PRESS RELEASE 24th February 2008: WORLD BANK/IMF 2008 SPRING MEETING.

African NGO calls for new millennium development goal on Internal Displacement.

Internal Displacement is one of the biggest humanitarian, human rights and security problems facing the world’s poor today and must be given equal prominence alongside other anti poverty measures taken by governments and civil society groups, Africa Internally Displaced Persons Voice( Africa IDP Voice).

Speaking ahead of the World Bank/ International Monetary Fund (IMF) 2008 spring meeting in Washington, United States of America in April 2008.
Africa IDP Voice said it was now vital to introduce a new United Nations Millennium Development Goal (MDG) requiring governments to prevent and reduce prevalence of Internal Displacement and put in place national , regional and international legal, policy and institutional frameworks for their protection and assistance as an indispensable part of the fight against poverty. We wish to support the concern raised by the United Nations Secretary General Ban Kin-Moon that the majority of the countries on the continent are not on track to achieve the eight goals set by 2015. Africa IDP Voice attributes this largely to World Bank supported large scale development projects and support for land reforms that undermine customary land rights in Africa, says Joseph Chilengi Executive Director of Africa IDP Voice.

Everyday, in Africa, thousands of people are being forcibly displaced from their homes and Land as a result of large scale development projects and insensitive land reforms financed and supported by the World Bank and other international financial institutions. There has been recently a sharp increase of massive forced displacements caused by World Bank driven investment and land policy reforms across Africa. World Bank supported large scale development projects all in the name of investment and infrastructure development have encouraged forced evictions, land speculation and threatened Land rights of the majority of citizens in Africa who depend on Land for their survival, said Chilengi.

Joseph Chilengi who will again be attending this years World Bank/IMF 2008 Spring meeting in Washington said ‘ the World Bank supported large scale infrastructure development programmes in Africa have lamentably failed to balance between large scale infrastructure development and internal displacement, a phenomenon that has upset African peoples achievements in the last ten years..the majority of the people in Africa have become victims instead of beneficiaries of development.

Internal displacement shatters lives and undermines human security, in particular by breaking up families and communities, terminating employment relationships, halting formal education opportunities, depriving people of adequate food and shelter and making displaced populations especially vulnerable to acts of violence and attacks. IDPs are perhaps the most vulnerable, yet least protected of the region’s’ populations with increased cases of child labour, gender based violence, child prostitution and HIV/AIDS. World Bank is creating a category people forced by circumstances beyond their control into consideration where, because of the way the society is organized, they become the responsibility of others. Others take over and handle both the broad circumstances and the small details of their lives. The development of new IDP situations and the deterioration of others over the past years therefore have created an increased need to strengthen the capacity of local and national authorities to provide sufficient protection and assistance to IDPs, an area the Bank and its partners has failed the continent in their policies Protection and assistance measures of IDPs seek to prevent, minimize and lighten the suffering of the displaced by ensuring continued enjoyment of their human rights and freedom.

“We must recognize that deteriorating situation of internal displacement are already undermining any hope of meeting the existing eight Millennium Development Goals on poverty. It is impossible to target poverty without targeting protecting the internally displaced and therefore illogical not to have a stand-alone goal calling on the States to prevent or reduce incidences of internal displacement. It is high time that an Internal Displacement Millennium Development Goal now takes its rightful place alongside the existing eight other anti-poverty pledges,” said Joseph Chilengi, “If the first aim of the Millennium Development Goals is to halve poverty by 2015, we cannot ignore Internal Displacement which is wrecking poor peoples’ lives on a daily basis,’ said Mr Chilengi.

In a recent report, Africa IDP Voice revealed that by the end of the century Internal Displacement could be responsible for the problem of more than 100 million poor people in sub Saharan Africa from human rights violations, poverty, deaths and increased diseases. “We should used this year’s World/IMF 2008 Spring meeting to highlight all the injustices perpetrated on the world’s poorest people through internal displacement. To enshrine a clear commitment by the rich countries to provide resources to address the deteriorating situation of internal displacement would have made a significant start,” Mr Chilengi added. Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are the most vulnerable of the world’s population and yet the least protected. Mr Chilengi said he is taking the same message to the World/ IMF 2008 Spring meeting.

The current eight Millennium Development Goals are:
1)Eradicate extreme hunger and poverty
2)Achieve universal primary education
3)Promote gender equality and empower women
4)Reduce child mortality
5)Improve maternal health
6)Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
7)Ensure environmental sustainability
8)Develop a global partnership for development

Despite increased international attention in recent years Chilengi noted, the overall response to IDPs’ urgent protection and assistance needs remain largely inadequate. While national governments have the prime responsibility to protect and assist IDPs, in practice, they are often unwilling or unable to do so. Even when Governments are dedicated to assisting and protecting displaced people, limited resources often complicates the task. The World Bank has an obligation to actively address the problem and support solutions for IDP across the region. Clearly, more needs to be done, said Chilengi.

Joseph Chilengi
Executive Director Africa
Internally Displaced Persons Voice (Africa IDP Voice)
IDP House
18 Bauhinia Avenue, Avondale P.O. Box 32368 Lusaka.
Zambia.
Email: [email][email protected] Mobile: +260-97-773258

Based and headquartered in Lusaka, Zambia, Africa Internally Displaced Persons Voice (Africa IDP Voice) works to raise awareness of the assistance, protection and development plight of IDPs and promotes their effective protection in Africa. www.africaidp.org