U N I T E D N A T I O N S
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
Integrated Regional Information Network (IRIN)

GLOBAL: NGO advocates more effective response to IDPs

NAIROBI, 26 April (IRIN) - The international community must give greater
attention and support to internally displaced persons (IDPs) around the
world, according to the nongovernmental refugee advocacy organisation
Refugees International (RI). In a statement issued on Thursday, the group
stated that its recent assessment missions "suggest that the international
community continues to struggle to provide protection and assistance to
IDPs".

It cites as examples Indonesia, "where there has been virtually no public
comment" from key players on "inadequate" government plans to declare its
IDP problem resolved by the end of 2002, and Sierra Leone, where, RI argues,
"the response to the challenge of returning 155,000 IDPs to home communities
in time for the national elections in May has been chaotic", and criticises
the UN system for not designating an operational lead agency to give special
attention to IDP needs.

RI cites as a "positive development" the recent decision taken to designate
the office of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) as the
lead agency for IDPs in Afghanistan. RI also highlights the IDP unit of the
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). While
acknowledging that the OCHA IDP unit has "no operational mandate or
capacity", RI "urge[s] the unit's leadership to play a high-profile role in
advocating for more effective responses by the UN system and international
donors to neglected crises of displacement".

RI also notes the work of Dr Francis Deng, Representative of the
Secretary-General on IDPs. "Dr Deng has been instrumental in developing the
Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, an attempt to promulgate
internationally recognised standards rooted in human rights and humanitarian
law for the treatment of IDPs," the statement says.

"Dr Deng and his colleagues have succeeded in organising seminars on the
guiding principles in a number of war-torn countries, such as Sri Lanka and
Burundi, and in getting member states of the UN, such as Angola and
Colombia, to adopt formally the Guiding Principles."

On 17 April, Deng and UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Kenzo Oshima signed a
memorandum of understanding in New York to improve UN efforts to respond to
the severe crisis of internal displacement around the world.

Under the agreement, OCHA and Deng will jointly design and develop
strategies for the promotion, dissemination and application of guiding
principles on internal displacement; coordinate field visits to maximise
impact, build upon each other's findings, and ensure meaningful follow-up
action; collaborate in the development of policy and research on IDP issues
and in the planning of joint activities, such as seminars, to identify best
practices and areas for further application of the guiding principles; and
undertake joint advocacy activities to further raise the awareness of the
international community of the plight of IDPs and their urgent need for
protection and assistance.

However, says RI, the "challenge remains to translate principles and policy
recommendations into action".

"In Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, and Indonesia, as well as possibly Angola and
Burundi, 2002 promises to be a year of return for IDPs," it continues. "The
international humanitarian system needs to anticipate these opportunities,
design relevant programmes, and ensure effective implementation to ensure
adequate protection and assistance to people who have suffered displacement
for far too long."

RI recommends that the OCHA IDP unit conduct a vigorous advocacy campaign to
ensure international focus on the required response to the needs of the
displaced; that donors, through their in-country aid missions, encourage the
adoption of the Guiding Principles in nations experiencing high levels of
internal displacement; and that the UN Secretary General and the Emergency
Relief Coordinator designate a lead agency for each major IDP crisis, with
particular attention to countries likely to experience large-scale returns
in 2002.

It is estimated that some 20 million to 25 million people have been
displaced within their own countries as a result of armed conflict. Natural
disasters have displaced another 25 million. "Because they are not covered
by the same legal regime and assistance programmes that benefit refugees,
these populations require the support of the international community to meet
their urgent humanitarian needs," OCHA stated on the occasion of signing its
agreement with Deng.

[ENDS]

[This Item is Delivered to the "Africa-English" Service of the UN's IRIN
humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views
of the United Nations. For further information, free subscriptions, or
to change your keywords, contact e-mail: [email protected] or Web:
http://www.irinnews.org . If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post
this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Reposting by commercial
sites requires written IRIN permission.]

Copyright (c) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2002