A/HRC/29/34
may initially welcome and assist IDPs, when their stay is protracted, the strain on resources
may lead to an eventual breaking point, and may require IDPs to look for alternative
assistance or living arrangements, often resulting in secondary displacement. For economic,
security and anonymity reasons, IDPs often move to the outskirts of cities, where they mix
with the urban poor.31 While such areas may provide better livelihood opportunities, they
are often most violent or hazardous areas and IDPs are at greater risk of being displaced a
second time or of facing additional human rights abuses.
73.
Despite the challenges, the Special Rapporteur is of the view that a more
effective and systematized management of IDPs outside camps, and more specifically of
IDPs in urban areas, can improve the overall response to internal displacement, anchor it
within a human rights-based approach and contribute to durable solutions. He also
emphasizes the need to address the specific needs of displaced populations in urban
planning and policies and to consult them in their design and implementation.
Goal 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
74.
Changes in the environment and climate have an important impact on human
mobility and are predicted to significantly increase displacement and alter its patterns.32 In
2013 alone, some 22.4 million people were newly displaced by disasters triggered by
natural events. In 2010, the Cancun Agreements expressly acknowledged “climate-induced
displacement”, which the Special Rapporteur addressed in his report to the General
Assembly in 2011.33 Preparedness, environmental risk assessment, mitigation and disaster
risk reduction are development imperatives in the context of the challenges posed by
climate change-induced displacement. The consequences of climate change, such as
environmental degradation and loss of livelihood, are a driver of increased rural-to-urban
migration, often to urban slums and informal settlements offering precarious living
conditions. Climate change-induced displacement must be addressed in humanitarian and
development terms, to alleviate immediate suffering, but also to ensure lasting,
development-based solutions for affected persons that avoid the precariousness,
marginalization and instability associated with protracted displacement.
Goal 16: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development
75.
Armed conflict, generalized violence and human rights abuses are major causes
of internal displacement. Indeed, internal displacement can be seen as an indicator of
whether societies are peaceful and inclusive. In line with the Guiding Principles on Internal
Displacement and the IASC Framework on Durable Solutions for Internally Displaced
Persons, securing effective remedies for the violations of international human rights and
humanitarian law which cause displacement, or which occur during displacement, can have
a major impact on prospects for durable solutions for IDPs. IDPs who have been victims of
violations must have full and non-discriminatory access to effective remedies and justice,
including, where appropriate, access to transitional justice mechanisms and reparations.
Failure to secure effective remedies may cause further displacement, impede reconciliation
processes, create a prolonged sense of injustice or prejudice among IDPs and undermine the
achievement of durable solutions. Securing justice for IDPs is an essential component of
long-term peace and stability.34
31
32
33
34
18
See A/69/295.
See A/66/285 and A/HRC/19/54/Add.1.
A/66/285.
IASC Framework on Durable Solutions for Internally Displaced Persons (see note 16), p. 43.
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