Brookings: Experts - Walter Kälin

New Research on Climate Change Migration and Displacement: Should I Stay or Should I Go?

Wed, 26 Sep 2012 10:00:00 -0400

Event Information

September 26, 2012
10:00 AM - 11:30 AM EDT

Saul/Zilkha Rooms
Brookings Institution
1775 Massachusetts Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20036

While there is little doubt that climate change has a major impact on human migration and displacement, questions still remain. Do households use migration as an adaptation strategy and if so, how does this play out at the family level? How can the human rights of those crossing international borders because of climate change be upheld?

On September 26, the Brookings-LSE Project on Internal Displacement and the Georgetown University Institute for the Study of International Migration hosted leading climate change and human mobility researchers for a discussion of their recent research on climate change migration and displacement. Panelists included: Brookings Nonresident Senior Fellow Walter Kälin, professor at the University of Bern and former Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons; Koko Warner with United Nations University; and Roger Zetter with the Refugee Studies Center at the University of Oxford. Senior Fellow Elizabeth Ferris, co-director of the Brookings-LSE Project on Internal Displacement, provided introductory remarks and moderated the discussion.

Crossing Borders Because of Climate Change: Normative Gaps

Walter Kälin — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500

There are many uncertainties around climate change-related human mobility, particularly when it comes to potential cross-border movements. In the first place, it is difficult to predict the number of people who will be displaced or who will decide to migrate for reasons related to climate change. And it is difficult to determine responsibility for caring for those who are displaced across borders. There are serious normative gaps which Nina Schrepfer and I explored in a recent paper published in UNHCR’s legal and protection policy research series.

In our paper we present the background, context and present discussions around climate change-related mobility and then identify normative gaps for each of five scenarios of population mobility likely to occur:

In the case of sudden-onset disasters, most of those displaced will remain within their own countries as internally displaced persons (IDPs) where an existing normative framework would apply: the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement. But some may cross international borders– for example if this is the only escape route or there are no protection and assistance capacities at home. While movement is forced, these people generally do not fall under the criteria of international refugee law.
In the case of environmental degradation and slow-onset disasters, cross-border movements are traditionally seen as migrants moving voluntarily as a way of coping with the changing environment. But with worsening environmental degradation, the movement of persons will become increasingly involuntary. In both cases, they have no right to admission and little protection except to a limited extent under general human rights law.
For small island states facing threats because of rising sea levels, people will have to move to other islands belonging to the same state or cross international borders. Initially they will probably be part of a migratory movement but eventually their movement will be forced. International law does not provide sufficient protection for them.
The effects of climate change are likely to lead to zones prohibited for human habitation and it is likely that people will be relocated to other areas within the borders of their countries. But cross-border movements could occur if proposed relocation areas are unsuitable or if no durable alternatives in line with human rights standards are offered to the affected population. The character of this cross-border movement is unclear and will probably require individual determination as to whether such acts may amount to individual persecution under refugee law.
Finally, if the effects of climate change lead to unrest, violence and armed conflict, those fleeing across a border may qualify as refugees under the 1951 Convention and related regional instruments.

In our paper, we explore the general obligations of states at the levels of mitigation, adaptation and protection. We identify critical legal issues which remain unaddressed, including the critical question of how to distinguish between voluntary and forced movements and suggest ways to address these gaps. Finally, we suggest that a strategy is needed to create an international regime for the protection of people crossing borders in the context of climate change which is based on the four pillars of prevention, migration management, temporary and permanent protection schemes and resettlement.

Authors

Walter Kälin

Image Source: © Reinhard Krause / Reuters

A Human Rights-Based Approach to Building Resilience to Natural Disasters

Walter Kälin — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0400

On 1 November 1755 at 9:30am a massive earthquake followed by a tsunami hit the city of Lisbon, killing an estimated 70,000 people and destroying most buildings including the Royal Palace. The disaster shocked all of Europe and triggered a massive debate among its intellectuals about the meaning of the event. [1] While many felt that this was God’s plan and thus had to be accepted as a meaningful event, the French author Volltaire, in a poem written some weeks after the event highlighted the senselessness of the disaster and pointed out that man’s fate is “to suffer, to submit in silence, adore and die.”

Jean-Jacques Rousseau was offended by this deep pessimism and challenged Voltaire to admit that in the case of Lisbon

“nature did not construct twenty thousand houses of six to seven stories there, and that if the inhabitants of this great city had been more equally spread out and more lightly lodged, the damage would have been much less and perhaps of no account.”

Rousseau also pointed out that prompt evacuation after the first tremors would have saved many lives and asked:

“How many unfortunate people have perished in this disaster because of one wanting to take his clothes, another his papers?”

Beyond Rousseau’s continuing relevance: The duty to protect life

Roughly 250 years later Rousseau’s opinion that very often man, not nature, is to be blamed if people perish in natural disasters has become the mainstream approach to disaster risk reduction and building the resilience of affected communities. Interestingly, it is also reflected in the current human rights discourse. A particularly striking example is the 2008 Budayeva judgment [2] of the European Court on Human Rights. In this case, the Court concluded that the death of eight people in a town in the Caucasus mountains hit by a mudslide was not so much a consequence of the forces of nature but rather the result of human failure. It found that competent state authorities had failed to implement land-planning and emergency relief policies in the hazardous area of the affected town, i.e. had not taken necessary preventive measures to avert the foreseeable hazard, and not warned and evacuated people in time. Therefore, it concluded that the State party concerned had violated the right to life because of the “causal link between the serious administrative flaws” and the death of the victims and obliged the party to pay substantial compensation to the surviving family members. [3]

Thus, similar to Rousseau, the Court determined that the victims were not killed by nature but rather as a consequence of inappropriate human behavior, in particular the lack of measures to reduce the risks of the disaster. However, while Rousseau used the philosophical argument that proper use of human reason would help to mitigate the impact of disasters, the Budayeva judgment rooted its arguments in human rights guarantees, in particular, the duty of states to protect life as inherent in the right to life as embodied in international human rights conventions.

