Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines

Introduction to the

By: SI1 J.M. Fabiaa

Commission on Human Rights, Regional Office XI, Davao City

It is so far the most comprehensive legal protection for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)
It is intended to serve as an international standard to guide governments as well as humanitarian and development agencies in providing protection and assistance to IDPs. It provides four (4) sets of principles relating to :

Protection From Displacement Protection During Displacement Humanitarian Assistance Return, Resettlement and Reintegration

Understanding

The phenomenon of Internal Displacement refers to the involuntary or coerced movement or relocation of persons, families, or communities from their areas of habitual abode and source of subsistence within national border. The internally displaced persons in the Philippines are usually driven to exodus or mass departure to escape harm and persecution arising from: Human Made-Disasters

Natural Disasters

Human Made-Disasters
Armed conflict Situations of generalized violence Violations of human rights Demolition Environmental destruction, and Aggressive implementation of development

Natural Disasters
Storms Floods Volcanic eruptions

Persons or group of persons who have been forced or obliged to flee or to leave their homes or places of habitual residence, in particular as a result of or in order to avoid the effects of: armed conflict, situations of generalized violence, violations of human rights, natural or human-made disasters. (Par. 2,
Introduction Scope and Purpose, United Nations Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement)

In some cases internal displacement may be caused by coercive economic factors.

Persons who are forced to move as a response to systematic violations of their human rights, including economic, social, and cultural rights, fit the description of an internally displaced person.

IDP vs. Refugee

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR):
IDPs are those who are forced to flee their homes but remain within the territory of their own country. They are unable to cross national borders and reach another international recognized state or country where they could receive protection and assistance which they desperately need.

According to the United Nations:

Refugees refer to persons who, owing to external aggression, occupation, foreign domination, or events seriously disturbing public order in either part or the whole of his country of origin or nationality, is compelled to leave his place of habitual residence in order to seek refuge in another place outside his country of origin or nationality.

IDP vs. Refugee a simplified illustration

IDPs
B o r d e r Being internally displaced does not confer to the IDPs legal status as provided for by international refugee law.

Refugees
Refugees are protected by the International Refugee Law of 1958.

State A

State B

Families from rural areas, usually from the interior and hinterland communities. In urban centers, those who are categorized as urban poor are the hardest hit by forced eviction.

Mindanao
(where, by far, majority of IDPs are found)

Moro ethno-linguistic groups: Maguindanaoan, Maranao, Iranun, and Tausug Indigenous peoples: Blaan, TBoli, Higaononon, Manobo, Subanen, and Teduray.

Mindoro: Mangyan communities have been affected by military operations against the New Peoples Army (NPA) This also holds true in some villages in Eastern Visayas and some parts of Luzon. Cordillera Region: have been haunted by episodes of displacements not only due to militarization, but also because of tribal wars and enroachment of so-called development projects.

 From rural to urban areas

From conflict-ridden and devastated places to areas where they feel relatively sheltered from violence and harm.
Others who are uprooted from their ancestral domains and farms find temporary shelters in church, plaza, schools, government buildings, and evacuation centers. Some goes deeper into the forest where they feel safer, and where food may be found. Others move in with their relatives elsewhere, or migrate to the cities and live in informal settlements.

The three (3) types of displacements: Temporary Displacement

Repeated Displacement

Long Term Displacement

 Temporary Displacement
Is a situation where the victims are compelled to transfer from their usual place of abode or community for a relatively brief period of time.
Example: A community forced to seek temporary shelter in an evacuation site until a heavy storm or swelling of the river subsided.

 Repeated Displacement
Takes place when families or communities are driven to move elsewhere a number of times.
This usually happens in places where skirmishes between government troopers and members of armed opposition groups erupt from time to time, disrupting repeatedly the lives and usual activities of the affected population.

 Long-term Displacement
A situation where affected persons or families are forced to stay in temporary settlements for an indefinite period of time.
They are unable to return to their original place of residence for fear over their lives and safety, devastation of their properties and source of subsistence, or the lack of economic and political mans to go back and rebuild their community.

According to the Ecumenical Commission for the Displaced Families and Communities (ECDFC) Displacement is considered to have ceased when the victims have returned or successfully resettled elsewhere, living a lifestyle similar or better as before displacement, and when cultural and psychosocial rehabilitation are attained.

Intense Anxiety, Fear, Shock and Disorientation

The psychological effects of displacement are appalling. Signs of traumatic distress such as intense anxiety, fear, shock and disorientation are most notable among IDPs who underwent lifethreatening situations, including those who are widowed or orphaned by war or any similar tragic situations.

Social Trauma
Involuntary movements of evacuees disrupt their usual lives. Even when their displacement is over, the crack in the community social relationships may continue leading to the phenomenon of social trauma.

Effects on Children
to their education Unable to resume peaceful lives, the education of children are greatly affected. to their growth Kids grow up in a climate of aggression, animosity, and deprivation are likely to imbibe a culture of hostility and aggression as a way of resolving conflicts. to their health Impoverished as they already are, malnutrition and various kind of sickness stalk the IDPs, especially those who stay in evacuation sites with hardly any assistance from authorities.

Protection From Displacement

All authorities shall respect and ensure for their obligations under international law, including human rights and humanitarian law, in all circumstances, so as to prevent and avoid conditions that might lead to displacement of persons.
In a nutshell: Prohibition of arbitrary displacement unless necessary; Use other alternatives, and if the are none measures shall be taken to minimize displacement; If displacement is necessary proper accommodation should be provided; Displacement shall not be carried out in a manner that violates the rights to life, dignity, liberty and security of those affected;

Protection During Displacement

Every human being has the inherent right to life which shall be protected by law. One shall be arbitrarily deprived of his or her life. Internally displaced persons shall be protected against genocide, murder, summary or arbitrary execution, enforced disappearances, including abduction or unacknowledged detention, threatening or resulting to death
In a nutshell: basically, internally displaced persons are still protected under existing domestic laws. This is because, unlike refugees, IDPs are still within the jurisdiction of their nation. the rights of the IDPs should also be protected specially those with special concerns. They should not be subjected to human rights violations such as hamleting.

Relating to Humanitarian Assistance

All humanitarian assistance shall be carried out in accordance with the principles of humanity and impartiality and without discrimination.
In a nutshell: prohibition against hamleting humanitarian organizations should not be deprived of access to offer their services to the IDPs the transport of supplies should be protected

Relating to Return, Resettlement and Reintegration

Competent authorities have the primary duty and responsibility to establish conditions, as well as provide the means, which allow internally displaced persons to return voluntarily, in safety and with dignity, to their homes or places of habitual residence, or to resettle voluntarily in another part of returned or resettled internally displaced persons.
In a nutshell: prohibition against discrimination as a result of their having been displaced; duty of competent authorities to assist in the return of IDPs including, to some extent possible, recover their property and possession which they left behind.