From Responsibility to Response: Assessing National - Brookings

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CHAPTER 2 Case Studies: Georgia, Kenya, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka According to one national observer in 2009, “there appears to be no urgency on the part of the government to consider this bill as it has made no public comment on it nor listed it on the Order Paper of Parliament for debate.” 48 As of July 2011, the bill had not been introduced in Parliament and its status was unclear. Several provisions of existing national law relate to IDPs, although they have not always proven successful in guaranteeing protection. 49 Many provisions were violated during the final stages of the conflict and in the period immediately following the conflict. The internment of IDPs at Menik Farm and other sites violated (www.idpsrilanka.lk/html/SpecialProgrammes/IDP%20 Bill/2008%20Aug%2008%20-%20Draft%20IDP%20Bill. pdf). 48 B. Skanthakumar, “Window-Dressing? The National Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka,” Law and Society Trust Review, no. 262, August 2009 (www. lawandsocietytrust.org/web/images/PDF/NHRC%20 Report%202009.pdf). 49 Including fundamental and language rights in the Constitution (1978); Act on the Rehabilitation of Persons, Properties, and Industries (1987); National Child Protection Authority Act (1988); Welfare Benefits Act (2002); Mediation (Special Categories of Disputes) Act (2003); Sri Lanka Disaster Management Act (2005); Tsunami (Special Provision) Act (2005); Registration of Deaths (Temporary Provision) Act (2005); Geneva Conventions Act (2006); and Resettlement Authority Act (2007). For full text of these laws, see Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, National Protection & Durable Solutions for Internally Displaced Persons Project, “IDP Related Domestic Laws,” (www.idpsrilanka. lk/html/IDP%20Related%20Norms%20and%20Laws/ IDP%20Related%20Domestic%20Laws.html). These laws include overall provision of rights common in situations of displacement and have not been revised to include specific language on displacement, with the exception of the Resettlement Authority Act, which created the Resettlement Authority to develop a national policy on internal displacement. Much of this legislation, however, was temporary in nature. National and international actors have, for example, urged the government to pass a provision on registration of deaths similar to the legislation passed shortly after the tsunami. 288 several articles of the Sri Lankan constitution, and the following list is not exhaustive: —Article 12(1). Equal protection: Inhabitants of closed camps were unable to access legal services or various structures established by law to provide remedies to those whose rights had been violated, such as the Human Rights Commission. Interned families of persons detained by security forces had no means of arranging legal assistance for the detained or determining their whereabouts. —Article 14(1)(h). Freedom of movement: Camp inhabitants were prohibited from venturing out of the camps and accessing public spaces. —Article 13(1). Due process (including the provision “Any person arrested shall be informed of the reason for his arrest”): Persons crossing into government-controlled areas at Omanthai checkpoint in Vavuniya district and persons residing within the camps were often separated from their families and detained without notification of family members by authorities. The government’s legal basis for its actions during this period was a set of laws known collectively as the Emergency Regulations. Described by the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) as “far-reaching,” “draconian” and “open to arbitrary use and abuse,” the most recent set of Emergency Regulations was passed after the assassination of Sri Lanka’s foreign minister in 2005. 50 Along with the similarly troublesome Prevention of Terrorism Act, the laws provide the government broad powers of arrest and detention, including the authority to detain persons indefinitely and without charge. 51 50 International Commission of Jurists, Briefing Paper: Sri Lanka’s Emergency Laws (www.icj.org). 51 BBC, “Sri Lanka Government Relaxes War-Time Emergency Laws,” 5 May 2010 (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/ hi/8661394.stm).
