Spotlight: Bosnia
Reuters/Damir Sagolj - A Bosnian man walks through a refugee camp built between a coal mine and its waste heap near Banovici.
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."
Read More
Spotlight: Property Rights
Reuters/Mike Hutchings - A Malawian woman, displaced by violence in Johannesburg, waits for assistance at a makeshift camp in the city.
Monday, June 09, 2008
3:00 PM to 05:00 PM
Washington, DC
One of the most difficult challenges to achieving durable solutions for persons displaced by conflict arises where the homes and lands they left behind have been destroyed or occupied by others. The Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement hosted a round-table discussion on the opportunities and challenges posed by property issues in post-conflict displacement settings.
Read More
Migration, Middle East, Human Rights, Iraq, Africa
Spotlight: South Africa
Reuters/Antony Kaminju - Displaced foreigners chat outside their tents at a camp in Johannesburg.
Khalid Koser, June 17, 2008
An estimated 80,000 migrants have been displaced by the recent wave of anti-immigrant violence in South Africa. While some have returned to their home countries, many still remain in temporary camps. The South African government aims to reintegrate them in the communities from which they fled. Throughout their displacement (and return), the government will need to take steps to protect the rights of these migrants who have been displaced.
Read More
Migration, Africa, Human Rights, Internal Displacement
New Publication
Reuters/Stan Honda - A family displaced by Cyclone Nargis sit in their tent as they await the arrival of United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.
Walter Kälin, Spring 2008
Since being adopted 10 years ago in 1998, the acceptance and use of the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement has grown. As a way to mark the 10th Anniversary of their adoption, Walter Kälin, the Representative of the UN Secretary-General on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons, drafted a second edition of the Annotations. In this edition, new legal instruments that refer to the Guiding Principles are included to make the legal background for the Guiding Principles more accessible to policy makers at all levels.
Read More
Global Governance, Human Rights, Migration, Internal Displacement
Spotlight: Natural Disasters
Reuters/Ho New - Displaced people walk to a Red Cross first aid station in Laputta, Myanmar
Elizabeth Ferris, May 15, 2008
Images from the cyclone in Myanmar and the earthquake in China have dominated the news for the past week. But, as Beth Ferris observes, these victims of natural disasters are just a small portion of the over 200 million people each year who are affected by natural disasters. Although most of these disasters never make it onto the nightly news in America, their effects are felt by victims long after the TV cameras have moved on.
Read More
Natural Disasters, Human Rights, Myanmar, Internal Displacement, Asia