BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee

Protection
the Rights of the Child (CRC) expressed concern about “the persistent de facto discrimination faced ... by
Palestinian refugee children” in Lebanon, noting that “the protection of refugee children, including Palestinian
children, [has] not been sufficiently addressed.” 226
In 2005, the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)
expressed concerns over participation, health and education of Palestinian women in Israel, and recommended
that steps be taken “to eliminate discrimination against Bedouin women and ... enhance respect for their human
rights through effective and proactive measures ... in the field of education, employment and health.” 227
4.6.6 UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) was established in the occupied Palestinian
territory in 2000 as a result of the deteriorating situation as a result of the second intifada. Although its mandate
focuses on UN inter-agency coordination, it also includes information, advocacy and policy support in line with
international human rights and humanitarian law. For instance, OCHA reports on the protection of civilians,
including casualties and destruction of shelter and property in the occupied Palestinian territory. 228
4.6.7 The UN Collaborative Response to Situations of Internal Displacement
No single UN agency has been identified as the sole agency responsible for offering assistance and protection
to the large number (some 24.5 million in 2006) of IDPs worldwide. 229 Instead, since 2002, a collective
approach, i.e., the Collaborative Response, has been adopted in order to improve the international response
to situations of internal displacement. Under this approach, all relevant UN agencies and organizations share
the responsibility to respond to situations of internal displacement.
No regional or international agency is mandated to provide protection to Palestinian IDPs in Israel and in
the OPT, although UN agencies working on the ground do provide basic emergency humanitarian assistance
to displaced Palestinians in the OPT or during humanitarian crises (e.g. Israel’s War on Lebanon). However,
the problem of internal displacement has not yet been officially recognized, and no comprehensive response
to the needs and rights of the displaced has been developed.
In 2005, the cluster-lead approach, which designates lead UN agencies to certain “clusters” or sectors,
was added to the Collaborative Response. The UNHCR agreed to assume a lead role in protection, camp
management, and emergency shelter for internally displaced persons. Other UN agencies, such as the Office for
the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 230 the Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Office of the
High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), are also involved, and co-operate with the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). 231
The overall co-ordinator at headquarters, or “focal point” at the UN level, is the Emergency Relief Coordinator
Ian Egeland, who heads OCHA and the Resident/Humanitarian Co-ordinator in the field. 232 The
Representative of the Secretary-General on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons, Walter Kälin,
is the main “advocate” for the internally displaced.
The Collaborative Response, however, has so far failed to meet expectations because of resistance among
UN agencies to co-ordination, as well as the lack of predictability in response to situations of internal
displacement. 233 In its 2006 report on internal displacement, the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre
concluded that “the international community has failed – both in preventing new crises that cause displacement
and in contributing to the creation of environments conducive to return and other durable solutions.” 234
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