strategy

Protecting internally displaced peoples

Synonyms:

Aiding internal refugees
Helping development refugees
Assisting development displacees
Supporting disaster-related refugees

Context:

Strategies for protecting the internally displaced should seek to promote greater coordination among the political, humanitarian and human rights bodies of the United Nations in order to promote mutually reinforcing solutions to crises of internal displacement and thereby contribute to the cause of peace and security. Unless the root causes can be addressed and political solutions to conflicts found, there can be little hope of either ending the conflict or solving the problem of internal displacement. Humanitarian assistance and the promotion of human rights cannot substitute for broader efforts to advance the cause of peace, security and stability in a country. A coordinated effort is the most effective means of addressing the complex and multifaceted challenge of internal displacement.

Implementation:

When the humanitarian, human rights, political and security dimensions of emergency situations are dealt with simultaneously, a climate of confidence is created which in turn positively affects the situation for the internally displaced. In El Salvador, for example, the Peace Agreements which ended more than a decade of civil war and which were negotiated under the auspices of the UN resulted in major reforms within the political and human rights life of the country and in its ability to deal with the crisis of internal displacement. In Burundi, the recently concluded agreement between the government and the opposition in which the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Burundi played a leading role, is another promising, though precarious, example. In Rwanda, it is essential that the root causes of the genocidal conflict be addressed and steps be taken towards national reconciliation and development. The mission reports on Colombia, Sri Lanka and the Sudan have all underscored the importance of negotiated settlements of the conflicts. Indeed, humanitarian actions taken by the international community on behalf of the affected populations could have confidence-building implications that might facilitate the peace process.

In 1993, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies continued to support the Sri Lanka Red Cross programmes in sanitation, shelter, welfare and health for 50,000 people living in camps. In the same year, the Federation and the Togolese Red Cross provided [ad hoc] food distributions to hospitals and the needy in Lome, Togo. As of January 1993, the Afghanistan Red Crescent delivered food to 1,907 families and operated 7 medical dispensaries in Kabul. As of March 1993, the Federation and the Tajikistan Red Crescent Society distributed fuel, clothing and food to 50,000 internally displaced people. As of October 1993, the Federation provided assistance to 30,000 displaced people with food, clothing and hygiene articles in Georgia.

Claim:

Linking both humanitarian and human rights issues and their relation to conflict resolution is the most effective means of removing the underlying causes of displacement. Without the peaceful resolution of internal conflicts, there can be no effective and durable answers to most problems of internal displacement.

Broader:

Protecting refugees

Narrower:

Monitoring internally displaced people
Providing aid to natural disaster victims
Providing aid to man-made disaster victims
Providing development assistance to internally displaced persons
Improving assessment and assistance in cases of environmental emergency

Constrains:

Exile

Facilitates:

Providing food aid
Mitigating consequences of war
Reducing impact of natural disasters

Problems:

Environmental refugees
Internal refugees
Involuntary mass resettlement
Non-settled refugees
Political refugees

Organizations:

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Refugee Studies Centre, Oxford