Spotlight: Iraq
Reuters/Mohammed Ameen - A woman carries blankets to her house in Rasheed district southwest of Baghdad as part of a return effort for a group of Sunni families.
Elizabeth Ferris, August 2008
Most of those writing about future scenarios for Iraq rarely mention the fate of the five million displaced Iraqis, but when they do, they seem to assume that once security and political progress in Iraq are achieved, the refugees and interanlly displaced persons (IDPs) will return to their communities and life will go on. Unfortunately, even in the best of political scenarios, it is unlikely to be so straightforward.
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Iraq, Internal Displacement, Migration, Middle East, Human Rights
Spotlight: Iraq
Reuters/Thaier Al-Sudani - A policewoman stands guard near displaced families during a meeting with the governor of Diyala Province in Baquba.
Roberta Cohen, Fall 2008
Refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) are hardly a new phenomenon for Iraq. Under Saddam Hussein's regime, forced displacement was a deliberate state policy and a tool used to subdue recalcitrant populations and punish political opponents. The US invasion and the toppling of Saddam Hussein, far from resolving the problem however, made it worse. The ensuing sectarian violence and armed conflict increased the number of those forced to flee their homes. For these 4.7 million Iraqis, assistance has remained difficult to find. A combination of national and international steps must be taken.
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Iraq, Internal Displacement, Middle East, Migration, Human Rights
Spotlight: Iraq
Reuters/Ibrahim Sultan - A girl looks out from a mudhouse where she lives together with her family in southern Baghdad.
Elizabeth Ferris and Michael E. O'Hanlon, August 21, 2008
Iraq has improved dramatically across almost all fronts in the last year, but largely still unaddressed is the plight of those displaced by violence. Counting those displaced during the Saddam years, current estimates are that more than 2 million Iraqis are refugees abroad and almost 2.8 million are displaced internally. Those thinking that Iraq is nearly stable need to remember these 4.8 million people, whose return, if not properly planned carries huge risks for the continued stability in Iraq.
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Iraq, Internal Displacement, Middle East, Migration, Human Rights
Spotlight: Development
Reuters/Emmanuel Braun - An internally displaced boy covers his head with a lid during a rain at Kabo camp in the Central African Republic.
Elizabeth Ferris, August 19, 2008
When people are forced to leave their places of residence due to violence or human rights abuses, there is obviously a high human cost. But, internal displacement also has significant economic costs, both short and long-term. Such costs, including the loss of homes and property, the loss of livelihoods, the loss of educational opportunities, and the increased burden on host communities can have serious consequences for the stability and development of a country.
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Internal Displacement, Migration, Human Rights, Development, Developing Countries
Spotlight: Iraq
Reuters/Ali Shati - A policeman stands guard near trucks loaded with belongings of returning displaced residents in Doura District in Baghdad.
Elizabeth Ferris, August 2008
Lost in discussions of the military surge, the pace of troop drawdowns, and political benchmarks are millions of displaced Iraqis. Their plight is both a humanitarian tragedy and a strategic crisis that is not being addressed. Though U.S. administration officials may acknowledge the massive Iraqi displacement as an important issue, they lack a serious long-term plan to address the crisis.
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Iraq, Internal Displacement, Migration, Middle East, U.S. Politics
Although most of those displaced by the war in Bosnia have been able to rebuild their lives, a large number still live in displacement and returnee sites in miserable conditions, with insufficient assistance, and with hardly any hope for the future. On his recent mission to Bosnia, RSG Kälin welcomed the government's plan to revise its strategy for resolving forced displacement issues and saw it as an "opportunity to make sure that no one...will be left alone, and that those who have returned will be able to stay, rebuild their homes and reintegrate into society."
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Research and Commentary
Roberta Cohen, August 08, 2008
Climate change is expected to sharply increase the number and severity of natural disasters, displacing millions on all continents. To meet this coming challenge, Roberta Cohen says that the recognition of "disaster" IDPs is needed along with new institutional arrangements to protect their human rights.
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Research and Commentary
Roberta Cohen, July 21, 2008
In 2005, the international community adopted a new concept, the responsibility to protect (R2P) but its meaning and application are still unclear. The UN ruled out applying it to Burma, but Roberta Cohen argues that the denial of access to cyclone survivors could well have been an R2P case. Much work needs to be done to clarify the concept and mobilize international support around its implementation.
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Research and Commentary
Walter Kälin, July 16, 2008
Climate change is happening and one of its visible impacts is the increasing numbers of persons displaced by natural disasters. In the course of the past year, more than 400 natural disasters affected over 234 million persons, cost over 16,000 lives, and also displaced millions of people. The existing system is only partially equipeed to deal adequately with this challenge and it is necessary to develop appropriate humanitarian responses both at the normative and operational levels.
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