ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL, OPENING HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS SEGMENT, HOLDS PANEL DISCUSSION ON INTERNALLY DISPLACED

Press Release
ECOSOC/5913

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL, OPENING HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS SEGMENT, HOLDS PANEL DISCUSSION ON INTERNALLY DISPLACED

Although women and children made up 80 per cent of the internally displaced population, programming for the displaced focused mainly on men, the Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) told the Economic and Social Council this morning, as it began the humanitarian affairs segment of its 2000 substantive session. Carol Bellamy made that statement as part of a panel on internally displaced persons (IDPs), which led off the segment theme focusing on special economic, humanitarian and disaster relief, under the chairmanship of Vladimir Sotirov (Bulgaria).

Women IDPs were often excluded from decision-making processes, Ms. Bellamy continued. Women were vulnerable to abuse during their displacement. Women and girls were particularly at risk of sexual abuse. Yet, the special needs of women and children IDPs were often overlooked. The long-term needs of children must be taken into account, both during the displacement and reintegration periods.

The Emergency Relief Coordinator of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Carolyn McAskie, served as moderator for the panel. She said IDPs were in danger of becoming an abstract concept. Their problem needed to be humanized. National governments were responsible for supporting IDPs, but they needed help. All partners should support United Nations country teams in developing policy strategies.

Also taking part in the panel was the Representative of the Secretary- General on internally displaced persons, Francis Deng. He said the IDP issue was a global crisis, with Africa most affected. The crisis cut across all levels and was more than mere statistics. It was a crisis of people deprived of the basics for survival.

The fates of refugees and IDPs were usually linked, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Sadako Ogata, said. Speaking as a panel member, she said a comprehensive approach to address the problems of both groups was called for. Legal protection principles had to be translated into practical actions, such as making sure people were not forcibly moved or assaulted and that basic security needs were met.

As the final member of the panel, the Director-General of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Paul Grossrieder, said the immense scope of problems associated with internal displacement reflected a wider crisis affecting

Economic and Social Council - 1a - Press Release ECOSOC/5913 30th Meeting (AM) 19 July 2000

the entire civilian population. Issues related to internal displacement could not be considered in isolation. Since host communities shared limited resources with the displaced, both became destitute.

The Humanitarian Coordinators for Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Georgia made presentations to the Council. A question-and-answer interchange with panel members was held after the panel discussion itself.

The Council will meet again at 3 p.m. to continue the humanitarian segment of its 2000 substantive session with a panel discussion on natural disasters, in line with the segment theme of special economic, humanitarian and disaster relief assistance.

Economic and Social Council - 3 - Press Release ECOSOC/5913 30th Meeting (AM) 19 July 2000

Council Work Programme

The Economic and Social Council met this morning to begin the humanitarian affairs segment of its 2000 substantive session with a consideration of special economic, humanitarian and disaster relief assistance. In addition to presentations, the Council is expected to hold a panel discussion on internally displaced persons.

The Council has a number of documents before it. One is a letter conveying the Cairo Declaration resulting from the Africa-Europe Summit. The others are reports of the Secretary-General, one on strengthening the coordination of emergency humanitarian assistance and the other on assistance for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Liberia.

The Cairo Declaration conveyed in a letter to the Secretary-General (document A/54/855-E/2000/44) describes the proceedings of the Africa-Europe Summit held under the aegis of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and the European Union (EU) in Cairo on 3 and 4 April. The Declaration sets out the parameters of a new strategic dimension to the global partnership between Africa and Europe, to be achieved by strengthening political, economic and cultural links between them and by promoting a constructive dialogue on economic, political and social issues.

The Secretary-General’s report on strengthening the coordination of emergency humanitarian assistance (document A/55/82-E/2000/61) summarizes coordination activities in delivering assistance over the past year. It also describes challenges in natural disasters and in managing complex emergency responses. The role of technology in mitigating the effects of natural disasters and other emergencies is discussed, as are mechanisms for strengthening the coordination of humanitarian response in situations of displacement. Observations and recommendations concern those issues and address the specific requirements of protecting civilians in armed conflict.

An annex contains the follow-up to agreed conclusions of the humanitarian affairs segment of the Council’s 1999 substantive session. Another annex summarizes the lessons learned from a flood response in Mozambique.

