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Summary: References to child rights in the report of the representative of the Secretary-General on the human rights of internally displaced persons
4. The Representative cooperates effectively with other United Nations agencies, in particular the Bureau of Crisis Prevention and Recovery of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and also the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Children in Armed Conflict. Within the Secretariat, the Representative has maintained close contacts with the Secretary-General and his Executive Office, the Emergency Relief Coordinator, the Department of Political Affairs, including its Mediation Support Unit, the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, the Peacebuilding Support Office and the Office of Legal Affairs. He has also received support from other agencies, including the World Food Programme, the World Health Organization and the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and has benefited from logistical, security and other support from different peacekeeping and political missions. Follow-up visit to the 2005 mission to Serbia and Montenegro: 29. From 28 June to 4 July 2009 the Representative carried out a visit (A/HRC/13/21/Add.1) following up on a mission he undertook in 2005 to then Serbia and Montenegro (E/CN.4/2006/71/Add.5). Many of the more than 200,000 persons internally displaced from and within Kosovo11 have not yet found a durable solution. Authorities in Pristina/e expressed their commitment to facilitate the return of displaced persons, regardless of their ethnicity. However, due to entrenched patterns of discrimination and also a lack of support, in particular at the municipal level, there have been very few sustainable returns. The Representative is especially concerned that internally displaced Roma in any reference to Kosovo, whether to the territory, institutions or population, is made in full respect of Security Council resolution 1244 and shall be understood in accordance with the United Nations policy of strict neutrality on the status of Kosovo northern Mitrovica/Mitrovicë, including children, remain exposed to toxic lead waste, despite some progress in relocating them to safer areas. Somalia: 32. From 14 to 21 October 2009, the Representative visited Somalia (A/HRC/13/21/Add.2). He was appalled by the degree of violence that the civilian population and in particular internally displaced persons in south and central Somalia suffer. Serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law are committed in an environment of impunity and are a major cause of displacement. Over 1.5 million internally displaced persons, the vast majority of whom are women and children, remain highly vulnerable and exposed to serious human rights violations, in particular sexual violence, during flight and in settlements of internally displaced persons. Many try to reach safety in urban centres in Puntland or Somaliland, putting enormous strain on the limited existing resources and basic services available there. Shrinking humanitarian space, severe constraints on humanitarian access, security risks for humanitarian workers, and the sharp decline in donor contributions exacerbate this long-standing and neglected humanitarian crisis. B. Addressing multiple layers of vulnerability and discrimination: 54. Displacement exacerbates pre-existing vulnerabilities and creates new ones. In many crisis situations the displaced, especially children and the elderly among them, are disproportionally affected by malnutrition and a lack of potable water.25 According to the World Health Organization, internally displaced persons are particularly exposed to health hazards.26 In urban settings, internally displaced persons are often worse off than the non- displaced urban poor.27 People displaced to locations where they constitute an ethnic, religious or other minority face particular problems.28 D. Institutional progress: from picking and choosing to a more systematic and predictable approach 61. International mechanisms to protect internally displaced persons in situations of natural disasters are often not effective due to lack of understanding, knowledge and the capacity to address threats arising in disaster settings. OHCHR, UNHCR and UNICEF are still struggling to develop the capacity on the ground to match the commitment to leading on protection in disaster settings that they assumed during the course of the 2005 humanitarian reform initiative. The Representative therefore welcomes the expressed commitment of UNHCR to fill this gap within the IASC framework and in consultation with UNICEF and OHCHR,30 and hopes that its capacities will be enhanced accordingly. Costanza Adinolfi and others, Humanitarian Response Review: An Independent Report Commissioned by the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator & Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA, 2005), pp. 49–50. See opening statement of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to the 60th session of the Executive Committee of the High Commissioner’s Programme (ExCom), 28 September 2009. The Representative also encourages OHCHR and UNICEF to reinforce their efforts to increase capacity at headquarters and on the ground. V. Conclusions and recommendations 84. Millions of people are being newly internally displaced every year as a result of conflict and violence. Disasters displace even more people and the effects of climate change will exacerbate this trend. Development-induced displacement is also on the rise. With international attention focused on camps of internally displaced persons, many other displaced remain invisible, because they stay with host families, are dispersed in urban areas or their existence is officially denied. Some vulnerable groups within the displaced population are also regularly overlooked. Host families and communities are often heavily affected by displacement, but they are often neglected. The Representative urges member States and humanitarian and development actors to expand their scope of action and recommends that they: (c) Pay greater attention to internally displaced persons with multiple layers of vulnerability and discrimination, especially elderly persons and those with disabilities, women heads of households and their children, and displaced persons belonging to ethnic minorities or indigenous peoples. For further information, visit the 13th Session of the HRC reports here