In summary, and as made explicit by the Court, the individual right to life and the correlate state obligation to protect life require with regard to natural disasters, including those related to climate change, that relevant authorities have an obligation to:

Enact and implement laws dealing with all relevant aspects of disaster risk mitigation and establish the necessary mechanisms and procedures;
Take the necessary administrative measures, including supervising potentially dangerous situations;
Inform the population about possible dangers and risks and set up systems to alarm them when the danger becomes imminent;
Evacuate potentially affected populations;
Conduct criminal investigations and prosecute those responsible for having neglected their duties in case of deaths caused by a disaster; and
Compensate surviving relatives of victims killed as a consequence of such neglect.

A human rights-based approach to resilience building

Much of the present debate about disaster risk reduction and strengthening resilience seems to be rooted in a modern version of Rousseau, namely that it is simply reasonable to take such measures. I would like to suggest that in line with the Budayeva judgment the time has come to move on and accept that a human rights based approach to dealing with the risks of disasters in and outside the context of climate change, has much to offer.

If we understand resilience as “the ability of a system, community or society exposed to hazards to resist, absorb, accommodate to and recover from the effects of a hazard in a timely and efficient manner,” i.e. the ability to “spring back from” a shock, [4] human rights can help in several regards.

First, human rights help to determine relevant areas of resilience building in a comprehensive manner. Human rights can be understood as legal instruments to address comprehensively those needs of human beings that have been identified in the course of history as being particularly worthy of protection. Going through the catalogue of human rights helps to identify all relevant areas of resilience building, including those that often are easily forgotten. Examples include:

The need to take measures to preserve and where relevant restore family unity, e.g. by taking practical measures to ensure that children are not separated from their parents during evacuations or that they can easily be reunited if such separation happens;
The need to ensure that those whose personal documentation was lost or destroyed have it replaced without delay, e.g. by storing copies of official documents in safe places or establishing simplified and efficient procedures to issue such documentation without delay in the aftermath of a disaster;
The need to take preventive and preparatory measures necessary to protect housing, land and property rights, e.g. by keeping copies of land titles in a safe place, protecting property left behind by evacuees against pillage and further destruction, or providing for simplified procedures to solve property disputes in the aftermath of a disaster; or
The need to plan and conduct disaster related interventions in ways that help to avoid discrimination based on gender, age, ethnic or social origin, etc.

Second, human rights provide guidance for appropriate action in certain areas of resilience building that pose particularly complex dilemmas for governments and other relevant stakeholders. Human rights law provides criteria to determine the content as well as the limits of what people can demand, but also of what can be demanded from them in terms of obligations, thus allowing determining the permissibility of governmental orders which are contested by those affected. One example is evacuations and relocations where the right of people to be protected against forcible displacement and the duty of state authorities to protect life clash in cases where affected persons reject being temporarily evacuated or permanently relocated from danger zones. Here, human rights law provides that forced evacuations or relocations are only permissible if: (i) they are provided for by law, (ii) are only carried out in order to protect the safety of the persons concerned and do not serve any other goal; and (iii) are necessary and proportional to this end and only resorted to if there are no other less intrusive measures in a given case. In particular, evacuations must not last any longer than absolutely necessary. In cases of permanent relocations, return can only be prohibited in very exceptional cases in which the area of return is indeed one with high and persistent risks for life or security, the remaining resources are inadequate for survival of returnees, the enjoyment of basic human rights cannot be guaranteed there, and all other available adaptation measures are exhausted, i.e. the situation in the area of return can no longer be alleviated by protective measures.

Third, human rights provide strong arguments for looking at affected persons as rights holders and not just objects of humanitarian action and disaster management activities. As such affected persons have, in particular, a right to be consulted and to participate in decisions relevant to their fate as a consequence of their freedom of expression and their political rights. Experience shows that people who take their lives into their own hands and can participate in shaping their fate are more likely to recover from the shock of disasters and thus more resilient.

Fourth, human rights allow identifying not only right holders but also duty bearers, thus allowing establishing accountability when relevant rights are violated. Human rights guarantees determine who is entitled to what vis-à-vis whom. This is particularly important because such identification enables in many cases those whose human rights have been violated to hold duty bearers accountable and get reparation.

Relevant standards

Besides national constitutional and legal guarantees, international and, where applicable, regional human rights conventions provide relevant standards. The specific meaning of these guarantees for the context of disasters has been further clarified and concretized by different instruments and tools. To the extent that disasters displace people within their own country, the 1998 UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement and the 2009 Kampala Convention on the Protection and Assistance for Internally Displaced Persons in Africa are particularly relevant. The Guiding Principles, while legally not binding as such, restate relevant hard law and have been recognized by the international community as “important international framework for the protection of internally displaced persons.” [5] The Kampala Convention will be binding once it enters into force. Like the Guiding Principles, the Convention covers, inter alia, those displaced by natural and man-made disasters and, in addition, explicitly mentions climate change as a triggering factor (Article 5 para. 4).