The Secretary-General’s report on assistance for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Liberia (document A/55/90-E/2000/81) describes the challenges facing Liberia despite the promise offered by the inauguration of an elected Government headed by President Charles Taylor since August 1997. The report cites a dire need for greater recognition of post-conflict challenges facing both Liberia and the subregion, which would lead to support for the peace-building process in the country. The report calls for a reaffirmation of General Assembly resolution 53/1 on Liberia and for continuing efforts to build sustainable peace in the subregion.

Panel Discussion

CAROLYN MCASKIE, Emergency Relief Coordinator, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (OCHA), said internally displaced persons were in danger of becoming an abstract concept. There was a need to humanize the problem. Adequacy of national and international response was a major challenge. Support for internally displaced persons was the responsibility of national governments.

The most burning issue was what could be done on the ground for internally displaced persons. United Nations country teams were in need of stronger support from all partners in order to develop policy strategies, she said.

ZORIADA MESA, Humanitarian Coordinator for Angola, said that during the past two decades more than 20 per cent of the population in Angola had been displaced because of the conflict. The total number of internally displaced persons numbered 3.8 million people.

Some 300,000 people were reportedly displaced in areas inaccessible to relief organizations, she said. More than 500,000 were living in camps and transit centres. Populations hosting internally displaced persons were themselves becoming seriously affected, as newcomers were competing for limited resources. Since January 2000 additional displacements had been occurring.

On a positive note, she said, the Angolan Government had last year initiated a National Programme for Emergency Humanitarian Assistance, with a budget of $55 million. The plan for emergency action would give the framework for humanitarian operations for the next six months and would provide support for United Nations programmes for emergency operations. In order for those programmes to work, it was imperative that the Government should provide financial resources and take a leading role in coordinating assistance operations that would lead to durable solutions, she said.

Programmes for development had been seriously damaged by the conflict of the last 20 years. Access to health, water and education had deteriorated. The number and locations of internally displaced persons changed continuously. Specific solutions needed to be sought, depending on specific situations, she said.

Demining should be a central feature of humanitarian efforts, she said. Security remained a major concern. In the last several weeks, the humanitarian community had been the object of a number of threats. She appealed to the international community for effective assistance to the population in Angola.

MARTIN MOGWANJA, Humanitarian Coordinator for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, said that out of a total population of over 50 million, an estimated 24 million Congolese people were directly affected by the ongoing war. As of the beginning of June there were 1.3 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) in 10 out of the country's 11 provinces.

He said the funding situation had considerably improved this year, thus permitting the Organization to launch more assistance projects. Presently, of the 1,600,000 identified internally displaced persons, only 1,015,000 were accessible. Out of the total number of accessible IDPs, roughly 250,000 persons received substantial and systematic assistance. One-time food distributions targeted at over 500,000 IDPs were carried out in June 2000.

Turning to health concerns, he said the epidemiological situation in the country was disastrous and more threatening than ever. The country had one of the highest infant mortality rates in the region and the highest maternal mortality rate in the world. A minimum of 1.6 million people had died since January 1999 as a result of the ongoing conflict. The vast majority of deaths were disease- related. Health-specialized agencies such as the World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) received little or no funding for their operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

He said the food situation was precarious. Faced with large-scale food insecurity, affecting millions of Congolese, the humanitarian community envisaged a dual approach of feeding and nutritional projects; and attempting to restore a minimum producing capacity among IDP households. Humanitarian response to food insecurity was still rather weak in the provinces of Equateur, Northern Katanga and Kasai, due to lack of safe access. In addition, inadequate sanitation facilities and limited access to clean water for people in precarious conditions had resulted in repeated outbreaks of cholera.

He said widespread insecurity prevented adequate humanitarian responses from reaching all the displaced and affected communities. Some relief agencies often encountered a hostile attitude from beneficiary communities, who suspected those agencies of one-sidedness. He said that at the moment it could not be assumed that helping IDPs to return home was the best option. Therefore aid would now be offered to displaced communities wherever they were found.

MARCO BORSOTTI, United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for Georgia, said half of the 280,000 displaced lived in collective centres that were renovated to serve as temporary dwellings. They were not registered at residents. Economic activities took place within a shadow economy. With Government-targeted assistance, some internally displaced persons received subsidies that were not needed. The cost for Georgia of maintaining a dual system of rights and services was not sustainable.

