From Responsibility to Response: Assessing National - Brookings

CHAPTER 1 Assessing National Approaches to Internal Displacement: Findings from 15 Countries
In keeping with the Guiding Principles on Internal
Displacement, the Framework on National Responsibility
emphasizes that IDPs’ participation should be encouraged
and facilitated in all phases of displacement—for
example, in making decisions about the relocation of
communities, in establishing programs for humanitarian
assistance and protection during displacement, and
in making decisions about durable solutions to displacement.
The following analysis considers two categories of
IDP participation: first, participation in a general sense,
including in policymaking and decisionmaking in program
design and implementation; and second, political
participation, in particular, the right to vote.
Overview of research findings
Overview of research findings:
(a) Participation in a broad sense
The country studies illustrate that in quite a few cases,
the importance of the participation of IDPs has been
affirmed in public statements or policies. In some
cases, participation is prescribed in law; in others
the responsibility to facilitate consultation with IDPs
forms part of the official mandate of the focal point institution.
Evidence of whether government statements
are simply aspirational affirmations or concrete commitments
will be found in practice. In fact, a number
of examples from the case studies show that IDPs have
participated in particular discussions, for instance by
providing input to the preparation of a national law
or policy on internal displacement. However, it is very
difficult, especially in the desk studies, to determine
whether such cases have amounted to meaningful participation.
Was it a one-off meeting or a regular consultation?
Were IDPs’ views welcomed and their questions
and concerns addressed? Was there meaningful
dialogue between the IDPs and the authorities or was
IDPs’ presence in such discussions seemingly just “for
show”? Perhaps more than with other benchmarks, it
is difficult to tell without talking with IDPs whether
Benchmark 9 is being met.
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Colombia, Georgia and Kenya seem to be the three
cases in which significant attempts have been made to
include IDPs in policy discussions, although even then,
participation has not been entirely satisfactory.
In Colombia, Law 387 of 1997 establishes the right of
IDPs to participate in the national program for addressing
internal displacement, the Sistema Nacional
de Atención Integral a la Población Desplazada por
la Violencia (SNAIPD). There in fact have been some
consultations by government authorities with IDP associations
on the SNAIPD, although it is hard to determine
whether the consultations were regular, much less
whether they have had an impact on policy. Tellingly,
the Constitutional Court has ruled on more than one
occasion that government efforts to facilitate the participation
of IDPs have been inadequate. In 2004, the
court called for “spaces where such participation can
be made concrete” and set basic conditions allowing
for participation, including adequate, understandable,
accessible and timely information and the systematization
and evaluation of the observations made by the
displaced population. 4 The following year, civil society
groups engaged in IDP advocacy met, reportedly “on
a basis of equality” with Cabinet ministers tasked with
submitting reports on progress in complying with the
court’s various demands regarding the government’s
response to internal displacement. 5 However, in 2009,
the Constitutional Court reported that IDPs’ right to
participate was still far from being realized, noting that
“the day-to-day participation by IDPs both in decisionmaking
processes and as a passive source of information
is extremely low.” 6
4 Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC),
Colombia: New Displacement Continues, Response Still
Ineffective: A Profile of the Internal Displacement Situation,
3 July 2009 (www.internal-displacement.org).
5 Manuel Jose Cepeda-Espinosa, “How Far May Colombia’s
Constitutional Court Go to Protect the Rights of IDPs?”
Forced Migration Review, Special Issue: Ten Years of the
Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, December
2008, p. 24.
6 See Comisión de Seguimiento a la Política Pública sobre
el Desplazamiento Forzado, El Reto Ante La Tragedia