The humanitarian agencies participating in the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) adopted last year the revised version of the Operational Guidelines on the Protection of Persons in Situations of Natural Disasters.” [6] This document is not a legal instrument but a tool that identifies in detail the specific operational meaning of human rights in such situations and provides advice on practical steps disasters responders can take. While these Guidelines focus on post-disaster protection, they also contain practical guidance on measures to be taken before the disaster occurs in order to mitigate the impact of a hazard and thus to build the resilience of affected populations.

Conclusions

Strengthening the resilience of people and communities in the context of natural disasters and other environmental events is a multidisciplinary task and requires addressing a multitude of economic, social, technical and developmental challenges. While this is readily accepted by many, the notion that resilience building measures should include a human rights dimension is often neglected or misunderstood.

However, people affected by disasters, while not being able to enjoy many of the rights during and in the aftermath of disasters, do not lose their entitlements. Experience shows that minorities who are discriminated against in the provision of humanitarian and recovery assistance, women who are exposed to sexual violence in evacuation sites and shelters, youngsters who are exploited as child laborers, families who do not have access to educational, health and social services because relevant personal documentation has been destroyed or communities who cannot get their land and property back in the aftermath of a disasters are all unlikely to “resist, absorb, accommodate to and recover from the effects of a hazard in a timely and efficient manner.” In contrast, people who are able to exercise their rights remain, at least to a considerable extent, the masters of their own destiny and as such are in a much better position to safeguard and rebuild their lives.

In conclusion and paraphrasing Rousseau, I challenge you to admit that nature does not violate the human rights of people, and that if the inhabitants of the cities, towns and villages affected by natural disasters would be more efficiently protected by competent authorities and the international community before, during and after a disaster, damages to their lives would be much less.

[1] The following account as well as the quotes are taken from Russell R. Dynes, “The Dialogue Between Voltaire and Rousseau on the Lisbon Earthquake: The Emergence of a Social Science View,” in International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters, 18: (2000) 97-115.

[2] European Court on Human Rights, Case of Budayeva et al v Russian Federation, applications 15339/02 et al, Judgment of 20 March 2008. See Walter Kälin/ Claudine Haenni, Disaster risk mitigation – why human rights matter, in: Ten Years of the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, Forced Migration Review, Issue 31, October 2008, pp. 38-39.

[3] The decision rests basically on the reasoning that “the authorities' omissions in implementation of the land-planning and emergency relief policies in the hazardous area of” the affected town “could not be justified under the specific circumstances of the case and that there was a causal link between the serious administrative flaws […] and the death of” the victims. The Court concluded that competent “authorities have thus failed to discharge the positive obligation to establish a legislative and administrative framework designed to provide effective deterrence against threats to the right to life” (Case of Budayeva, paras. 159 and 159).

[4] ISDR, 2009 UNIDR Terminology, Disaster Risk Reduction, Geneva 2009, p. 24.

[5] 2005 World Summit Outcome, General Assembly Resolution A/Res/60/1 (2005), para. 132.

[6] UN Doc A/HRC/16/43/Add.5, available at http://ochanet.unocha.org/p/Documents/Operational %20Guidelines.pdf and http://www.brookings.edu/reports/2011/0106_operational_guidelines_nd.aspx.

Authors

Walter Kälin

Publication: Nansen Conference on "Climate Change and Displacement in the 21st Century"

Foreword

Mon, 10 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0500

To promote and facilitate a rights-based approach to disaster relief, the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) adopted Operational Guidelines on Human Rights and Natural Disasters in 2006. The Guidelines are a major contribution to the promotion of a rights-based approach in situations of natural disasters. Following the feedback from the field-testing of the guidelines we have incorporated lessons-learned from the field into a revised version of the Guidelines. This revised version also expands the rights-based approach to include preparedness measures. Small steps in preparedness can have a major impact once a disaster strikes.

Publication: IASC Operational Guidelines on the Protection of Persons in Situations of Natural Disasters

The Changing Security Situation in Somalia: Implications for Humanitarian Action

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 14:00:00 -0500

Event Information

January 12, 2010
2:00 PM - 3:30 PM EST

Stein Room
The Brookings Institution
1775 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20036

The international community faces complex internal and transnational challenges in Somalia, including the spread of militant Islam and al Qaeda involvement, a lack of governance and rule of law, an increase in piracy and other criminal activity, and a rise in internal displacement due to the dangers of ongoing conflict. Because of these challenges, humanitarian assistance to Somalia has been decreasing, despite a deteriorating situation on the ground.

On January 12, the Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement held a panel discussion on the changing security context in Somalia and its implications for humanitarian action. Panelists included Walter Kälin, representative of the UN Secretary-General on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons; Michael O'Hanlon, director of research and senior fellow in Foreign Policy Program at Brookings; and Lauren Ploch, Africa Analyst at the Congressional Research Service. Elizabeth Ferris, senior fellow and co-director of the Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement, moderated the discussion.

After their presentations, panelists took audience questions. A summary report of the meeting is available for download.

Event Materials

0112_somalia

Participants

Moderator

Panelists

Walter Kälin

Representative of the UN Secretary-General on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons

Lauren Ploch

Africa Analyst, Congressional Research Service

The Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement: Annotations

Walter Kälin — Thu, 22 May 2008 00:00:00 -0400

PREFACE TO THE REVISED EDITION

Ten years ago, my predecessor in the office of the Representative of the UN Secretary-General on Internally Displaced Persons, Francis M. Deng, submitted the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement to the then UN Commission on Human Rights. These Principles, although not a binding legal instrument, have since gained considerable authority. The Heads of State and Government assembled in New York for the September 2005 World Summit unanimously recognized them as an “important international framework for the protection of internally displaced persons.” (UN General Assembly GA Resolution A/60/L.1 para. 132), and the General Assembly has not only welcomed “the fact that an increasing number of States, United Nations agencies and regional and non-governmental organisations are applying them as a standard” but also encouraged “all relevant actors to make use of the Guiding Principles when dealing with situations of internal displacement” (A/RES/62/153, para. 10).