Sri Lanka Gaps in the Government Response to Post-2007 Internal Displacement While the laws were enacted in response to legitimate security concerns during times of serious political violence—and while some have been partially relaxed in the post-conflict period—according to the ICJ, A wide variety of human rights organizations, including UN bodies, international non-governmental organizations and national groups, have criticized these laws for violating fundamental rights, enabling state repression of legitimate political activity and exacerbating conflicts. 52 6. Develop a National Policy on Internal Displacement Has the national government adopted a policy or plan of action to address internal displacement? Sri Lankan law provides for the formulation of a national policy for IDPs and refugees; however, there was no national policy to address internal displacement at the time of writing. In 1999, the government initiated a process to address the challenges of ensuring effective programming for the conflict-affected population. In June 2002, after extensive consultations with multiple stakeholders, including IDPs, the government adopted the National Framework for Relief, Rehabilitation, and Reconciliation. The Framework establishes a set of policies and strategies related to human rights, specific rights of the displaced, relief and reconciliation/peace-building, to be followed up by relevant actors. Policy recommendations include adopting the Guiding Principles as official policy for assisting IDPs affected by conflict; regular surveys and assessments with a view to accelerating and expanding opportunities for return, resettlement and reintegration; and establishment of an independent humanitarian ombudsman system. 53 52 International Commission of Jurists, Briefing Paper: Sri Lanka’s Emergency Laws. 53 Government of Sri Lanka, National Framework for Relief, 289 After the adoption of the Framework, the government passed the Resettlement Authority Act (2007). The act established the Resettlement Authority, whose mandate is to formulate a “national policy and to plan, implement, monitor, and co-ordinate the resettlement of the internally displaced and refugees.” 54 As of July 2011, there was no such national policy. 55 7. Designate an Institutional Focal Point Has the government designated a national focal point on IDPs? There is no permanent designated focal point on IDPs in Sri Lanka. Instead, IDP issues have been addressed by both a variety of different line ministries and ad-hoc entities set up under presidential directives. The presidential cabinet currently comprises nine senior ministers and forty-nine cabinet ministers, many of whom were newly appointed after a parliamentary election and cabinet restructuring in 2010. 56 Since the restructuring, a large number of ministries have been involved in addressing issues associated with internal displacement, as they were before. Prior to 2010, the primary ministries involved in IDP response were the Ministry of Resettlement and Disaster Relief Services Rehabilitation, and Reconciliation, June 2002, available at Brookings-LSE Project on Internal Displacement, “National and Regional Laws and Policies on Internal Displacement: Sri Lanka” (www.brookings.edu/projects/ idp/Laws-and-Policies/sri_lanka.aspx). 54 See Benchmark 3, above, for a discussion of the meaning if the term “resettlement” in the Sri Lanka context. Government of Sri Lanka, Resettlement Authority Act, No. 9 of 2007, available at Brookings-LSE Project on Internal Displacement, “National and Regional Laws and Policies on Internal Displacement: Sri Lanka.” 55 Government of Sri Lanka, Ministry of Resettlement and Disaster Relief Services, “Resettlement Authority” (www. resettlementmin.gov.lk/resettlement-authority.html). 56 ColomboPage (www.colombopage.com/archive_10C/ Nov22_1290415176CH.php).
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The Brookings Institution - London
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From Responsibility to Response: As
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CONTENTS Acronyms .................
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ACRONYMS AIHRC Afghanistan Independ
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FOREWORD It is with great pleasure
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Given the large num
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It is a central tenet of internatio
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legislation relevant to IDPs. Still
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amend existing ones, in line with t
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Background and Aims of the Study In
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displacement persists for several y
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operationalizing the responsibiliti
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Therefore, it is not surprising tha
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Azerbaijani, Chinese, French, Portu
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National Initiatives In Iraq, IOM p
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of the country. 62 In addition, six
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in French and Spanish depending on
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serves only to supplant and absolve
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CHAPTER 1 Assessing National Approa
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Benchmark 1 Benchmark 1 Prevent Dis
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Benchmark 1 Prevent Displacement an
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Benchmark 2 Raise National Awarenes
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Conclusion Benchmark 2 Raise Nation
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Benchmark 3 Data Collection on Inte
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—Current location and location of
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its registration rolls intra-urban
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and profiling of three types of IDP
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the government of Afghanistan under
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Benchmark 4 Training on the Rights
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actions of DRC authorities and nong
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the provision of technical support
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Justice, National Cohesion and Cons
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February 2010; one outcome of the t
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Benchmark 5 Ensure a Legal Framewor
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Conclusion Benchmark 5 Ensure a Leg
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Benchmark 6 Develop a National Poli
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Benchmark 7 Designate an Institutio
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not necessarily influence such chan
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Institutional mandate and responsib
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this body include preparing “stra
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lead state agency may turn to other
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a division of functions being made
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Benchmark 8 Benchmark 8 Support NHR
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Benchmark 8 Support NHRIs to Integr
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Benchmark 9 Facilitate IDPs’ Part
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The process of participation is gen
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Georgia represents an especially in
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about the national policy. 16 Sudan
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and reinforce durable solutions. 27
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was 12 million, or 62 percent of th
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displacement. 52 In the run-up to t
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vote is by no means consistent (for
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Benchmark 10 Establish the Conditio
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Benchmark 11 Allocate Adequate Reso
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also ordered the National Council f
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In Sri Lanka, 16 it is difficult to
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Conclusion As indicated in the intr
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Benchmark 12 Cooperation with Inter
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North Darfur, Sudan/ A woman collec
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CHAPTER 2 Case Studies Georgia, Ken
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Georgia From Solidarity to Solution
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Kenya National Response to Internal
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