Freedom of movement and population transfer
Sub-Commission resolution 1997/29
The Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities,
Reaffirming the right of everyone lawfully within the territory
of a State to liberty of movement and freedom to choose his or her
residence and the prohibition of arbitrary deprivation of the right to
enter one's own country as set out in article 12 of the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and article 13 of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights,
Recognizing that practices of forcible exile, mass expulsion and
deportation, population transfer, forcible population exchange,
unlawful evacuation, eviction and forcible relocation, "ethnic
cleansing" and other forms of forcible displacement of populations
within a country or across borders not only deprive the affected
populations of their rights to freedom of movement but also threaten
the peace and security of States,
Recalling the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action
(A/CONF.157/23), adopted by the World Conference on Human Rights, and
article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which
reaffirm that everyone, without distinction of any kind, is entitled to
the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from
persecution, as well as the right to return to one's own country,
Recalling also its resolutions 1995/13 of 18 August 1995 and
1996/9 of 23 August 1996, in which it decided to continue its
consideration of the question of population displacement and to keep
under constant review any developments in the right to freedom of
movement, including the right to seek asylum, the right to remain and
the right to return,
Recalling further that in its resolution 1996/9 it requested the Secretary-General to convene an expert group seminar on population transfer,
Expressing its appreciation of the work and of the final report
of the Special Rapporteur on human rights and population
transfer, Mr. Awn Al-Khasawneh (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1997/23), as
well as the conclusions and recommendations of the expert group seminar
on the human rights dimensions of population transfer, held in Geneva
from 17 to 21 February 1997, contained therein,
Noting that policies and practices of forcible displacement
continue to be the major causes of refugee flows and the displacement
of persons within States,
Concerned that the growing number of refugees and internally
displaced persons worldwide poses a serious threat to peace and
security and that restrictive policies of many States may lead to
difficulties for people leaving their country in order to seek asylum,
as well as to the detention of refugees and asylum seekers,
Noting the need to further rationalize and harmonize the various international standards in this complex and evolving area,
Convinced that a comprehensive strategy needs to be devised to
implement the standards in tangible programmes of action within both a
regional and national context,
1. Welcomes the final report of the Special Rapporteur on
the human rights and population transfer and the draft declaration on
population transfer and the implantation of settlers annexed thereto,
as a first step towards defining the standards and legal norms
pertaining to population transfer and the freedom of movement;
2. Welcomes the working paper on the right of freedom of
movement and related issues prepared by Mr. Volodmyr Boutkevitch
(E/CN.4/Sub.2/1997/22)
as a contribution towards a comprehensive approach to combating policies and practices of forcible displacement;
3. Affirms the right of persons to be protected from
forcible displacement and to remain in peace in their own homes, on
their own lands and in their own countries;
4. Also affirms the right of refugees and internally
displaced persons to return voluntarily, in safety and dignity, to
their countries of origin and, within them, to their places of origin
or choice, and urges Governments to assist in and facilitate such
return;
5. Urges Governments and other entities involved to do
everything possible to stop and prevent all practices of forced
displacement, population transfer and "ethnic cleansing" in violation
of international law;
6. Urges all States to respect the principle of
non-refoulement and to safeguard and give effect to the right of
everyone to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from
persecution;
7. Strongly encourages all Governments and other entities,
including intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, to
intensify their cooperation and assistance to implement the relevant
international standards in order to address the serious problems
resulting from forcible displacement, and the root causes of such
displacement;
8. Decides, in its further work on the right to freedom of
movement, including the right to remain, the right to leave and seek
asylum and the right to return, to examine the legal standards
applicable to different types of forced displacement and any lacunae
between those standards;
9. Also decides to convene a further expert seminar, in
close cooperation with relevant intergovernmental and non-governmental
organizations and without financial implications, to assist in and to
make practical recommendations for the further work of the
Sub-Commission on the right to freedom of movement in time for
submission to the Sub-Commission at its fifty-first session;
10. Further decides to recommend to the Commission on
Human Rights that the final report of the Special Rapporteur on human
rights and population transfer, Mr. Awn Al-Khasawneh, be published and
widely disseminated;
11. Recommends to the Commission on Human Rights the following draft decision for adoption:
"The Commission on Human Rights, taking note of SubCommission on
Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities resolution
1997/29 of 28 August 1997, recommends to the Economic and Social
Council that the final report of Mr. Awn AlKhasawneh, Special
Rapporteur on human rights and population transfer
(E/CN.4/Sub.2/1997/23), be published and widely disseminated."
36th meeting
28 August 1997
[Adopted without a vote. See chap.XII.]