At the regional level, the Organization of African Unity (now the African Union) formally acknowledged the principles; the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) called on its member states to disseminate and apply them; and in the Horn of Africa, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), in a ministerial declaration, called the principles a “useful tool” in the development of national policies on internal displacement. In Europe, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) recognized the principles as “a useful framework for the work of the OSCE” in dealing with internal displacement, and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe as well as its Council of Ministers urged its member states to incorporate the principles into their domestic laws.[1] The number of states that have incorporated the Guiding Principles into their domestic laws and policies is growing.

The Guiding Principles reflect and are consistent with international human rights law and international humanitarian law and to a large extent thus codify and make explicit guarantees protecting internally displaced persons that are inherent in these bodies of law. The first edition of the Annotations was intended to facilitate access to these legal sources. They, too, were favourably received. In Article 6 (2) of the 2006 Protocol on the Protection and Assistance to Internally Displaced Persons the Member States of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (Great Lakes IDP Protocol) even “accept to use the Annotations of the Guiding Principles as an authoritative source for interpreting the application of the Guiding Principles” which they undertake to incorporate into their domestic legal orders.

The 10th anniversary of the Guiding Principles provides a fitting occasion to publish a second edition of the Annotations. It follows very closely the structure and content of the first edition but reflects the significant legal developments that have taken place since the publication of the Annotations in 2000. These developments include the seminal 2005 study prepared under the auspices of the ICRC on customary international humanitarian law containing rich material on displacement related issues,[2] a series of new human rights instruments with some significance for the displaced including the 2007 UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (A/RES/61/295 of 13 September 2007), the 2001 Draft articles of the International Law Commission on state responsibility (A/RES/56/83, Annex) clarifying when disregard of human rights by non-state actors may amount to breaches of international law entailing state responsibility, the “Pinheiro” Principles on Housing and Property Restitution for Refugees and Displaced Persons (E/CN.4/Sub.2/2005/17 and E/CN.4/Sub.2/2005/17/Add.1), and the Basic Principles and Guidelines on Development-Based Evictions and Displacement submitted to the UN Human Rights Council in 2006 by the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing (A/HRC/4/18, Annex I). More generally the practice of the UN Security Council and General Assembly since the turn of the century, recent developments at the regional level, in particular the Great Lakes IDP Protocol, and emerging state practice regarding the application of the Guiding Principles are all relevant, too. They contribute to solidifying the legal foundations of the Principles and thus strengthen them as a standard capable of improving the condition of internally displaced individuals, families and communities all over the world.

Walter Kälin

Representative of the UN Secretary-General on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons

[1] See Roberta Cohen, The Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement: An Innovation in International Standard Setting, Global Governance 10 (2004), 459-480, and 469-70.

[2] Jean Louis Henkaerts/Louise Doswald-Beck, Customary International Humanitarian Law, Volume I: Rules, Cambridge, 2005.

Downloads

Authors

Walter Kälin

Publication: Studies in Transnational Legal Policy, American Society of International Law

Fires, Floods, Earthquakes and Tsunamis: A Human Rights Perspective for Major Natural Disasters

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 10:00:00 -0500

Event Information

January 14, 2008
10:00 AM - 11:30 AM EST

Falk Auditorium
The Brookings Institution
1775 Massachusetts Ave., NW
Washington, DC

While significant lessons have been learned in the aftermaths of Hurricane Katrina and the Asian Tsunami, key issues like the rights of displaced persons still need to be fully considered and addressed. It is easy to forget, for example, that in the more than two years since Katrina, several hundred thousand Americans still remain displaced from their homes. Although new policies and procedures have been instituted, poor governmental responses to these events need to be examined further. In particular, the fundamental rights of people most affected by natural disasters must be made a top priority - the right to protection against discrimination and exploitation; the right to equal access to assistance; the right to return to their homes and to have their lives restored.

On January 14, the Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement hosted a discussion to examine the ways to place human rights at the center of any future response to a major natural disaster in the U.S. or elsewhere in the world. The discussion focused on the rights of individuals and whether those rights should be made a priority in all governmental and public response plans.

Walter Kalin, the representative of the U.N. Secretary-General on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons, delivered opening remarks. Chris Kromm, executive director of the Institute for Southern Studies, released his new report examining the long-term response to the Katrina disaster. Linda Poteat, director of disaster response at InterAction, discussed disaster risk reduction strategies. Brookings Senior Fellow Elizabeth Ferris moderated the discussion.

Transcript

Transcript (.pdf)

Event Materials

Participants

Moderator

Panelists

Ajamu Baraka

Executive Director, US Human Rights Network

Monique Harden

Co-Director, Advocates for Environmental Human Rights

Walter Kälin

Representative of the U.N. Secretary-General on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons

Chris Kromm

Executive Director, Institute for Southern Studies

Linda Poteat

Director of Disaster Response, InterAction

Regional Conference on Internal Displacement in West Africa

Wed, 26 Apr 2006 09:00:00 -0400

Event Information

April 26-28, 2006

ECOWAS Headquarters

Abuja, Nigeria

West Africa is one of the sub-regions of Africa most heavily affected by displacement. While several million internally displaced persons (IDPs) have returned home or resettled with the ending of civil wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone, large numbers remain in the Ivory Coast, Guinea, Nigeria, Senegal and Togo. Of the more than 12 million IDPs in Africa uprooted by conflict and human rights violations, at least 1 million can be found in the fifteen countries comprising the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

The Special Assistant to the President of Nigeria, Mrs. Moremi Soyinka-Onijala, emphasized how varied the causes of displacement are: “Some of us have large numbers of displaced persons due to wars between government and rebel forces, others have significant populations of displaced persons due to inter ethnic, religious, political and social economic conflict, while others have experienced natural disasters such as drought, floods and fire that have caused our people to flee in large numbers.”

