NGO advocates more effective response to IDPs

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.