A/HRC/42/CRP.5 590. Decades of protracted armed conflict in Kachin and Shan States, resulting in prolonged displacement, new displacement and repeated displacement, renewed outbreaks of violence and increasingly restricted humanitarian access, have compounded marginalization and vulnerabilities across ethnic communities, especially for women and girls.1422 Women in many instances have become heads of households, caring for children and farming land to survive.1423 591. Women bear the brunt of the conflict and the resulting humanitarian crisis. 1424 They care for the land and children left behind1425and have become the protectors of their ethnic and religious communities. They have also been exposed to insecurity and attacks, and targeted for sexual and gender-based violence by all parties to the conflict.1426 592. The consequences of the conflict for women and girls are particularly severe, especially for those displaced and for those who lost a spouse or father in the violence. 1427 Many face dire economic situations, having lost the main breadwinners in their families, and are once again vulnerable to violations, including sexual and gender-based violence.1428 1. Return of IDPs 593. The Mission received reports that, despite the unilateral ceasefire and the Government’s commitment to close IDP camps, including through the draft National Strategy on Camp Closure, few camps have closed and few IDPs have returned to their land.1429 Information received by the Mission indicates that fear of a resumption of hostilities, landmine contamination and the lack of infrastructure and services are among the key impediments to safe and voluntary return. In Shan State, fighting between the Tatmadaw and EAOs intensified in the second half of August 2019, resulting in renewed displacement of civilians, dimming further prospects of return for those who have been displaced long-term. 594. An interviewee expressed concern about IDPs returning to areas that, although under government control, are close to territory controlled by EAOs, and where civilians may be directly exposed to the effects of hostilities.1430 595. In 2019, a survey of IDPs in Kachin State conducted by humanitarian actors found that most IDPs had a strong preference to return to their places of origin, with 65 per cent of respondents expressing their intent to return home.1431 However, 94 per cent of respondents stated that they were currently unable to return to their places of origin. They identified lack of predictable and sustainable physical security and a lack of freedom of movement as the key barriers.1432 According to the survey, the strong desire to return, coupled with the lack of ability to do so, indicates that large-scale solutions will remain out of reach for the vast majority of IDPs in the absence of a substantial reduction in fighting and progress towards durable peace.1433 596. According to the same survey, the scale of local integration1434 or resettlement solutions,1435 for which IDPs expressed significantly lower levels of interest, is likely to 1422 1423 1424 1425 1426 1427 1428 1429 1430 1431 1432 1433 1434 1435 Gender Profile for Humanitarian Action, and across the Humanitarian-Peace-Development Nexus (Rakhine, Kachin and Northern Shan Myanmar) January 2019. A/HRC/42/CRP.4. paras. 62, 199-200. A/HRC/42/CRP.4. PM-011. A/HRC/42/CRP.4. A/HRC/42/CRP.4, paras. 227-228. A/HRC/42/CRP.4, paras. 227-228. PM-009, V-412, https://www.unicef.org/myanmar/media/2476/file/UNICEF.pdf GM-019. FFFGEN-1-88351. FFFGEN-1-88351. FFFGEN-1-88351. Settlement of IDPs in the area where they have taken refuge. Settlement of IDPs elsewhere in the country other than their place of origin and the area where they have taken refuge. 159