Today I got my hands on a book that I had wanted to get for a very long time, but it was too expensive ($155!). The book talks about Internal Displacement (see citation at the bottom). While I was reading the first chapters, I realized that although I have talked extensively about the difference between internally displaced persons and refugees in the papers I have written on the subject, I had not addressed it here yet.
Most people confuse displaced persons with refugees, and erroneously believe that they are one and the same. This could not be farther from the truth, and this issue is very important in the way the international community handles displacement issues. Refugees are persons who have crossed a state border, and are thus protected by international laws. As you all know, the UN has long taken care of refugees and has created bodies to deal with the subject, most notably UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees). The internally displaced on the other hand, are persons who have been displaced but who have NOT crossed an international border. This is a very important difference as persons who are internally displaced are the sole responsibility of the state. There are no international laws that protect them, even though they outnumber refugees. The UN has created the "Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement," but that's just what they are, guiding principles. If you want to explore them further visit http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu2/7/b/principles.htm
The authors of the book put it much more eloquently; "Whereas international law entitles refugees to physical security and human rights protection in addition to assistance to offset their other vulnerabilities, no such legal guarantees exist for those who participate in an 'exodus within borders.' Thus, agencies seeking to help persons who have not crossed a border require permission from the very political authorities who may be responsible for the displacement." The bottom line is that there are no international agencies specifically mandated to override state sovereignty and reach in to assist and protect internally displaced persons.
The book also addresses the issue of sovereignty and argues for sovereignty as responsibility. This means that gvmts are responsible for protecting the human rights of their citizens and that when the state is unable or unwilling to ensure these rights the International Community should assume that responsibility.
Another issue that had already crossed my mind, but that I had never encountered in my archival research is the acronym itself. As some of you already know, the title of my project is "IDP: More Than Just an Acronym." This book discusses this issue, explaining that neither the term nor the acronym have been well received by journalists, humanitarians and others:
" 'Refugees' immediately evokes the image of people fleeing persecution. 'Internally displaced persons' is too many words, too clinical, too antiseptic. It does not automatically conjure up any identifiable image of distress. It does not convey the fact that in many instances these people are the most destitute of the destitute, those most exposed to hunger and disease and abuse by governments and rebel movements, the populations with the highest death rates recorded among all those whom humanitarians seek to assist. Or that they are, in their overwhelming majority, women and children, the most vulnerable of the vulnerable."
Internal Displacement is a very serious issue on a global scale, not just here in Colombia. We need to continue to search for better ways to provide the assistance they need and to ensure the enforcement of their rights.
Citation:
Weiss, Thomas and David Korn.
2006 Internal Displacement: Conceptualization and its Consequences. New York: Routledge
Most people confuse displaced persons with refugees, and erroneously believe that they are one and the same. This could not be farther from the truth, and this issue is very important in the way the international community handles displacement issues. Refugees are persons who have crossed a state border, and are thus protected by international laws. As you all know, the UN has long taken care of refugees and has created bodies to deal with the subject, most notably UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees). The internally displaced on the other hand, are persons who have been displaced but who have NOT crossed an international border. This is a very important difference as persons who are internally displaced are the sole responsibility of the state. There are no international laws that protect them, even though they outnumber refugees. The UN has created the "Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement," but that's just what they are, guiding principles. If you want to explore them further visit http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu2/7/b/principles.htm
The authors of the book put it much more eloquently; "Whereas international law entitles refugees to physical security and human rights protection in addition to assistance to offset their other vulnerabilities, no such legal guarantees exist for those who participate in an 'exodus within borders.' Thus, agencies seeking to help persons who have not crossed a border require permission from the very political authorities who may be responsible for the displacement." The bottom line is that there are no international agencies specifically mandated to override state sovereignty and reach in to assist and protect internally displaced persons.
The book also addresses the issue of sovereignty and argues for sovereignty as responsibility. This means that gvmts are responsible for protecting the human rights of their citizens and that when the state is unable or unwilling to ensure these rights the International Community should assume that responsibility.
Another issue that had already crossed my mind, but that I had never encountered in my archival research is the acronym itself. As some of you already know, the title of my project is "IDP: More Than Just an Acronym." This book discusses this issue, explaining that neither the term nor the acronym have been well received by journalists, humanitarians and others:
" 'Refugees' immediately evokes the image of people fleeing persecution. 'Internally displaced persons' is too many words, too clinical, too antiseptic. It does not automatically conjure up any identifiable image of distress. It does not convey the fact that in many instances these people are the most destitute of the destitute, those most exposed to hunger and disease and abuse by governments and rebel movements, the populations with the highest death rates recorded among all those whom humanitarians seek to assist. Or that they are, in their overwhelming majority, women and children, the most vulnerable of the vulnerable."
Internal Displacement is a very serious issue on a global scale, not just here in Colombia. We need to continue to search for better ways to provide the assistance they need and to ensure the enforcement of their rights.
Citation:
Weiss, Thomas and David Korn.
2006 Internal Displacement: Conceptualization and its Consequences. New York: Routledge
You're such an anthropologist.... I love it! Glad to hear your preparations are going well. I'll be in India in one week! I can't believe the time is already here! Hope the researching is going well and you are enjoying your families company!
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