Forum (Spotlight Weekly)

Concerns On The Rights Of Internally Displaced Persons Due To Maoist Conflict

By Bipin Adhikari

An estimated 20-25 million persons worldwide are said to be internally displaced as a result of armed conflict and ensuing violations of human rights. The issue of internally displaced persons (IDPs) due to the internal conflict is a complex, wide-ranging and pervasive set of phenomena. Displacement affects the lives of people, their family and community life, and many rights basic to their existence" in many significant ways. Displaced persons suffer loss of privacy, limitations on their capacity or ability to work, and restrictions on their access to basic health and education services. The most widely used definition of internally displaced persons (IDPs) is one presented in a 1992 report of the secretary-general of the UN, which identifies them as ëpersons who have been forced to flee their homes suddenly or unexpectedly in large numbers, as a result of armed conflict, internal strife, systematic violations of human rights or natural or man-made disasters, and who are within the territory of their own country.' Sometimes referred to as ëinternal refugees', these people are in similar need of protection and assistance as refugees but do not have the same legal and institutional support as those who have managed to cross an international border as refugee. There is no specifically mandated body to provide assistance to IDPs, as there is with refugees. Although they are guaranteed certain basic rights under international humanitarian law (the Geneva Conventions), ensuring these rights are secured is often the responsibility of authorities which were responsible for their displacement in the first place, or ones that are unable or unwilling to do so.

The issue of displacement has become a priority on the agenda of human rights advocates in Nepal in the context of the Maoist conflict and the military responses thereon. There is no authentic figure about the number of the displaced persons in Nepal and the magnitude of their problems. The number however might go over one hundred thousand persons. These people are vulnerable to a wide range of human rights abuses, including violations of their economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights. Displacement has jeopardized their physical security and impacted negatively on their quality of life and potential for physical and emotional growth.

A training workshop on the forced internal displacement in Nepal was jointly organized by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of Nepal and the Norwegian Refugee Council in Kathmandu on March 5-6, 2003. The inaugural remarks delivered by Nayan Bahadur Khatri, Chairman, NHRC at the Training Workshop, has highlighted many of our basic issues involving these displaced people.

According to him, "the risk of violence and the collapse of services in insurgency-affected areas due to the conflict in Nepal have forced many people to flee to safer areas. Fear of being in the middle of attacks and counter attacks between the Maoist rebels and the security forces of the state, fear of abduction by either of the parties, looting, shortage of food supplies due to the conflict and unemployment have been the main reasons for the displacement. Many young people or young adults left their villages simply because they wanted to avoid being pressured to join the Maoist rebels on their fight against the state. Some others left because of the fear of being persecuted by the armed forces on the suspicion of being with the Maoists. The general trend has therefore been the displacement of people from village areas to district headquarters, industrial areas, and Kathmandu and other cities. Apart from a few who could receive some assistance from the government, most of the displaced people are unaccounted for. Many of the displaced are found to be squatting in temporary transit camps or living illegally on others land hoping for government assistance for resettlement. However, the state has no policy or planned initiatives to deal with this human suffering. Whatever ad hoc official activities are undertaken, they are slow and uncertain. The problem of ascertaining the number of internally displaced people, said to be anywhere between 35,000 and 100,000 is compounded by the difficulty in distinguishing internally displaced people from economic migrants along with newly liberated bonded laborers, and therefore it becomes a daunting task to assess their needs or provide effective assistance."

The Chairman also pointed out that the recent ceasefire of the ongoing conflict between the Maoist and security forces gives some satisfaction to human rights advocates. But, as he said, "there is an urgent need to immediately look into the magnitude of the problem, and implement measures to mitigate the sufferings of these displaced people. The problem of internal displacement of a large segment of the population has also brought about serious impact on the socio-economic rubric of the country. Major effects observed in Nepal are a skewed population distribution and growing unemployment, stagnation in rural development activities, declining food production, weakening social and family ties, security threats and economic breakdown as most of the youth which are a major part of the labor force have left their lands in search of jobs in the already densely populated city centers. These hard realities, apart from the human rights dimensions of the displaced people as I mentioned earlier, call for a serious intervention to balance the rights-deficit caused by these situations."

He further added: "The National Human Rights Commission in this context wants to emphasize that the problems resulting from internal displacement are first and foremost the responsibility of His Majesty's Government and it is the government and concerned authorities under it that should ensure the protection and assistance of internally displaced persons. Given the human rights vulnerabilities, and the responsibilities placed upon the state, national human rights institutions have a great responsibility to monitor the situation of IDPs and ensure that the rights of these people are protected and respected. In alleviating the plight of the IDPs, human rights organizations can also play a pivotal role by establishing their presence close to internally displaced populations, to monitor the situation of IDPs, in order to ensure that their rights are respected, and facilitate and encourage IDPs access to human rights complaint procedures and mechanisms for seeking redress and compensation. Similarly, human rights groups can report to the concerned authorities on the situation of IDPs in order to prevent possible human rights violations and make proposals to put an end to such violations, where they occur. Ultimately, measures focused towards the return, resettlement and reintegration of IDPs in the society whereby they can enjoy their basic rights should be the aim of all endeavors. In this regard, human rights organizations should actively cooperate and coordinate their efforts with government authorities, UN agencies, as well as national and international NGO's for acquiring resources for the assistance of these aggrieved people in the grassroots level and also push for the establishment of institutional mechanisms for the protection of their rights."

As yet "Nepal does not have a specific law to explicitly address the issue of internally displaced persons. Nepal is a party to 16 human rights convention including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), among others. However, the lack of a binding legal framework on internally displaced people has also been cited as a reason for the inadequate response on the part of the establishment. As such, the country needs to quickly enact a law based on the famous Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, which outlines the rights of IDPs and the obligations of the government and insurgent forces in all phases of displacement, and define the minimum standards of protection to which IDPs are entitled, including protection against displacement, post-conflict return and reintegration. The Guiding Principles restate and reflect international conventions in the fields of Human Rights Law, Humanitarian Law and Refugee Law. There is no reason why the Maoists should not join hands with the state in responding to the crisis to which they too have a role. In the changed context of ceasefire, it will not be too much if we expect the Maoists to cooperate in the interest of human rights of the common people."

The process of transformation of the underlying causes and dynamics of the conflict in Nepal and the building of sustainable peace may not be successful without the involvement of the victims of human rights abuses including the IDPs. Only a peace which addresses the causes of the conflict — direct, structural and cultural — and the impact and affects of the violence and armed conflict on Nepalese society, and which is participatory, inclusive and empowering will be lasting and sustainable.

(Adhikari is a lawyer)