Search
Close this search box.

UN Secretary-General’s Special Adviser suggests solutions to internal displacement

The UN Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Solutions to Internal Displacement Mr. Robert Piper said, “Solutions are achieved in practice through three different ways: either internally displaced persons (IDPs) return permanently to their places of origin, or they integrate locally where they are, or they settle in another part of the country.” Piper thinks that supporting people to overcome the obstacles they are facing to settle where they are, is one important option in the IDP solutions menu.

These solutions were suggested by the UN Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Solutions to Internal Displacement in an interview conducted by Qatar Charity’s Ghiras magazine for its 28th issue, which has a special feature on solutions to internal displacement.

Responding to a question related to either locally integrating IDPs or settling them elsewhere, the Special Adviser on Solutions to Internal Displacement said, “Yes, local integration and to a lesser extent settlement elsewhere in the country should be part of the solutions menu.”

In his interview with Ghiras, he adds, “Often, return is considered as a first option by Governments, maybe because this would be a way to turn back the clock to prior to the conflict or disaster. But in practice, many people find refuge in cities for example, and – particularly for the young generation who may never even have lived in their families’ areas of origin – going back to their original, maybe remote locations in the country becomes impossible to envisage. And with the impact of climate change, areas which have been hit again and again by disasters are being submerged by rising waters or on the contrary have become so hot that they cannot accommodate the return of people.”

Commenting on the progress made by UN agencies and international organizations in supporting solutions to internal displacement, Piper says, “UN organizations and partners have made tremendous progress, by developing projects in various areas such as livelihood, civil documentation, permanent housing and land restoration to accompany displaced people to find solutions.”

Expressing his view on cooperation between humanitarian and development organizations in providing durable solutions to internal displacement, he said that they have a strong role to play. “They can cooperate under the leadership of the UN Resident Coordinator to work on joint analysis of the environment as well as on the IDPs’ needs and capacities, and the specific issues facing different population groups such as women, girls, or ethnic minorities. They can work together to support the development of solutions strategies and related financing strategies. He also indicated that Governments and their development partners need to follow-through on this phase of the response.”

Source: Qatar Charity

Recent post's