From Responsibility to Response: Assessing National - Brookings

More documents

Recommendations

Info

CHAPTER 2 Case Studies: Georgia, Kenya, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka The “new” IDPs refers to those affected by the displacement that occurred in August 2008 as a result of the fiveday war between Georgia and Russia that was triggered in South Ossetia but also spread to Abkhazia. An estimated 158,700 people were forced to flee their homes in South Ossetia and adjacent areas as well as the Kodori Gorge of Abkhazia. 4 Again, displacement was largely internal in nature: the vast majority of those displaced (some 128,000 people) became IDPs, of whom most were displaced in Georgia proper while some 30,000 IDPs were displaced within South Ossetia; meanwhile, 30,000 people from South Ossetia, mostly ethnic Ossets, fled across to the region of North Ossetia, located in the Russian Federation. By October 2008, with the withdrawal of Russian troops from regions of Georgia other than South Ossetia and Abkhazia, the majority of the “new” IDPs had returned home. Of the 256,100 IDPs in Georgia in 2011, the vast majority (238,187 persons, or 93 percent) are IDPs who were displaced by conflict in the early 1990s and thus have been living as IDPs for nearly two decades. Of these IDPs, most are IDPs from Abkhazia, while a small but imprecise number of IDPs from the South Ossetia conflict of 1991–92 remain, both within South Ossetia Displaced Persons, Mr. Francis Deng—Addendum: Profiles in Displacement: Georgia, E/CN.4/2001/5/Add.4, 25 January 2001, paras. 11–15, 20–21 (http://ap.ohchr. org/documents/dpage_e.aspx?m=71); UN Commssion on Human Rights, Report of the Representative of the Secretary-General on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons, Walter Kälin—Mission to Georgia, E/ CN.4/2006/71/Add.7, 24 March 2006, paras. 7-9 (/www. brookings.edu/projects/idp/rsg_info.aspx#Kalin). See also Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), IDPs in Georgia Still Need Attention: A Profile of the Internal Displacement Situation, 9 July 2009, pp. 4, 8, 18, 20–21, 28, 32, 43–45 (www.internal-displacement.org). 4 According to UN agencies, these 158,703 IDPs included 75,852 persons displaced from and within South Ossetia, 65,800 from Gori and surrounding villages, 12,701 from Western Georgia, and 4,350 from Abkhazia. UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA), Consolidated Appeals Process: Georgia Crisis Flash Appeal 2008 (18 August 2008), p. 9 (http://reliefweb.int/ node/276845). 180 (some 3,500 in collective centers 5 ) and in Georgia proper. The remaining IDPs (17,916 according to government IDP registration; 22,000 according to UNHCR and the Public Defender of Georgia—see Benchmarks 3 and 5) were uprooted more recently as a result of the conflict in August 2008, but they were not among the large numbers of IDPs who were able to return to their home areas in the weeks immediately following the end of active hostilities. It is noteworthy that 3,613 of the total number of IDPs in Georgia currently were displaced successively by both periods of conflict and mass displacement. 6 In addition to IDPs resulting from conflict, Georgia also periodically experiences smaller-scale but still significant displacement due to natural disasters, especially floods, landslides and earthquakes. 7 1. Prevent Displacement and Minimize Its Adverse Effects Do national authorities take measures to prevent arbitrary displacement and to minimize adverse effects of any unavoidable displacement? Neither the Law of Georgia on Forcibly Displaced– Persecuted Persons (1996) 8 nor the State Strategy on 5 UN Human Rights Commission, Report of the Representative of the Secretary-General on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons, Walter Kälin— Addendum: Follow-Up to the Report on the Mission to Georgia, A/HRC/13/21/Add.3, 14 January 2009, para. 5 (www.brookings.edu/projects/idp/rsg_info.aspx#Kalin). 6 Figures provided to the author in July 2011 by the Government of Georgia, Ministry for IDPs from Occupied Territories, Refugees and Accommodation. 7 For example, the government has reported that between 1987 and 1989, some 20,000 people became internally displaced as a result of natural disasters. UN Commission on Human Rights, Report of the Representative of the Secretary-General on Internally Displaced Persons, Mr. Francis Deng—Addendum: Profiles in Displacement: Georgia, E/CN.4/2001/5/Add.4, 25 January 2001, para. 12. 8 Government of Georgia, Law of Georgia on Forcibly
