A/HRC/44/41
I. Introduction
1.
The report of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced
persons, Cecilia Jimenez-Damary, is submitted in accordance with Human Rights Council
resolution 41/15. In the report, the Special Rapporteur provides an overview of the activities
she has undertaken since her previous report (A/HRC/41/40). In addition, and in the light of
the momentum gained for the rights of persons with disabilities since the World
Humanitarian Summit in 2016, the Special Rapporteur has dedicated the present report to the
specific experience of persons with disabilities in contexts of displacement, examining the
ongoing challenges and the necessary actions to be taken by States, the United Nations and
other humanitarian, human rights and development actors to remove the obstacles to the equal
enjoyment of their rights.
II. Activities of the Special Rapporteur
2.
The Special Rapporteur pursued the tasks mandated by the Human Rights Council
through various activities in accordance with her priorities. The multi-stakeholder GP20 plan
of action, launched by the Special Rapporteur in 2018 to mark the twentieth anniversary of
the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement is focused on the themes of participation by
internally displaced persons, law and policy, data and analysis, and solutions to
displacement. 1 Activities related to the plan continued to be undertaken by States, civil
society, human rights institutions and United Nations agencies and country teams, some with
the direct participation of the Special Rapporteur. The activities included quarterly GP20
Steering Group meetings in Geneva and two regional exchanges: one in March 2019 in Dakar
on law and policy2 and one in October 2019 in Addis Ababa on durable solutions. 3 In order
to highlight the gains of the plan of action by various stakeholders worldwide, an annex to
the Special Rapporteur’s annual report to the Human Rights Council for 2019 was also
presented (A/HRC/41/40/Add.1). To mark the twenty-second anniversary of the Guiding
Principles this year, the Special Rapporteur issued a joint press release with the Global
Protection Cluster and GP20, particularly highlighting the relevance of this framework in the
current coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.4
3.
Promoting and mainstreaming the Guiding Principles was the goal of most of the
Special Rapporteur’s activities in 2019. They included presentations (in person or remotely)
to various conferences, such as the International Metropolis Conference in June in Ottawa;
the Indigenous Peoples’ Fellowship Programme of the Office of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in June in Geneva; the Wilton Park Conference
on internal displacement in September in London; the Mindanao Peace Conference in
November in Butuan City, Philippines; and the Latin America human rights defenders
conference in December in Mexico.
4.
In collaboration with the International Institute for Humanitarian Law and the Office
of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the Special Rapporteur co-organized
and facilitated three courses in Sanremo, Italy, on law and policy on internal displacement,
two in English in June and November and one in French for the first time in November. The
courses were attended mainly by national and local authorities from over 30 countries
affected by internal displacement. The mandate also contributed to the development of draft
laws for the protection of internally displaced persons in El Salvador, Ethiopia, Honduras
and Mexico, including as a member of the Global Protection Cluster Task Team on Law and
1
2
3
4
See GP20, “A plan of action for advancing prevention, protection and solutions for internally
displaced people 2018–2020” (May 2019).
See GP20 “Comparative experience on preventing, addressing and resolving internal displacement.
West Africa regional exchange on law and policy to prevent and address internal displacement”
(2019).
See GP20, “Comparative experience on preventing, addressing and resolving internal displacement.
Experiences in supporting resilience and durable solutions to internal displacement in the IGAD
region” (2019).
Available from www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/GPID.aspx.
3
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents