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promote gender-sensitive approaches, especially with regard to humanitarian
assistance, considerable gaps remain. Not least of all because these frameworks have
predominantly focused on women and security rather than their participation in
peacebuilding and development activities, and have largely related to refugee
populations rather than IDPs. They have also tended to frame efforts in relation to
displaced women, as assistance to a monolithic ‘vulnerable’ group. Thus, failing to
sufficiently recognise the specific vulnerabilities of different groups of women, as
well as the extraordinary role and agency of women.
As IDPs, women experience the various human rights challenges characteristic of
displacement situations generally. In addition, however, internally displaced women
also often experience human rights challenges due to intersecting forms of
discrimination based on gender, age, group affiliation, disability, civil status, socioeconomic status and displacement itself. While many of these are pre-existing
patterns of discrimination, the consequences of these are exacerbated during conflict
or other crisis situations.
In displacement contexts, women are often especially affected by violations of the
rights to adequate housing, land and property, and by inequitable access to
assistance, education, training and livelihoods, and healthcare for example. They are
habitually excluded from decision-making processes, and frequently the target of
violence and abuse, including sexual and gender-based violence. In this context, key
challenges include: the continued need for training of Government officials, other
relevant actors and field staff in gender-sensitive approaches; addressing impunity;
awareness-raising within host communities; and engaging women in early-warning
and preparedness systems, resilience, and early recovery programmes. Perhaps the
single most important challenge at this juncture however, is overcoming the
“implementation gap” – the gap that is limiting the practical impact of the many
frameworks that governments, NGOs, and the international community have
developed to protect, assist and support the leadership role of internally displaced
women.
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Mr. President,
In my report, I make recommendations with regard to a number of these challenges.
As per my mandate, I will continue to promote the mainstreaming of the gender
dimensions of internal displacement, including those specific to women and girls.
This, together with their increased participation, is the most effective approach to
ensuring that assistance and protection efforts respond to their actual needs and
reinforce their human rights. Together with government, civil society and the
international community, I will continue to work to bridge the implementation gap
and support the full agency of internally displaced women in society.
Country Situations
Côte d’Ivoire
Mr. President,
From 23 to 31 July 2012, I undertook a country visit to Côte d’Ivoire at the invitation
of the Government. During this visit, I met with communities affected by internal
displacement in sites of return, resettlement and integration, in both Abidjan and the
west of the country. I found that the Government, with support of the international
community, had made significant progress in stabilizing the country after the 2010
post-election violence, re-establishing law and order, and facilitating return or other
solutions for the 1 million persons estimated to have been displaced at the height of
that crisis. For the most part, IDPs were no longer visible in camps at the time of my
visit. However, significant challenges persist. Many IDPs and host communities
continue to experience dire living conditions in areas of return and local integration,
including lack of housing, basic services and livelihood opportunities.
During my visit, I also noted the need to speed up efforts and build confidence in the
security sector, especially in the country’s western part and in informal urban
settlements in and around Abidjan. It is necessary as well, to address the special
needs of vulnerable IDPs, such as single female-headed households, the elderly and
disabled, and separated children. In this regard, I am very pleased by more recent
efforts by the Government, with the support of the international community, to
undertake a data-collection exercise which will assist in identifying the needs of
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vulnerable IDPs and host communities. I am also pleased by the decision to pilot the
Secretary-General’s decision and framework on durable solutions in post-conflict
situations (Decision no. 2011/20) in Côte d’Ivoire. I encourage them to pursue these
activities and stand ready to continue to provide my support.
In addition to implementing durable solutions, I further encourage the Government of
Côte d’Ivoire to address some of the structural and root causes of violence and
displacement through land, justice and security-sector reforms, as well as through
reconciliation activities. While many of the internally displaced persons in Côte
d’Ivoire were displaced due to violence and conflict, other causes of displacement
also exist. The situation of evictees from protected and classified forests for example,
also merits continued attention. I encourage the Government and other relevant actors
to apply a human rights-based approach to their assistance, protection and durable
solutions needs. I would also like to urge the Government of Côte d’Ivoire to pursue
its efforts to identify, arrest and prosecute the instigators and perpetrators of the
attack on the Nahibly IDP camp of July 20, 2012, in which at least eight persons were
killed and 60 injured, and to make public the findings of their investigations. In these
and other efforts, I encourage the international community to continue supporting
humanitarian, development, peace-building and Government reforms in Côte d’Ivoire,
which are grounded in a human rights-based approach and the participation of
displacement-affected communities.