In an effort to better address the problem, the First Regional Conference on Internal Displacement in West Africa was convened in Abuja, Nigeria from 26-28 April 2006. Hosted by the Government of Nigeria, the conference was co-sponsored by the Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement, the Representative of the UN Secretary-General on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons, ECOWAS and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

The conference reviewed current trends in the ECOWAS region and developed a set of recommendations that national authorities, regional bodies and international organizations could take to better prevent and manage displacement. More than 70 participated, including officials of ECOWAS governments, representatives of national human rights institutions, the ECOWAS secretariat, local and international non-governmental organizations, UN agencies, donor governments and experts.

Olu Arowobusoye, Director of the ECOWAS Department of Humanitarian Affairs, called upon each and every ECOWAS member state “to create response mechanisms and focal points and national institutions for IDPs where they do not exist.” Among the recommendations made by the conference to governments were that they:

Develop national laws and policies on internal displacement;
Promote and disseminate the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement;
Develop programs to address the needs of host communities –while it was common practice in West Africa for IDPs to receive shelter and assistance from families and host communities, this was proving burdensome over extended periods; and
Undertake measures to address the root causes of displacement.

As for ECOWAS, conference participants called for the appointment of a focal point on IDPs; the training of the ECOWAS stand-by force in the Guiding Principles; increased advocacy efforts; and the promotion of stronger inter-regional dialogue on internal displacement. Walter Kälin, Representative of the Secretary-General on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons, emphasized the value of a regional approach, pointing out that “Regional cooperation enables States to increase their capacity to run reliable early warning mechanisms and disaster prevention and mitigation systems.” It can also “channel the lessons learned by countries coping with internal displacement into the creation of sound policy at the national and regional levels.”

Conference participants called upon the international community to:

Integrate protection issues for IDPs into the design of peace operations;
Strengthen the capacity of peacekeepers to respond to internal displacement;
Ensure that international interventions on behalf of IDPs foster self-reliance and community sustainability; and
Draw greater attention to the plight of IDPs through partnerships with the media.

Download meeting report »

Event Materials

Internal Displacement and the Marsh Arabs of Iraq

Wed, 01 Mar 2006 09:00:00 -0500

Event Information

March 1, 2006
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM EST

AMAR Foundation

London, United Kingdom

The Brookings-Bern Project organized a panel on internal displacement and the Marsh Arabs (Iraq) at the AMAR Foundation Conference in London.

Panelists discussed the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, the requirements for sustainable returns to the Marshlands, property and compensation issues in Iraq, and the development of Iraq's National Policy on IDPs.

Meeting documents:

Keynote Address, Walter Kälin
Requirements for Sustainable Returns, Dina Abou Samra
Property Issues, Dr. Norbert Wuehler, forthcoming
Iraq National Policy on IDPs, Buraq J. Swaady, forthcoming
Closing Remarks, Roberta Cohen

Event Materials

Participants

Panelists

Buraq J. Swaady

Officer-in-Charge, UNHCR Iraq (Basra)

Dina Abou Samra

Middle East Analyst, Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre of the Norwegian Refugee Council

Dr. Norbert Wuehler

Director of Claims Programmes, International Organization for Migration

Walter Kälin

Representative of the UN Secretary-General on the Human Rights of IDPs
Co-Director, Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement

Walter Kälin

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 -0500

Nonresident Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy, Brookings-LSE Project on Internal Displacement (2010 – current)
Co-Director, Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement (2005-2010)
Representative of the UN Secretary-General on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons (2004 - October 2010)

Walter Kälin Items
	Biography United Nations Reports, Statements and Press Releases Additional Brookings Activites

BIOGRAPHY
Walter Kälin, a Swiss national, is a distinguished legal scholar, human rights expert and professor of constitutional and international law at the Faculty of Law of the University of Bern. He has been concerned with issues of IDPs for over a decade, having chaired the committee of legal experts that developed the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement and having worked closely with Deng and the Brookings Project on Internal Displacement for many years before his appointment as RSG. Upon his appointment, he asked the Project to continue its work in support of the new mandate, and in January 2005, the Project became the Brookings Institution – University of Bern Project on Internal Displacement.

In his capacity as RSG and as a standing invitee of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee, Kälin developed the Framework for Durable Solutions for Internally Displaced Persons and the Operational Guidelines on Human Rights and Natural Disasters (2006), which were piloted in the field and revised before being re-published in 2011 as the Operational Guidelines on the Protection of Persons in Situations of Natural Disasters.