Georgia From Solidarity to Solutions: The Government Response to Internal Displacement in Georgia Internally Displaced Persons (2007), 9 which focuses on durable solutions to displacement, addresses the issue of protection from arbitrary displacement. However, other national legislation is relevant. The Criminal Code establishes criminal responsibility for any displacement that takes the form of genocide or crimes against humanity. 10 Moreover, during a state of emergency or of martial law, while the applicable national legislation does allow the government to “temporarily resettle citizens from regions that pose a threat to life” and to “restrict, when necessary, the right of citizens and stateless persons to freedom of movement,” any such displacement must be justified on grounds of necessity and must meet numerous procedural guarantees in order for the displacement to be considered lawful. 11 It is noteworthy that the government of Georgia has been criticized by some local observers for having failed to meet its responsibility to evacuate civilians from the conflict zone during the August 2008 war. 12 9 Displaced–Persecuted Persons, 28 June 1996, as amended 25 October 2010 (http://mra.gov.ge). The law with amendments of 2010 changing the title of the ministry currently is available only in Georgian; an unofficial English translation of the law, current to the penultimate amendment in 2006, is available at Brookings-LSE Project on Internal Displacement, “National and Regional Laws and Policies on Internal Displacement: Georgia” (www. brookings.edu/projects/idp/Laws-and-Policies/georgia. aspx). For further information, see Benchmark 5, below. For further information on the State Strategy, see Benchmark 6, below. 10 Government of Georgia, Criminal Code of Georgia (1999). 11 Giorgi Chkheidze and Konstantine Korkelia, “Report on the Guiding Principles and the Law of Georgia,” in Roberta Cohen, Walter Kälin and Erin Mooney, eds., The Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement and the Law of the South Caucasus: Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, pp. 21–24 (Brookings-SAIS Project on Internal Displacement and the American Society of International Law, 2003), citing the Law on State of Emergency, 17 October 1997 and the Law on State of Martial Law, 31 October 1997. 12 Joint submission by Human Rights Priority, the International Center on Conflict and Negotiation and the Caucasus Women’s Network, para. 20, cited in United Nations, General Assembly, Human Rights Council, Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review, 181 As for mitigating the effects of displacement, the Law on Forcibly Displaced Persons–Persecuted Persons provides that persons who meet the definition and are recognized as having the status of a “forcibly displaced person–persecuted person” (a classification under national legislation that in effect corresponds to persons regarded by the international community as conflictinduced IDPs) are entitled to receive free transportation of person and transfer of luggage by public transportation to the place of temporary residence; to reside in a place of temporary residence and to use utilities free of charge; to receive food in an amount prescribed by relevant legislation; to access medical services free of charge in state medical institutions; and to receive financial aid or other assistance from the state. 13 IDPs displaced by conflict and registered as having this status are entitled to receive a modest monthly stipend: in 2000, the stipend was 11 Georgian Lari for IDPs in collective centers and 14 Lari for IDPs in private accommodations; since 2005, the monthly stipend has been 22 Lari for IDPs living in collective centers and 28 Lari for IDPs living in private accommodation. Although the amount is minimal and certainly insufficient to cover basic needs, 14 most IDPs rely heavily on the stipend, given their lack of meaningful livelihoods and reliable access to incomegenerating opportunities. Therefore it was especially problematic when in previous years disbursement of the monthly stipend frequently was delayed, sometimes for several months at a time, thereby depriving many IDPs of a critical source of support and leaving them in a very Summary Prepared by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights: Georgia, UN doc. A/HRC/WG.6/10/ GEO/3 (15 November 2010) (www.unhcr.org/refworld/co untry,,UNHRC,,GEO,,4d53a9792,0.html). 13 Government of Georgia, Law of Georgia on Forcibly Displaced–Persecuted Persons, 1996, as amended 25 October 2010. For more comprehensive analysis of the law, see Benchmark 5. 14 Consider that in 1999, the World Bank had set the absolute poverty line at 52 Lari per adult per month. The “minimum survival” food basket alone cost 40 Lari a month per adult. World Bank, Georgia: Poverty and Income Distribution, vol. 1, Report No. 19348-GE (World Bank, 1999), para. 102.
Page 1 and 2:
The Brookings Institution - London
Page 3 and 4:
From Responsibility to Response: As
Page 5 and 6:
CONTENTS Acronyms .................
Page 7 and 8:
ACRONYMS AIHRC Afghanistan Independ
