Think-tank urges improved assistance to IDPs

Overseas Development Institute (ODI), a UK-based think-tank on international development and humanitarian issues, has urged the international community to seize upon current initiatives to improve aid to internally displaced people (IDPs). In a November report titled 'The UN and IDPs: improving the system or side-stepping the issue?', the institute called the scale of the global IDP problem "immense and growing". "Current estimates of the number of internally displaced people vary greatly, according to who is being counted and who is doing the counting, but it is widely accepted that between 20 million and 25 million are internally displaced as a result of conflict," it reported. Unlike refugees who fall within the mandate of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), there is no single institution to address the needs of IDPs, "not least their need for protection", the institute stated. Under international law, states are ultimately responsible for the welfare of their citizens, including displaced people. "Yet in some cases, it is precisely the actions of states that have resulted in displacement; in others, governments may be willing to help, but may lack resources or access," the institute added. The question of sovereignty also poses its own challenges. By definition, IDPs are an internal matter, and any attempt to create an international agency to address the IDP issue could be seen as meddling in the domestic affairs of states. The report commended efforts within the UN system to establish a special unit within its Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) to improve the UN's work with IDPs, an initiative that "met with a range of reactions, from outright dismissal as an empty gesture to cautious optimism", the institute said. NGOs, the UN, member states and donors alike all need to ensure that the new unit is effective," ODI stated. "There might not soon be another opportunity." In order to make the IDP unit work, the institute said it should focus on outlining its priorities - some of which should be to ensure better accountability in IDP response; implement an effective and consistent protection framework for IDPs; give the IDP unit autonomy, authority and independence; and ensure that donors and other partners support the process. For the complete report, go to wwww.reliefweb.int/w/rwb.nsf/s/0C24F7C2049597F285256B1900555FE3