In the political context, the Georgian conflict was frozen; the people affected lived in a state of limbo. A new approach was needed for IDP assistance and had now been elaborated. Its objective was to improve the lives of internally displaced persons and, by doing so, improve conditions in Georgia. But such a programme should have been installed many years ago.

The prevailing attitude in Georgia was that the rights and longer-term needs of internally displaced persons were issues to be dealt with via development projects in the conflict areas following the IDP's return. In the interim, the focus of assistance should be relief. Internally displaced persons were vulnerable by virtue of their displacement experience, and as such should have access to a wide range of services subsidized by the Government, regardless of objective measures of vulnerability.

However, there was also the assumption that if needs were addressed in situ, the will to return was reduced, and in consequence the strength of territorial claims was reduced. The consequence of such contradictions, and of conflict resolution efforts that placed IDP return at the centre of the debate, was an increase in tensions that undermined the resolution process itself.

Lessons learned included the fact that a quick move to development-oriented assistance was vital if the international community was to mitigate the social and economic marginalization that threatened the displaced. While the displaced have unique needs, assistance that was too narrowly focused on them might risk extending the social and economic marginalization that had threatened them in the first place. Therefore, early development-oriented programmes should aim to address the social needs of both populations, he said.

The most pressing lesson learned was that for early engagement of transitional and development assistance to be possible, vigorous, high-level humanitarian diplomacy was a must. It was necessary to ensure that the right to return was neither sacrificed nor forgotten. The lesson from Georgia in an age of frozen conflict was that a frank assessment of return conditions, coupled with early development aid was the best assistance to the displaced both before and after their return.

PAUL GROSSRIEDER, Director General, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said the immense scope of problems associated with internal displacement must be seen as a reflection of a wider crisis affecting the entire civilian population. Issues related to internal displacement could therefore not be considered in isolation from those involving the civilian population as a whole. In addition, host communities might in turn have to share their limited resources with the displaced, leaving both those communities and the displaced in destitution.

The international community thus had an important role to play in supporting the efforts of national authorities to better discharge their responsibilities towards civilians under their jurisdiction. Internal displacement thus called for responses that were context-specific, broad-based and flexible. It was also essential for Governments to support the efforts of humanitarian organizations to reach those in need, in conformity with their duty to respect and ensure respect for international law.

He said that problems surrounding internal displacement were of such a scale and of such complexity that all organizations concerned must work together so as to maximize the overall impact of humanitarian action. The ICRC was fully committed to the objective of institutional cooperation. It had translated that commitment into practice through extensive consultations and cooperation, at both the bilateral and multilateral levels.

SADAKO OGATA, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, (UNHCR), said that today’s focus on internally displaced persons was timely in view of the staggering human costs involved. Help received was selective and inadequate. The causes of displacement were complex, and categorizations of people affected were unclear, making it difficult to determine what assistance was needed by what category of people. In some situations, internal conflict was deliberately aimed at driving people out of their areas.

The UNHCR’s involvement with internally displaced persons spanned 30 years. Usually assistance was rendered at the request of the Secretary-General. Other assistance was requested by Governments. The Democratic Republic of the Congo had made requests, but because of difficult access, the requested assistance was often impossible.

The fates of refugees and internally displaced persons were usually linked, and a comprehensive approach was called for. Legal protection principles had to be translated into practical action: making sure that people were not forcibly moved, that women and children were not sexually assaulted, that basic security needs were met. No single agency had the expertise and capacity to work alone, she said. Interagency cooperation was essential, but a more rapid response was needed. The debate should not focus on humanitarian response. Humanitarian action could only buy time for peace and reconstruction efforts, but could not solve the underlying problems. What was needed was a political solution to conflicts. A large and sustained commitment of resources by Governments was also essential. If the UNHCR was going to expand involvement with internally displaced persons, the resources available were worrisome.

If the international community was supportive of more assistance to IDPs, more resources would have to follow, together with the political will to achieve solutions, she said.

