United Nations                                                                          A/61/276

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                                                Distr.: General

                                                                                                                21 August 2006

                                                                                                                Original: English

                                                                                                      

 

 

General Assembly

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Sixty-first session

Item 66 (c) of the provisional agenda*

Promotion and protection of human rights: human rights situations and reports of special rapporteurs and representatives

 

Protection of and assistance to internally displaced persons

 

Note by the Secretary-General

 

                The Secretary-General has the honour to transmit to the members of the General Assembly the report of the Representative of the Secretary-General on the human rights of internally displaced persons, Walter Kälin, in accordance with Economic and Social Council resolution 2004/263 and Commission on Human Rights resolution 2005/46.

 

 

* A/61/150.

 

 

 

A/61/276

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Report of the Representative of the Secretary-General on the human rights of internally displaced persons

 

Summary

 

                Approaching the conclusion of the second year of his mandate, the Representative of the Secretary-General on the human rights of internally displaced persons, Walter Kälin, reflects upon a period that has seen progress on many fronts. The Heads of State and Government at the 2005 World Summit unanimously recognized the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement as an important international framework for the protection of internally displaced persons (IDPs). Similar progress has been made at the regional level, as a number of regional organizations have begun to address internal displacement in their activities and legal instruments. Within the United Nations, progress has been made in the mainstreaming of human rights, particularly in the context of humanitarian reform measures and in the adoption by the Inter-Agency Standing Committee of the Operational Guidelines on Human Rights and Natural Disasters. Working with national Governments, regional organizations and United Nations agencies and country teams, the Representative has sought to be either a catalyst or a support for these and other efforts.

 

                The Secretary-General’s recent review of the Representative’s mandate concluded that the mandate had proved useful for mainstreaming, advocacy and dialogue on the challenges posed by internal displacement. The Secretary-General further found that the mandate complemented the operational capacities of United Nations agencies and civil society, adding value to a common international approach, but concluded that the standard servicing of the resources available had not been sufficient to support the full range of activities envisaged by the Representative, particularly with regard to mainstreaming.

 

                This report discusses the work that the Representative has undertaken pursuant to his mandate to engage in dialogue with Governments, mainstream the human rights of IDPs into all parts of the United Nations system and promote the dissemination, recognition and use of the Guiding Principles. It presents the Representative’s principal recommendations from recent missions and working visits. It further presents the results of his cooperation with regional organizations and United Nations partners. Finally, it presents a number of capacity-building projects undertaken by the Representative, including an annual course and a manual for legislators on national implementation of the Guiding Principles, and several studies related to IDPs and peace processes.

 

 

06-47492