UNITED NATIONS REPORTS, STATEMENTS AND PRESS RELEASES

Country Missions and Working Visits

2010

Working Visit to Haiti, October 2010

UN Press Release, Haiti Still in Crisis, 19 October 2010

Working Visit to Iraq, October 2010

UN Press Release, UN Expert Calling for Action on Behalf of IDPs in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, 03 October 2010
Visit Report, 16 February 2011

Working Visit to Iraq, September 2010

Statement by the RSG, Iraq: Helping IDPs Improve Their Lives and Finding Durable Solutions, Key Aspects of Peace-Building, 29 September 2010

Working Visit to Armenia, September 2010

UN Press Release, More Must Be Done to Improve the Lives of IDPs in Armenia, 20 September 2010

Working Visit to Georgia, September 2010

UN Press Release, UN Expert on IDPs Supports Efforts to Find Durable Solutions for the Internally Displaced in Georgia, 16 September 2010

Working Visit to Central African Republic, July 2010

UN Press Release, Protect the Displaced and Help Them Return to Build Peace in Central Africa, says U.N. Representative, 16 July 2010

Working Visit to Azerbaijan, May 2010

UN Press Release, Peace Necessary to Restore Human Rights to Internally Displaced Persons in Azerbaijan, says U.N. Representive, 6 May 2010

Working Visit to Yemen, April 2010

UN Press Release, IDPs in Yemen Threatened by Lack of Humanitarian Funding, says U.N. Representative, 12 April 2010

2009

Working Visit to Bosnia-Herzegovina, November 2009

UN Press Release, Normal Lives for Bosnia-Herzegovina's Displaced Must Not Be Delayed by Politics, Says U.N. Representative, 17 November 2009

Working Visit to South Ossetia, November 2009

UN Press Release, Displaced from Ossetia Conflict Need More Pragmatism, Less Politics, Says U.N. Representative, 10 November 2009

Mission to Somalia, October 2009

UN Press Release, International Community Fails Somali Displaced, UN Representative Says, 21 October 2009
UN Mission Report, 21 January 2010

Working Visit to Sri Lanka, September 2009

UN Press Release, UN Representative Discusses Freedom of Movement for a Quarter Million Displaced with Sri Lankan Government, 29 September 2009

Working Visit to Uganda, July 2009

UN Press Release, "Additional Efforts Needed to End Displacement in Northern Uganda," Warns UN Representative, 17 July 2009
Follow-Up Report, 17 July 2009

Workving Visit to Serbia, June-July 2009

UN Press Release, Serious Obstacles Remain for Internally Displaced in Balkans, Warns UN Special Representative, 7 July 2009
Visit Report, 11 December 2009

Working Visit to Sri Lanka, April 2009

UN Press Release, UN Expert Appeals to Save Lives of Internally Displaced Persons Trapped by Sri Lankan Conflict, 7 April 2009

Working Visit to the Central African Republic, February 2009

UN Press Release, Central African Republic Peace-building Must Include Displaced: Kälin, 12 February 2009

Mission to Chad, February 2009

UN Press Release, Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons Calls for the Chadian State to Take Responsibility for the Displaced, 2 February 2009
Mission Report, available in French only, 22 December 2009

2008

Mission to Timor-Leste, December 2008

UN Press Release, Representative of the Secretary-General's Mission to Timor-Leste, 12 December 2008

Working Visit to Colombia, November 2008

UN Press Release, Representative of the Secretary-General Concerned about Ongoing Forced Displacement in Colombia, 14 November 2008

Mission to Georgia, October 2008

UN Press Release, UN Expert on Internally Displaced Persons Says Security is Key to Return, 4 October 2008
Mission Report

Working Visit to Mozambique, June-July 2008

UN Press Release, UN Expert Calls for Durable and Sustainable Solutions for Those Displaced by Recent Floods in Mozambique, 1 July 2008

Working Visit to Bosnia, June 2008

UN Press Release, Representative of UN Secretary-General Concerned about Problems of Displaced Persons and Returnees in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 20 June 2008

Working Visit to Kenya, May 2008

UN Press Release, UN Expert Calls for Renewed Efforts to Protect and Assist Kenya's Internally Displaced Persons as Essential to Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding, 27 May 2008

Mission to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, February 2008

UN Press Release, The Representative of the Secretary-General on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons Concludes His Visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 22 February 2008 (also available in French)
Mission Report (also available in French)

2007

Mission to Sri Lanka, December 2007

UN Press Release, UN Expert Emphasizes Sustainable and Durable Solutions for Sri Lanka's Internally Displaced Persons, 27 December 2007 (available in Sinhala and Tamil)
Mission Report

Working Visit to Afghanistan, August 2007

UN Press Release, UN Expert Concerned about Growing Problem of Internal Displacement in Afghanistan, 20 August 2007

Working Visit to Côte d'Ivoire, June 2007

UN Press Release, The Representative of the Secretary-General on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons Concludes Visit to Cote d'Ivoire, 2 July 2007 (available in French)

Mission to Azerbaijan, April 2007

UN Press Release, UN Expert on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons Concludes His Visit to Azerbaijan, 6 April 2007
Mission Report

Mission to the Central African Republic, February-March 2007

UN Press Release, The Representative of the Secretary-General on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons Concludes His Visit to the Central African Republic, 2 March 2007 (available in French)
Conclusions and Recommendations
Mission Report (currently available in French only)

2006

Working Visit to Georgia, December 2006

UN Press Release, UN Expert Calls for Adoption and Implementation of Georgian National Strategy for Internally Displaced Persons, 18 December 2006 (available in Georgian and Russian)

Working Visit to Turkey, October 2006

Conclusions and Recommendations, October 2006

Mission to Lebanon & Israel, September 2006

Mission Report

Working Visit to Uganda, July 2006

UN Press Release, Special Efforts Now Needed to Implement Uganda's National Policy for Internally Displaced Persons, UN Expert Says, 4 July 2006

Mission to Colombia, June 2006

UN Press Release, In Colombia, the Laws and Institutional Framework to Assist IDPs Are Good, but Their Non-Application Affects the Rights of the Internally Displaced, 26 June 2006
Mission Report (available in Spanish)