CAROL BELLAMY, Executive Director of UNICEF, said her agency estimated that women, who headed most IDP households and families, made up 30 per cent of total displaced populations. Women and children together accounted for 80 per cent. Yet currently, most programming for the displaced focused on men. Women were often excluded from decision-making processes and were often vulnerable to abuse during displacement. Their special needs and those of their child dependants were rarely taken into account. Girls, in particular, were at risk of sexual abuse. Their own special needs had also often been overlooked.

“Once we recognize the numbers of children who are internally displaced persons and their special needs, we need to address how the international community can best respond”, she said. It was important that the long-term needs of children, both during the period of displacement and during the reintegration period, were taken into account. She particularly stressed the importance of education, especially for girls. That must be recognized as a priority humanitarian action that would contribute enormously to rehabilitation and ultimately to development.

She said there was a need to collect better information in a more timely way and to analyze it better. The social fabric of the IDP society needed to be restored and the role of the family and community recognized. It was also necessary to support community structures, so necessary for the stability of children, and to allow internally displaced persons to be part of the decision- making process on issues that affected them.

She said that through incorporation into programmes and activities, “we must ensure that displaced children are offered protection from abuse and exploitation, including recruitment as child soldiers”. The special requirements of displaced women and girls, such as their vulnerability to sexual exploitation and rape, must be better understood and addressed.

FRANCIS DENG, Representative of the Secretary-General for internally displaced persons, said the IDP issue was a global crisis, in which Africa was most affected. The crisis cut across all levels, and was more than mere statistics: it was a crisis of people deprived of the basics for survival.

The problem was also sensitive and internal, involving the sovereignty of the State and cutting across all agency mandates. Within the framework of sovereignty one had to be mindful of the concerns of governments, particularly in dealing with human rights investigations and internally displaced persons. Once mutual understanding on sovereignty had been established, candour became possible. Sovereignty was a normative concept implying government responsibility. In visiting 18 missions, he said, he had always been able to work constructively with governments.

Questions and Answers

In an interactive discussion following the presentations, a number of questions were put to the panellists. One speaker wanted to know how coordination operated among the various actors in the field. Had it been possible to enhance such coordination and further develop it? Were there other improvements that needed to be made in the coming weeks, months or years?

Another participant asked why the perpetrators of genocide in Rwanda had been allowed to cross borders and settle elsewhere as IDPs. That was one of the causes of the war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The IDP problems would persist if the international community continued to treat symptoms and not causes.

It was noted that there were a number of agencies responsible for work in Sierra Leone. The questioner asked who was responsible for coordinating the work of agencies tasked with providing humanitarian assistance to internally displaced persons. The ICRC was also asked about its level of involvement in Sierra Leone, and what mechanisms it had put in place to enhance humanitarian assistance structures. Another question was directed at the level of UNHCR’s involvement in that same country?

Another speaker noted that a number of agencies were oriented towards providing relief only to internally displaced persons. What did that mean for the future of the displaced, especially in terms of reintegration and development?

Addressing the question of coordination within countries, Ms. MESA, Humanitarian Coordinator for Angola, said there were different levels of coordination. Overall coordination was handled by the Government. Sectoral coordination was at the technical level, and there was also internal coordination within the United Nations system. In Angola, a group had been established to work together with the humanitarian Coordinator and had attempted to stay in daily contact with the Government.

Mr. BORSOTTI, Humanitarian Coordinator for Georgia, said coordination in Georgia basically involved sharing information and identifying common needs that required the intervention of the international community. Transparency in coordination was important. The communality between humanitarian and development assistance had been a key factor of success in Georgia.

Mr. MOGWANJA, Humanitarian Coordinator for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, said the agencies in that country worked well together. At the national level, the agencies met regularly. There was also a weekly meeting of officials of agencies, the ICRC and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), at which operational questions were discussed. A crisis committee had also been established, comprised of agencies, NGOs and government representatives. Coordination mechanisms at the provincial level also existed.

As to the question who was responsible for coordination, Ms. McASKIE said the emergency relief coordinator was the focal point at the agency level for assistance to internally displaced persons. At the field level, the responsibility devolved to the humanitarian coordinators. There was also a network of IDP focal points throughout the agencies.

