From Responsibility to Response: Assessing National - Brookings

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CHAPTER 1 Assessing National Approaches to Internal Displacement: Findings from 15 Countries acknowledge displacement in Balochistan. However, on other occasions, Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani has been very active in raising national awareness of those displaced by conflict in 2009 and by the flooding in Pakistan in 2010, including by reaching out to Pakistanis, including the Pakistani diaspora, for financial support for the affected populations. For example, at political and economic conferences in 2009 in the wake of what was at the time the largest population movement in the country since the 1948 partition, the prime minister called attention to the plight of IDPs and stressed the government’s commitment to assist them as well as to fight terrorism. At the All Parties Conference in May 2009, Gilani said that “the displaced people of Swat are the guests of the entire country. They should not consider themselves as dejected, because the government honours their sacrifice.” 33 In June he stressed that assisting IDPs was “of the highest priority,” reportedly stating: “We must plan now and set aside resources for the rehabilitation of IDPs, reconstruction of affected infrastructure and revival of economic activities on their return and hope this will happen in near future.” 34 Despite these positive developments, there are questions as to the government’s intentions to pursue a rights-based approach to IDPs. In Afghanistan, the government’s record over the past several years on acknowledging the existence of internal displacement and its responsibility to address it as a national priority is mixed. President Karzai has “repeatedly emphasized that reducing IDP caseload is a national priority,” but that claim was made by an international adviser to the Ministry of Rural Development 33 Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Ministry of Defence, “APC: Political Leadership Resolves to Unite Nation against Terrorism,” 18 May 2009 (www.defence.pk/ forums/pakistans-war/26869-apc-political-leadershipresolves-unite-nation-against-terrorism.html). 34 TTKN NewsDesk, “Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani – Talk about Internally Displaced Persons,” 5 June 2009 (www.ttkn.com/politics/prime-minister-syed-yusufraza-gilani-talk-about-internally-displaced-persons-353. html). 40 and Rehabilitation (MRRD). 35 Moreover, the statement seemingly has not been translated to concrete action or public awareness campaigns. In 2003, a report by the MRRD and the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation stated that “the State of Afghanistan is responsible for protection and durable solutions for the IDP population in the country with support from specialised agencies such as UNHCR, IOM and with financial assistance by the international community.” 36 In the Refugees, Returnees and IDP Sector Strategy of the Afghanistan National Development Strategy 1387–1391 (2008–2013), the government acknowledges its responsibility for IDPs but also calls on international actors to complement government efforts. 37 In 2010, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission called on the government of Afghanistan to “raise public awareness about procedures for civilians affected by the conflict, including on compensation and accountability,” 38 a population that would include IDPs. 35 Pete Spink, “A Closing Window? Are Afghanistan’s IDPs Being Forgotten? ”Forced Migration Review, no. 21 (September 2004), p. 36 (www.fmreview.org/FMRpdfs/ FMR21/FMR2113.pdf). 36 Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Ministry of Rural Development and Rehabilitation and Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation, “Towards Definite Solutions for IDPs in the South: A Regional Operation Plan,” October 2003 (www.internal-displacement.org/idmc/website/countries. nsf/(httpEnvelopes)/B057C8B9AB7B8DC5802570B8005 A6F8D?OpenDocument#1.11.5). 37 Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Afghanistan National Development Strategy Secretariat, Afghanistan National Development Strategy 1387–1391 (2008–2013): A Strategy for Security, Governance, Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction (www.undp.org.af/publications/ KeyDocuments/ANDS_Full_Eng.pdf). 38 UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, Afghanistan: Annual Report on Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict 2010, Kabul, March 2011 (http://unama.unmissions.org/ Portals/UNAMA/human%20rights/March%20PoC%20 Annual%20Report%20Final.pdf), p. ix.
Conclusion Benchmark 2 Raise National Awareness of the Problem of Displacement When displacement occurs, a government’s public acknowledgment of its existence and of the government’s responsibility to address it is an important first step in protecting and assisting IDPs. In comparison with the eleven other benchmarks, raising awareness of IDPs appears to be a relatively easy measure to take. Even so, it is a step that not all of the countries surveyed have managed to take, at least not in response to conflict-induced displacement. The case of Myanmar illustrates how a government’s refusal to acknowledge displacement, in this case of conflict-induced IDPs, ensures that for any such ignored group of IDPs, government action on all of the other benchmarks also is a non-starter. In cases in which internal displacement was acknowledged, whether or not the government admitted responsibility for causing it, government efforts to raise awareness of internal displacement through public statements was not always a useful indicator of the government’s commitment to upholding the basic human rights of IDPs, as in the cases of Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Across the countries surveyed, governments at different times and in very different situations have tried to raise awareness of internal displacement within their 41 countries. Sometimes their efforts have been belated, getting off the ground only several years after displacement first occurred or only as a response to political developments or external pressure; sometimes efforts have been sporadic, with government engagement ebbing and flowing over the years. In cases such as Colombia, Kenya, Turkey, Yemen and others, the influence of the Representative of the UN Secretary-General on Internally Displaced Persons on national authorities seeking to address internal displacement through policies cannot be underestimated. While there is always a risk in raising expectations with promises that may not be kept, acknowledgment of the problem of internal displacement by a high-level government official is an essential first step to addressing it. Moreover, by raising awareness that IDPs have rights that must be respected, governments can send a strong message recognizing their national responsibility to IDPs to IDPs themselves, communities and government officials at all levels; that, in turn, can help to trigger more concrete measures to address internal displacement. But governments have different motivations and levels of sincerity in acknowledging internal displacement, if they do, which are reflected in their subsequent actions.
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The Brookings Institution - London
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From Responsibility to Response: As
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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
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Page 49 and 50: Benchmark 2 Raise National Awarenes
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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
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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 91 and 92: Conclusion Benchmark 5 Ensure a Leg
Page 93 and 94: Benchmark 6 Develop a National Poli
Page 105 and 106: Benchmark 7 Designate an Institutio
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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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Afghanistan Internal Displacement i
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Sri Lanka Gaps in the Government Re
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Domestic Financing Foreign financin
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This study seeks to shed light on h
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CHAPTER 3 Translating National Resp
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For each country case study, the ex
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5 6 Ensure a Legal Framework for Up
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9 9 a) Facilitate IDPs’ Participa
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12 Cooperate with International Com
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The Brookings Institution - London
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From Responsibility to Response: Assessing National - Brookings

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