Mission to Côte d'Ivoire, April 2006

UN Press Release, Côte d'Ivoire Facing Protection Crisis in Terms of Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons, Expert Says, 25 April 2006
Mission Report (available in French)

2005

Mission to Georgia, December 2005

UN Press Release, UN Expert Voices Concern for Internally Displaced Persons in Georgia, 27 December 2005
Mission Report

Mission to Sudan, October 2005

UN Press Release, Much More Needs to be Done to Ensure Protection of Internally Displaced of Southern Sudan, Rights Expert Says, 17 October 2005
Mission Report

Mission to Serbia and Montenegro (including Kosovo), June 2005

UN Press Release, Secretary-General's Representative Urges Flexible Solutions to Internal Displacement in Serbia and Montenegro, 24 June 2005
Mission Report

Mission to Bosnia-Herzegovina, June 2005

UN Press Release, UN Representative Urges Authorities to Use Human Rights as a Yardstick for Addressing the Remaining Problems of Displacement in Bosnia-Herzegovina, 15 June 2005
Mission Report

Mission to Croatia, June 2005

UN Press Release, UN Representative Urges Croatia to Bring Final Closure to National Issue of Internally Displaced Persons, 8 June 2005
Mission Report

Working Visit to Turkey, May 2005

UN Press Release, Representative of the UN Secretary-General on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons Sees New Hope for the Internally Displaced Persons in Turkey, 6 May 2005

Mission to Nepal, April 2005

UN Press Release, Internally Displaced in Nepal Overlooked and Neglected, UN Expert Says, 22 April 2005
Mission Report

Working Visit to Sri Lanka and Thailand, February-March 2005

Report, Protection of Internally Displaced Persons in Situations of Natural Disaster: A Working Visit to Asia, April 2005

Statements, Articles, Op-Eds, and Reports from the Special Rapporteur

Annual Report of the Representative to the UN General Assembly, 11 August 2010

"The Earthquake Recovery Process in Haiti," Statement by Walter Kälin, UN Human Rights Commission Special Session on Haiti 27-28 January 2010, 27 January 2010

Annual Report of the Representative to the UN General Assembly, 5 January 2010

AU Convention on Internally Displaced: "A Beacon of Hope for 12 Million Africans," Says UN Representative, UN Press Release, 26 October 2009

The Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons, Statement by Walter Kälin to the United Nations General Assembly, 26 October 2009

African Union Convention on Protection and Assistance for Internally Displaced Persons, Statement by Walter Kälin on the occassion of the AU Special Summit on Refugees, Returnees and IDPs, 23 October 2009

Report of the Representative of the Secretary-General on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons to the United Nations General Assembly, 3 August 2009

Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons in Serbia, Statement by Walter Kälin, Parliament of Serbia, 30 June 2009

Climate Change, Natural Disasters, and Internal Displacement, Statement by Walter Kälin, Committee on Migration, Refugees and Population of the Parliamentary Assembly, Council of Europe, 24 June 2009

Protracted Displacement in Europe, Statement by Walter Kälin, Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly Debate on Protracted Displacement in Europe, 24 June 2009

HIV/AIDS and the Protection of the Rights of Internally Displaced Persons, Statement by Walter Kälin, UNAIDS Coordinating Board Meeting, 22 June 2009

UN Expert Extremely Concerned about Situation of Displaced in Sri Lanka, UN Press Release, 15 May 2009

Internal Displacement and the Role of Parliamentarians in Times of Crises, Statement by Walter Kälin, 120th Assembly Meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Addis Ababa, 9 April 2009

Human Rights and Internal Displacement, Statement by the Representative to the Human Rights Council, 12 March 2009

UN Human Rights Expert Fears More Displacement in Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, UN Press Release, 27 January 2009

The Future of the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, Article by Walter Kälin, Forced Migration Review, December 2008

UN Expert Calls on Parties to the Sri Lankan Conflict to Better Protect the Displaced, UN Press Release, 23 December 2008

UN Human Rights Experts Concerned about Serious Human Rights Violations in Eastern DRC, UN Press Release, 28 November 2008

Protracted Displacement in Europe: Perspectives and Solutions, Statement of the Representative to the Council of Europe, Parliamentary Assembly, Committee on Migration, Refugees and Population, Geneva, 26 November 2008

Renewed Effort Needed to Help the Displaced, Opinion by Walter Kälin, The Irish Times, 30 October 2008

Taking Stock and Moving Forward, Statement by Walter Kälin to the United Nations General Assembly, Third Committee, New York, 27 October 2008

Strengthening the Rights of Internally Displaced Persons, Opinion by Walter Kälin, Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement, 16 October 2008

Finding Durable Solutions for Sri Lanka's Displaced, Statement by Walter Kälin at the National Consultations on IDPs and Durable Solutions, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 23 September 2008

UN Expert on Internally Displaced Persons Concerned about the Situation in Georgia, UN Press Release, 14 August 2008

The Climate Change - Displacement Nexus, Statement by Walter Kälin to the ECOSOC Panel on Disaster Risk Reduction and Preparedness: Addressing the Humanitarian Consequences of Natural Disasters, 16 July 2008

Durable Solutions for Internally Displaced Persons: An Essential Dimension of Peacebuilding, Statement of the Representative to the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission Working Group on Lessons Learned, New York, 13 March 2008

Durable Solutions for Internally Displaced Persons: An Essential Dimension of Peacebuilding, Briefing Paper sutbmitted to the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission Working Group on Lessons Learned Meeting, 13 March 2008

