Women, War, Peace and
Displacement

The often cited statistic that as many as 80 per cent of displaced populations are women and children fails to convey the complete devastation that displacement visits upon women and communities in general. Leaving homes, property and community behind, renders women vulnerable to violence, disease and food scarcity, whether women flee willingly or unwillingly. Internally displaced women face additional dangers as they are often invisible to the international community within the borders of countries at war. Camps for refugees and the internally displaced have been criticized for not addressing women’s needs and concerns in their design and procedure. Failure to account for women’s security and health needs can make a camp dangerous and deadly, when it was intended to provide refuge. Nonetheless, UN, governmental and civil society organizations that service displaced women have begun rising to the challenge of including women and gender perspectives at every stage of policy and implementation.

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WASHINGTON, D.C., June 2006 — In every region of the world, internally displaced persons (IDPs) -- those uprooted from their homes by conflict, human rights violations, natural disasters and other comparable causes who remain within the borders of their own countries -- are subject to human rights violations, both during and after displacement. Frequently, they are discriminated against for being displaced and exposed to discrimination on racial, ethnic and gender grounds.

Download Guide English Translations forthcoming.

But where can IDPs turn for justice when their own governments fail to provide for their security and well-being? This newly released Guide to International Human Rights Mechanisms for Internally Displaced Persons and their Advocates is designed to assist IDPs in using international and regional human rights mechanisms to bring attention to their plight and where possible to secure redress.

Written by David Fisher, a lawyer specializing in human rights and humanitarian law, and a former legal advisor to the Brookings-Bern Project and the Representative of the Secretary-General on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons, this 240-page Guide provides a step-by-step reference to the mechanisms available to advance IDPs rights. It explains how to petition and bring information to:

• The UN Human Rights Council, in particular 24 rapporteurs, representatives and working groups;
• The Commission on the Status of Women;
• Human rights treaty bodies (including the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Human Rights Committee);
• Additional international bodies (eg. International Labour Organization, UNESCO, International Criminal Court and more);
• Regional organizations - the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the Council of Europe, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe; and
• The World Bank and regional development banks (which deal with displacement caused by development projects).

In the Foreword to the Guide, the Representative of the UN Secretary-General on the Human Rights of IDPs, Dr. Walter Kalin, observes: "I have seen situations and lives changed for the better by judicious use of these processes. Thus I warmly welcome this Guide?Even for experts, the variations in procedures and processes utilised can prove daunting, making all the more valuable the Guide's clear illustrations of the key stepping stones of each."

The Guide offers a basic course to IDPs and their advocates in international human rights law and mechanisms; sets forth the rights that IDPs enjoy; advises how IDPs and their advocates can use international and regional mechanisms; and identifies the mechanisms best suited to address the different kinds of human rights violations in all phases of displacement.

It is a must for IDPs and their advocates. Easily accessible, electronic copies of the Guide can be downloaded online.