A/HRC/43/43/Add.1 F. Conflict-related displacement 51. The Special Rapporteur is alarmed by the critical housing situation of those affected by the internal armed conflict, including internally displaced persons. According to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, since the conflict started in 2009, 1.8 million persons have left their homes and remain displaced, while 3.5 million persons need shelter, including 412,000 persons who need emergency shelter. In September 2019, of the 60.5 million US$ required to cover housing- and shelter-related needs for internally displaced persons, only 5.2 million US$ had been received (8.6 per cent of the total) from donors.45 52. The Special Rapporteur met with internally displaced persons living in an informal settlement in the Federal Capital Territory and witnessed their appalling living conditions. The Special Rapporteur was told that, four years after their arrival in the capital, the only assistance they had received from the Government was the initial permission to stay on the land they were occupying, which had been granted only informally and without guaranteeing security of tenure. Some of the houses had been marked with red Xs indicating their upcoming demolition. Lack of security of tenure and the threat of forced evictions affect the majority of internally displaced persons in the country. Instead of providing durable housing solutions, the Government is prioritizing securing their return to their communities of origin, where conditions may not be suitable. 53. The Special Rapporteur is concerned about the vulnerability experienced by internally displaced persons because they lack security of tenure: should they be forcibly evicted, after having fled conflict and persecution, the additional trauma would be unimaginable. As many as 80 per cent of displaced persons are women and children. 46 54. The visit to the community of internally displaced persons included the school that displaced children attended: a tiny, overcrowded school with over 100 children occupying a single space, run with few resources by an NGO. Being an unofficial school, the children attending it will not receive official certificates for the education received. The Special Rapporteur noted that these appalling conditions, which undermine the right to education of the displaced children, are not found in a remote area of the country with difficult access, but in the outskirts of Abuja, a 30-minute drive away from the city centre and the Federal Ministry of Education. Currently, only 20 per cent of the children affected by the humanitarian situation attend school.47 55. The inadequate provision of shelter and housing to internally displaced persons has had particularly negative impacts on women and girls: sexual and gender-based violence is prevalent in camps for internally displaced persons and instances of sexual exploitation in exchange for aid by security forces, influential community members and humanitarian workers have been reported.48 56. The Special Rapporteur notes with appreciation that the 2012 National Policy on Internally Displaced Persons in Nigeria refers to the right to housing and other economic, social and cultural rights, including the rights to an adequate standard of living, food and water, basic shelter and housing, appropriate clothing and essential medical services and sanitation49 for internally displaced persons, and that it specifically mentions that women should be full participants in the distribution of supplies. 50 However, she regrets that those rights, which are also included in the African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa, ratified by Nigeria in 2012, are currently not enforceable in domestic courts. The Special Rapporteur encourages the 45 46 47 48 49 50 12 Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, North-East Nigeria: Humanitarian Situation Update – Progress on key activities from the 2019–2021 Humanitarian Response Strategy (September 2019), p. 12. Ibid., p. 18. Ibid., p. 15. Submission by the Center for Reproductive Rights. www.refworld.org/pdfid/5a7ae2324.pdf. Ibid.