Sudan
From 14 to 22 November 2012, I visited Sudan at the invitation of the Government. I
met with internally displaced persons in north, west and south Darfur, and in Khartoum.
I was unfortunately unable for security reasons to visit South Kordofan and Blue Nile.
Both the Government of Sudan and the international community have made significant
efforts to address the sources as well as the consequences of internal displacement, and
new opportunities exist as a result.
In Darfur, the signing of the 2011 Doha Document for Peace in Darfur, represents one
such window of opportunity. If implemented effectively and in an inclusive manner by
all stakeholders, this agreement, which includes provisions on durable solutions for
IDPs, can contribute to peace and stability in the region. I urge that all efforts be made
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towards this end. Other factors are also important to address the protracted internal
displacement situation in Darfur. These include: ensuring open and predictable
humanitarian access; a comprehensive approach to durable solutions which supports
local integration and resettlement in addition to returns; strengthening efforts to
integrate IDPs into urban planning, development and livelihood projects; and improved
security, and access to services and their land in areas of return.
With respect to persons of South Sudanese origin, I was encouraged by the signing of
the Framework Agreement, which will facilitate the process of regularizing the stay of
persons wishing to remain in Sudan. I urge the Governments of Sudan and South
Sudan to take practical measures to implement the Framework Agreement as a matter
of priority, and to exercise flexibility in relation to certain administrative requirements
that may be difficult for some persons to meet. I also call on them to facilitate the
establishment of humanitarian corridors to enable safe and voluntary returns.
Furthermore, I encourage the Government of Sudan, with the support of the
international community, to address the difficult living conditions in some departure
points.
In South Kordofan and Blue Nile, I wish to note the efforts by the Government of
Sudan to ensure the provision of humanitarian assistance in Government-controlled
areas. However, I urge them as well as all other parties to provide safe access to
humanitarian assistance in all areas, and to redouble their efforts to peacefully address
outstanding issues that are fuelling this crisis.
Sudan continues to experience a variety of causes and contexts of internal
displacement. I therefore encourage the Government of Sudan, as I do also the
Government of Côte d’Ivoire, to embrace a comprehensive framework for the
protection of the human rights of IDPs by ratifying the Kampala Convention and
adopting implementing domestic legislation.
Afghanistan
From 12 to 16 July 2012, at the invitation of the Government of Afghanistan, I
participated in a national consultative workshop on the development of a national
policy on internal displacement, as well as in dialogue sessions with Government
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officials in Kabul. Led by the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation with the support
of civil society organisations and the United Nations, the workshop aimed to establish
a road map for developing an IDP policy. I congratulate and encourage the
Government of Afghanistan on this important initiative and stand ready to continue
providing my support towards these efforts.
Mr. President,
Since my last report to this Council, I have made or reiterated country visit requests to
a number of countries, including South Sudan, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Georgia,
Serbia, Colombia, Haiti and Syria. In relation to the latter, I planned to conduct a visit
to Syria in February 2013, at the invitation of the Government, but the dates were not
deemed convenient to the Government. More recently, I have been requested by the
General Assembly, in resolution A/67/L.63, to report on the dire situation of internally
displaced persons in Syria, with 90 days, and am taking steps in this regard. I look
forward to cooperating with all of these Governments on the situations of internal
displacement affecting their countries, and look forward to engaging in a constructive
and collaborative fashion with other States on internal displacement over the course of
my mandate.
Mr. President,
I would like to express once again, my appreciation for the support and cooperation
this mandate has enjoyed for over two decades, and in particular, the support and trust
placed in me during the first three years of my mandate by this Council, the Member
States present today, my United Nations counterparts, members of civil society,
internally displaced communities, and others working on behalf of internally displaced
persons.
Thank you for your kind attention today.
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