Mr. GROSSRIEDER, of the ICRC, said his organization’s budget for Sierra Leone was around $20 million. Its work covered the needs of 300,000 displaced persons in food assistance, health, orthopedic rehabilitation, water and sanitation programmes. Seeds had been distributed, and there was a surgical hospital.

Ms. OGATA, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, said the number of Sierra Leonean refugees in Guinea was estimated at 400,000; in Liberia, 70,000; and in the Gambia, 10,000, requiring $45 million in resources. Internally displaced persons in Sierra Leone were estimated to be 1 million. Direct assistance had not been given to internally displaced persons in Sierra Leone, but some assistance reached them when they were mixed with Liberian refugees.

Internally displaced persons did not necessarily live in camps, she said. Some were scattered. For those living in camps, social services resembled those provided for refugees. When the internally displaced persons were scattered in a conflict situation, it was not possible to provide that kind of service.

Mr. DENG, Representative of the Secretary-General for internally displaced persons, said that when he was appointed, he had to try to look at existing international instruments for protection of and assistance to IDPs. A group of experts had concluded that existing instruments had some gray areas. There was a consensus that a framework building on existing instruments was needed. However, a new instrument would be controversial and would take a long time to elaborate. Given the prevailing sense of urgency, there was a temptation to restate existing principles. That was how the idea of “guiding principles” came about. Response to the guiding principles had been remarkable. The usefulness of the guiding principles had been overwhelming and he had used them effectively in his dialogues with governments.

In a further question-and-answer exchange, attention was drawn to the fact that vast tracts of Congolese territory were occupied. Recently, at Kisingani, aggressor forces had clashed and thousands of innocent Congolese civilians had died. Rwanda had committed massive violations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and in the process undermined the economic infrastructure of the country.

It was pointed out that Rwanda had become a major exporter of diamonds and other commodities, when in fact it did not possess such items on its own soil. What was the international community doing? It must become more involved in the quest for political solutions in the Great Lakes region, and must call for the withdrawal of all aggressor forces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Another speaker wanted to know how effective Mr. Deng’s dialogues in countries with internally displaced persons had been.

One speaker wanted to know whether the panellists had any ideas about how the position of humanitarian coordinators in the field could be strengthened.

Another participant asked how governments secured assistance in discharging their responsibilities to help displaced people. It was noted that there was a need to look at new ways to reinforce the integrated strategies that everyone

hoped to achieve. It was also asked whether or not there were other examples of flexible funding mechanisms that could bridge relief and development.

A speaker said that Burundi had no interest in becoming embroiled in the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; nor did it have that capability, since it had its own humanitarian problems to deal handle.

Another speaker said that Rwanda's problem was survival, and that it had no interest in fighting in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. But it would not stand by and allow itself to be destroyed.

A participant stressed that IDPs were citizens of a given country and were, therefore, subject to the laws of that country. The international community's quest for international protection for IDPs challenged national sovereignty. That was a disturbing issue for many countries. The international community should be there merely to assist and support national governments as they endeavoured to meet the needs of IDPs.

Ms. MESA, addressing questions about food assistance, said that Angola had developed a strategy to ensure that food would be available in the foreseeable future and had launched an appeal for seeds. The appeals for Angola remained underfunded, however. The bulk of assistance received went to food aid. There were discussions with the Government about pilot projects in some regions, as well as integrated projects in which community participation would play an important role. Some agencies would support administrators to provide social services.

Mr. GROSSRIEDER reminded delegates that the main generator of IDPs was armed conflict. In cases of internal conflict, the government concerned did not have access to or control over the totality of its population. International law required access to all displaced people, and the consent of all parties was, therefore, necessary. The ICRC could play an important role in the issue of IDPs under the control of non-governmental group by maintaining contacts and relationships.

Mr. DENG, addressing comments about sovereignty, noted a clear concern about the normative framework. In countries he had visited where the guiding principles were discussed, he had noticed that those guidelines were known and had even been translated into the local language. They not only guided governments and agencies, but also informed the IDPs themselves about their rights vis-à-vis their governments. He reiterated that in compiling existing instruments, he had responded to requests. The results had always been communicated to the Assembly, which had taken note of them. The idea had been to build on humanitarian law, human rights law and refugee law. In the course of his dialogues, no government had questioned the substance of the principles. There was a lot more common ground than was usually assumed.

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