A/HRC/41/40 solutions have been achieved, NHRIs have an equal responsibility to continue their engagement and to pressure Government where necessary to fulfil its human rights obligations. 82. Internally displaced persons are sometimes encouraged or pushed to return to insecure or unreconstructed locations following conflict or disaster. National human rights institutions should emphasize the right to freedom of movement of IDPs and that return must be informed, voluntary and safe, as well as verifying governmental assessments that return is safe and without risk of human rights concerns. Some NHRIs noted the need to develop capacity to support the reintegration of IDPs into society, whichever durable solution they choose (return, local integration or settlement in another location), recognizing that new human rights concerns can emerge, for example relating to possible tensions with existing communities in areas of integration and economic, social and cultural rights. 83. Finding solutions to complex rights issues such as housing, land and property rights is key to unlocking protracted displacement. National human rights institutions play a role in advocating for return, restitution or adequate compensation for loss where possible, which may require capacity-building and specialist expertise to enable them to adequately represent IDPs. Institutions have drawn the attention of Government to violations of housing, land and property rights. The Philippine national institution, for example, through its advisories, worked with local government to ensure that return and relocation were in accordance with the rights of those displaced. National human rights institutions may need to advocate for the development of additional national legal frameworks and can draw on international human rights standards in this regard, including the principles on housing and property restitution for refugees and displaced persons developed by Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro.23 84. National human rights institutions are promoting rights-based approaches to development in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which offers NHRIs a valuable global framework within which to pursue national-level objectives on behalf of IDPs, particularly through the integration of internal displacement issues in national and local development plans. A key objective of the Goals is to “seek to realize the human rights of all”,24 and NHRIs should be at the core of the “web of accountability” for their realization. Given the significant convergence between the Sustainable Development Goals and human rights standards and their mutually reinforcing connection, some NHRIs are building strategies to translate the Goals into reality, including for IDPs and in the context of processes leading towards durable solutions. IV. Conclusions 85. The Special Rapporteur recognizes the breadth of activities undertaken by NHRIs relating to IDPs. Their access to different actors, ability to mediate between Government, communities and NGOs, and their mandate and ability to intervene where violations of human rights occur, as well as their unique understanding of local situations, make NHRIs essential in preventing conditions leading to internal displacement and protecting and supporting IDPs. She acknowledges limitations, including of resources, funding and capacity, and lack of access and political will as constraints on the work on internal displacement undertaken by NHRIs. While expectations must be managed, NHRIs have demonstrated that much can be achieved, and they are finding new and strategic ways to work effectively on internal displacement, including in collaboration with national and international partners, in all phases of displacement. 86. Essential work to increase and strengthen NHRIs and their global and regional networks must continue, with IDPs systematically included in their mandates and priorities. 23 24 18 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and others, Housing and Property Restitution for Refugee and Displaced Persons: Implementing the “Pinheiro Principles” (2007). General Assembly resolution 70/1.

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