Forgotten and without a home

"In addressing the current economic crisis" ongoing in Europe "and its many victims, we cannot forget victims of older crises and on-going conflicts, the IDPs". Conversely, the “lost generation" appearing in Europe as a result of the economic crisis, "could be coupled by the loss of yet one more generation, and maybe more than one". Thus warned Nils Muižnieks, Human Rights Commissioner at the Council of Europe, in his latest Human Rights Comment published September 4.Numbers. "A different kind of ‘lost generation’ has been struggling to cope in many European countries as the result of past military-political crises", the Commissioner said. "I have in mind Europe’s internally displaced persons (IDPs), some of whom have been facing extremely difficult circumstances for decades". These victims of past or on-going conflicts "continue to need the help of the European and international community". There are an estimated 2.5-2.8 million IDPs in Council of Europe member states. The largest number of IDPs, around 1 million, live in Turkey and are the victims of armed conflict and violence by state and non-state forces in areas inhabited mainly by the Kurdish minority. Elsewhere in Europe, the vast majority of IDPs were displaced by conflicts when the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia disintegrated more than two decades ago, and more recently, as a result of the 2008 conflict in Georgia. Thus, Azerbaijan has about 600 000 IDPs, Georgia – 274 000, Serbia – 225 000, Bosnia and Herzegovina – 113 000, with the remainder in other Balkan states, Armenia and Russia.A sort of limbo. The people behind the numbers have been thrown out of their homes and remain "in a state of limbo", "unable to return, utterly powerless, surviving, but not really existing". About 390 000 or 15 percent of the total number of IDPs live in "collective centres" or makeshift shelters, "often without any security of tenure" and with no access to health services, education and employment. Many are traumatised and cannot return to their places of origin because the underlying conflict which led to their flight has not been resolved and remain vulnerable to violence and abuse.Signs of hope. Muižnieks recalled that an international donors’ conference took place in Sarajevo in April 2012 to muster financial support for the housing needs of 74 000 of the most vulnerable IDPs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Montenegro. He remarked: "If the funds promised are allocated and well-spent, this could mark the end of a long, painful chapter for many IDPs". For the Commissioner, Georgia, too, has achieved "some progress" in addressing the situation of IDPs, "thanks to the elaboration of national policies and the allocation of significant resources".International instruments. Muižnieks points out that numerous international instruments assert in particular the right of IDPs to return to their homes. These include the Committee of Ministers’ Recommendation 2006 on internally displaced persons, the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, as well as a number of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights. More often, however, "their best hope is for integration into their new places of residence or resettlement elsewhere". The protection of IDPs is primarily the responsibility of national authorities. However, IDPs "often find themselves in situations where national authorities do not or cannot enforce protection measures", or "due to a lack of authority in conflict areas which are not under government control", "a lack of will", a lack "of an institutional framework, or a lack of means". He warns that "the problems of IDPs should not be politically instrumentalised" and the "protection of their rights should prevail".What needs to be done. For Muižnieks the situation requires a "timely" and "effective" response. To this regard it refers to the resolution adopted by the UN Human Rights Council on July 5th. "There is an urgent need to fill the gaps in the protection of IDPs", the Commissioner said. "States should take measures to prevent internal displacement" and "they should respect their obligation to ensure access to humanitarian aid". It is "imperative" to develop "durable and sustainable solutions to displacement" and adopt "measures for the return and re-integration of IDPs in their original communities". The Commissioner calls for "particular attention" that should be paid to "the most vulnerable such as the disabled, the elderly, children and women". For the Commissioner, states should ensure, "in collaboration with international actors", where needed, "that IDPs are consulted and participate as partners in the planning and implementation of return or of any other remedial actions".