A Human Rights Perspective for Natural Disasters, Statement by Walter Kälin, Brookings Institution Seminar - Fires, Floods, Earthquakes and Tsunamis: A Human Rights Perspective for Major Natural Disasters, 14 January 2008

Special Procedures Mandate Holders Deeply Concerned by Situation in Kenya, Statement by Walter Kälin and other Mandate Holders, 4 January 2008

Deteriorating Situation in Sri Lanka, Interview of Walter Kälin, U.N. Radio, 4 January 2008

Promotion and Protection of Human Rights - Review, Rationalization and Improvements of Mandates, Statement to the 6th Session of the UN Human Rights Council, 13 December 2007

Legal Aspects of Return of Internally Displaced Persons and Refugees to Abkhazia, Georgia, Statement to the Panel on the Legal Aspects of Return of IDPs and Refugees to Abkhazia, Georgia, United Nations, 29 November 2007

Statement to the 62nd Session of the General Assembly, Third Committee by RSG Walter Kälin, 29 October 2007

Statement on IDPs in Afghanistan— "UN highlights conflict's impact on civilians, IRIN News, 17 August 2007

A Tragedy of Increasing Proportions: Internal Displacement in Iraq, Forced Migration Review, Special Issue, June 2007

Statement of the Representative at The International Conference on Addressing the Humanitarian Needs of Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons inside Iraq and in Neighbouring Countries, 18 April 2007

Statement of the Representative to the 4th Session of the U.N. Human Rights Council, 20 March 2007

The Future of the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, Forced Migration Review, Special Edition, December 2006

Statement by the Representative at the Presentation of the Draft of the National Strategy for Internally Displcaed Persons in Georgia, Tbilisi, 15 December 2006

Address by the Representative at the Launch of the Migration and Internally Displaced Population Survey, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey, 6 December 2006

Statement of the Representative to the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, 18 November 2006

Statement of the Representative to the 61st Session of the General Assembly, Third Committee, 23 October 2006

Statement of the Representative to the Human Rights Council, Second Session, 19 September 2006

"Internal Displacement and the Protection of Property," Swiss Human Rights Book, Volume 1, July 2006

UN Human Rights Experts Urge Parties to the Current Conflict in the Middle East to Fully Respect and Protect the Rights of the Civilian Populations, 21 July 2006

Statement of the Representative to the Forum Asia Training Workshop and Consultation on Internally Displaced Persons in South Asia, 13 July 2006

Opening Statement of the Representative to the Workshop on the Implementation of Uganda's National Policy for Internally Displaced Persons, Kampala, Uganda, 3-4 July 2006

RSG Kälin Calls on All Actors to Halt Forced Displacement in Eastern Chad, 26 June 2006

Keynote Address to IOM Colloquium on Political Participation of IDPs, 13 June 2006

"Georgia Must Act on Promises to End Displacement Crisis," Forced Migration Review #25, May 2006

Statement to the 39th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and People's Rights, Banjul, The Gambia, 12 May 2006

Opening Statement of the Representative to the First Regional Conference on Internal Displacement in West Africa, Abuja, Nigeria, 24-26 April 2006

Keynote Address at the Panel on Internal Displacement and the Marsh Arabs of Iraq, AMAR Foundation Conference, London, 1 March 2006

What Remains to Be Done in the Balkans, International Herald Tribune, 22 December 2005

Relief and Rehabilitation Efforts Remain Problematic One Year After Asian Tsunami, Say UN Experts, 19 December 2005

Keynote Address to First National Multi-Stakeholders' Forum on Promoting & Protecting the Rights of IDPs, Philippines, 9 December 2005

Keynote Address to Asian Development Bank Regional Workshop, Philippines, 8 December 2005

Time to Strengthen Protection of IDPs, Forced Migration Review, November 2005

Donors Must Meet International Responsibilities to Survivors of the South Asia Earthquake, UN Experts Warn, 21 November 2005

The Role of the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, Forced Migration Review, October 2005

UN Representative Calls Zimbabwe Crisis Massive Internal Displacement, 29 July 2005

Natural Disasters and IDPs' Rights, Forced Migration Review Special edition, July 2005

UN Human Rights Experts Deplore Recent Killings During Relocation of Displaced Persons in Sudanese Capital, 20 May 2005

The Voting Rights of Internally Displaced Persons, Statement to the OSCE Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting on Challenges of Election Technologies and Procedures, Vienna, 21-22 April 2005

UN Human Rights Expert Deplores Ongoing Displacement in Darfur, 11 November 2004

Statement of Representative at Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting, 4 November 2004

UN Reports Given by the Representative

ADDITIONAL BROOKINGS ACTIVITIES

For more information on Walter Kälin's role as a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution is available on his Brookings expert page.

Brookings: Experts - Walter Kälin

New Research on Climate Change Migration and Displacement: Should I Stay or Should I Go?

Event Information

Audio

Transcript

Event Materials

Crossing Borders Because of Climate Change: Normative Gaps

Authors

A Human Rights-Based Approach to Building Resilience to Natural Disasters

Authors

Foreword

The Changing Security Situation in Somalia: Implications for Humanitarian Action

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Event Materials

Participants

The Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement: Annotations

Downloads

Authors

Fires, Floods, Earthquakes and Tsunamis: A Human Rights Perspective for Major Natural Disasters

Event Information

Transcript

Event Materials

Participants

Regional Conference on Internal Displacement in West Africa

Event Information

Event Materials

Internal Displacement and the Marsh Arabs of Iraq

Event Information

Event Materials

Participants

Walter Kälin