1. Protection issues and Strategies
Role of National Human Rights Institutions in the protection of Refugees and IDPs
Protection issues and Strategies

2. Objectives
To provide an overview of the practical roles NHRIs can play in the protection of refugees and IDPs,
To share experiences of working to protect IDPs and,
To discuss possible strategies for working on refugee and IDPs issues.

3. Discuss Do you have a human rights mandate?
What legal basis would you have for protecting refugees and IDPs?

4. Why NHRIs should protect Refugees and IDPs
Strengths:
The human rights mandate of NHRIs: Refugee and IDP rights are human rights.
NHRIs credibility and experience working on human rights issues at national level.
Ability to access and work with different actors.
Ability to mediate between government and communities-advisory role
Ability to intervene where violations of human rights occur-complaints mandate.
Challenges:
The lack of a legislative framework on refugees and IDPs in some countries.
The task of balancing the demands of governments, the communities, refugees and IDPs.
governments tend to be more interested in ex- combatants than in the interests of IDPs
In conflict situations it may be difficult to reach or access where IDPs are.
Some governments’ weak interest in human rights.
Inadequate resources

5. What do you think are the protection issues for refugees and IDPs?
Discuss
What do you think are the protection issues for refugees and IDPs?

6. Protection issues for refugees and IDPs
Lost homes: May be in need of shelter. Often compelled to seek shelter in crowded camps or settlements resulting in various protection risks.
Lost of property-they often lose access to their land and other property as well as their normal livelihoods, sources of income. As a result they may suffer poverty, marginalization, exploitation and abuse.
Right to adequate standard of living: They may loose access to adequate food, safe water-risk of hunger, malnutrition and ill-health and clothing
Lost of social services: They are at risk of missing social services-education, health services

7. Protection issues for refugees and IDPs..
Family and community-structures often collapse and family members become separated. Unaccompanied and separated children, single-headed households (in particular when headed by women or children), older persons and persons living with disabilities are often at heightened risk of abuse, including sexual exploitation, child labor or forced recruitment into armed forces or groups.
Identity documents- often are lost, destroyed or confiscated in the course of displacement or flight into exile. As a result they face identity issues leading to difficulties in accessing public services, such as education and health care, limits on freedom of movement and heightened risk of harassment, exploitation or arbitrary arrest and detention.
Discrimination: IDPs or refugees may find themselves in areas where they face marginalization, discrimination and hostility, or are targeted for abuse and attack.
Insecurity: From combatants, host communities, among themselves.

8. What strategies can you apply to deal with the protection issues?
Discuss
What strategies can you apply to deal with the protection issues?

9. Possible intervention strategies
Recognizing IDPs and refugee issues as human rights issues falling within the mandate of NHRIs. Accordingly their issues should be incorporated into Strategic Plans and Annual Work Plans using available resources: complaints handling, monitoring and inspections, advocacy etc.
Placing refugee and IDP issues within appropriate department of the NHRI and designating focal point persons on these issues.
Design programmes to play a role in all phases of displacement and refugee matters. Develop and use mechanisms to provide early warning, and early action to prevent conflicts which could lead to displacement of people or people fleeing into exile.
Institution of advocacy programmes urging the government to assume its responsibilities to protect and assist refugees and IDPs, by providing basic services -such as health, security and social services -- in accord with regional and international standards. NHRIs can also advocate with the United Nations urging provision of adequate humanitarian assistance. During return and reintegration, NHRIs should ensure that the rights of IDPs are upheld.

10. Possible intervention strategies
Capacity building: Develop expertise and experience on the rights of refugees IDPs, and the relevant legal standards and the situation of refugees and IDPs in the country- by way of studies, research, to garner basic information about refugees and IDPs in the country.
Creating awareness: Institute public awareness-raising campaigns on human rights of refugees and IDPs working with the media to get the message across that refugees and IDPs have basic human rights.
Organize training workshops on international and regional legal standards on the rights and protection of refugees and IDPs for all stakeholders, including government officials, security forces, civil society, public opinion leaders, and persons involved in disaster response.

11. Possible intervention strategies
Domestication of regional and international standards: Advocate for the adoption of laws and policies concerning refugees and IDPs which incorporate international legal standards, particularly the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement for IDPs and IHL for refugees. In particular definitions of refugees and IDPs in policies and national law should conform to that in regional or international law or to both. Such policies or laws should recognize the roles to be played by the NHRI.
Develop and implement a monitoring tool to monitor government compliance with regional and international standards with respect to the rights of refugees and IDPs.
Build capacity in all aspects: resource mobilization, logistics, technical issues and human resources including strengthening partnerships with other actors to respond to the challenges of protecting and promoting the rights of refugees and IDPs.

12. Possible intervention strategies
Lobby for the ratification and domestication of the African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa, AU 2009, and the OAU Convention Concerning the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa, OAU 1969.
To support durable solutions in the resettlement or integration of IDPs to their habitual settlements or in other places in their countries in a safe and dignified manner-advise on right policies based on international and regional human rights instruments and IHL.

13. Intervention strategies specific to refugees
Prevention :
To develop and implement early warning and monitoring mechanisms especially in conflict prone zones,
To educate or to train refugees to be aware of their duties towards the host communities and their environment,
To educate host countries to be tolerant of refugees and recognize their rights,
To foster cordial relations between refugees and the host communities.

14. Intervention strategies specific to refugees
Protection
To carry out advocacy on behalf of refugees.
To urge the governments to ratify, domesticate and implement regional and international instruments regarding the rights of refugees.
To partner with the UNHCR and other organisations to guarantee international principles relating to refugees such as the principle of non-refoulement.
To ensure sustained livelihoods of refugees- food, health, education and other aspects.
To work with government to prevent military activities, insecurity and all kind of violence including sexual violence in refugee camps.
To strive to find durable solutions for refugees i.e. voluntary repatriation, local integration and resettlement in a third country.