Page 9 and 10:
FOREWORD It is with great pleasure
Page 11 and 12:
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Given the large num
Page 13 and 14:
It is a central tenet of internatio
Page 15 and 16:
legislation relevant to IDPs. Still
Page 17 and 18:
amend existing ones, in line with t
Page 19 and 20:
Background and Aims of the Study In
Page 21 and 22:
displacement persists for several y
Page 23 and 24:
operationalizing the responsibiliti
Page 25 and 26:
Therefore, it is not surprising tha
Page 27 and 28:
Azerbaijani, Chinese, French, Portu
Page 29 and 30:
National Initiatives In Iraq, IOM p
Page 31 and 32:
of the country. 62 In addition, six
Page 33 and 34:
in French and Spanish depending on
Page 35 and 36:
serves only to supplant and absolve
Page 37 and 38:
CHAPTER 1 Assessing National Approa
Page 39 and 40:
Benchmark 1 Benchmark 1 Prevent Dis
Page 41 and 42:
Benchmark 1 Prevent Displacement an
Page 43 and 44:
Page 45 and 46:
Page 47 and 48:
Page 49 and 50:
Benchmark 2 Raise National Awarenes
Page 51 and 52:
Page 53 and 54:
Page 55 and 56:
Page 57 and 58:
Page 59 and 60:
Conclusion Benchmark 2 Raise Nation
Page 61 and 62:
Benchmark 3 Data Collection on Inte
Page 63 and 64:
—Current location and location of
Page 65 and 66:
its registration rolls intra-urban
Page 67 and 68:
and profiling of three types of IDP
Page 69 and 70:
the government of Afghanistan under
Page 71 and 72:
Benchmark 4 Training on the Rights
Page 73 and 74:
actions of DRC authorities and nong
Page 75 and 76:
the provision of technical support
Page 77 and 78:
Justice, National Cohesion and Cons
Page 79 and 80:
February 2010; one outcome of the t
Page 81 and 82:
Benchmark 5 Ensure a Legal Framewor
Page 83 and 84:
Page 85 and 86:
Page 87 and 88:
Page 89 and 90:
Page 91 and 92:
Conclusion Benchmark 5 Ensure a Leg
Page 93 and 94:
Benchmark 6 Develop a National Poli
Page 95 and 96:
Page 97 and 98:
Page 99 and 100:
Page 101 and 102:
Page 103 and 104:
Page 105 and 106:
Benchmark 7 Designate an Institutio
Page 107 and 108:
not necessarily influence such chan
Page 109 and 110:
Institutional mandate and responsib
Page 111 and 112:
this body include preparing “stra
Page 113 and 114:
lead state agency may turn to other
Page 115 and 116:
a division of functions being made
Page 117 and 118:
Benchmark 8 Benchmark 8 Support NHR
Page 119 and 120:
Benchmark 8 Support NHRIs to Integr
Page 121 and 122:
Page 123 and 124:
Page 125 and 126:
Page 127 and 128:
Page 129 and 130:
Page 131 and 132:
Benchmark 9 Facilitate IDPs’ Part
Page 133 and 134:
The process of participation is gen
Page 135 and 136:
Georgia represents an especially in
Page 137 and 138:
about the national policy. 16 Sudan
Page 139 and 140:
and reinforce durable solutions. 27
Page 141 and 142:
was 12 million, or 62 percent of th
Page 143 and 144:
displacement. 52 In the run-up to t
Page 145 and 146:
vote is by no means consistent (for
Page 147 and 148: Benchmark 10 Establish the Conditio
Page 177 and 178: Benchmark 11 Allocate Adequate Reso
Page 179 and 180: also ordered the National Council f
Page 181 and 182: In Sri Lanka, 16 it is difficult to
Page 183 and 184: Conclusion As indicated in the intr
Page 185 and 186: Benchmark 12 Cooperation with Inter
Page 193 and 194: North Darfur, Sudan/ A woman collec
Page 195 and 196: CHAPTER 2 Case Studies Georgia, Ken
Page 197: Georgia From Solidarity to Solution
Page 201 and 202: Georgia From Solidarity to Solution
Page 249 and 250:
Kenya National Response to Internal
Page 251 and 252:
Page 253 and 254:
Page 255 and 256:
Page 257 and 258:
Page 259 and 260:
Page 261 and 262:
Page 263 and 264:
Page 265 and 266:
Page 267 and 268:
Page 269 and 270:
Page 271 and 272:
Page 273 and 274:
Page 275 and 276:
Page 277 and 278:
Afghanistan Internal Displacement i
Page 279 and 280:
Page 281 and 282:
Page 283 and 284:
Page 285 and 286:
Page 287 and 288:
Page 289 and 290:
Page 291 and 292:
Page 293 and 294:
Page 295 and 296:
Page 297 and 298:
Page 299 and 300:
Sri Lanka Gaps in the Government Re
Page 301 and 302:
Page 303 and 304:
Page 305 and 306:
Page 307 and 308:
Page 309 and 310:
Page 311 and 312:
Page 313 and 314:
Page 315 and 316:
Domestic Financing Foreign financin
Page 317 and 318:
Page 319 and 320:
This study seeks to shed light on h
Page 321 and 322:
CHAPTER 3 Translating National Resp
Page 323 and 324:
Page 325 and 326:
Page 327 and 328:
Page 329 and 330:
Page 331 and 332:
Page 333 and 334:
Page 335 and 336:
Page 337 and 338:
Page 339 and 340:
For each country case study, the ex
Page 341 and 342:
5 6 Ensure a Legal Framework for Up
Page 343 and 344:
9 9 a) Facilitate IDPs’ Participa
Page 345 and 346:
12 Cooperate with International Com
Page 347:
The Brookings Institution - London
show all

From Responsibility to Response: Assessing National - Brookings

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?