Internally displaced persons
Commission on Human Rights resolution 1998/50
The Commission on Human Rights,
Deeply disturbed by the alarmingly high numbers of
internally displaced persons throughout the world who receive
inadequate protection and assistance, and conscious of the serious
problem this is creating for the international community,
Recalling its previous relevant resolutions, in
particular resolution 1997/39 of 11 April 1997, as well as those of the
General Assembly, and the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action
(A/CONF.157/23) regarding the need to develop global strategies to
address the problem of internal displacement,
Conscious of the human rights and humanitarian dimensions
of the problem of internally displaced persons and the responsibilities
this poses for States and the international community to explore
methods and means better to address their protection and assistance
needs,
Recalling the relevant norms of international human
rights instruments, international humanitarian law and analogous
refugee law, and recognizing that the protection of internally
displaced persons would be strengthened by identifying, reaffirming and
consolidating specific rights for their protection,
Noting the progress made so far by the representative of
the SecretaryGeneral on internally displaced persons in developing a
legal framework, in particular the compilation and analysis of legal
norms and the development of guiding principles; analysing
institutional arrangements; undertaking dialogue with Governments; and
issuing a series of reports on particular country situations together
with proposals for remedial measures,
Welcoming the cooperation established between the
representative of the SecretaryGeneral and the United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees, the United Nations Development Programme, the Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the United Nations Children's
Fund, the World Food Programme and the World Health Organization, as
well as the International Organization for Migration, the International
Committee of the Red Cross and other relevant international and
regional organizations and agencies,
Welcoming also the decision by the InterAgency Standing
Committee to extend a standing invitation to the representative of the
SecretaryGeneral on internally displaced persons to participate in its
meetings, and encouraging further strengthening of this collaboration
in order to promote better assistance, protection and development
strategies for internally displaced persons,
1. Takes note of the report of the representative of the
SecretaryGeneral on internally displaced persons (E/CN.4/1998/53),
including the study on legal aspects relating to protection against
arbitrary displacement (E/CN.4/1998/53/Add.1) and the guiding
principles on internal displacement (E/CN.4/1998/53/Add.2) presented by
the representative;
2. Expresses its appreciation to the representative of
the SecretaryGeneral for the activities undertaken so far, despite the
limited resources available to him, and for the catalytic role he
continues to play to raise the level of consciousness about the plight
of internally displaced persons;
3. Also expresses its appreciation to those Governments
and intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations which have
provided assistance and protection to internally displaced persons and
have supported the work of the representative of the SecretaryGeneral,
urges them to continue to do so and calls upon others to provide
support for the efforts of the representative;
4. Encourages the representative of the SecretaryGeneral
through continuous dialogue with Governments and all intergovernmental
and nongovernmental organizations concerned to continue his analysis
of the causes of internal displacement, the needs of those displaced,
measures of prevention and ways to strengthen protection, assistance
and solutions for the internally displaced, taking into account
specific situations;
5. Notes with interest the decision of the InterAgency
Standing Committee welcoming the guiding principles and encouraging its
members to share them with their Executive Boards;
6. Notes the stated intention of the representative of
the SecretaryGeneral to make use of the guiding principles in his
dialogue with Governments and intergovernmental and nongovernmental
organizations and requests him to report to the Commission on his
efforts and on the views expressed to him;
7. Welcomes the specific attention paid by the
representative of the SecretaryGeneral to the special assistance,
protection and development needs of internally displaced women and
children and encourages him to continue to draw attention to these
needs;
8. Thanks Governments which have invited the
representative of the SecretaryGeneral to visit their countries and
invites them to give due consideration, in their dialogue with the
representative, to his recommendations and suggestions and to make
available information on measures taken thereon;
9. Calls upon all Governments to facilitate the
activities of the representative of the SecretaryGeneral, in
particular those Governments with situations of internal displacement
which have not yet extended invitations or responded positively to
requests for information from the representative;
10. Commends the representative of the SecretaryGeneral
for his efforts to promote a comprehensive strategy that focuses on
prevention, as well as better protection, assistance and development
for internally displaced persons;
11. Encourages the representative of the
SecretaryGeneral and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human
Rights, as well as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees,
the Emergency Relief Coordinator and the Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs, the United Nations Development Programme, the
United Nations Children's Fund, the World Food Programme, the World
Health Organization, the International Organization for Migration, the
International Committee of the Red Cross and all other relevant
humanitarian assistance and development organizations further to
enhance their collaboration by developing frameworks of cooperation to
promote protection, assistance and development for internally displaced
persons, inter alia by appointing focal points within their organizations for these matters;
12. Urges these organizations, especially through the
InterAgency Standing Committee, to continue to focus on problems
relating to protection, assistance and solutions for internally
displaced persons, including through the setting up of a more
comprehensive and coherent system of collecting data on their
situation, and to strengthen their collaboration with the
representative of the SecretaryGeneral;
13. Welcomes the initiatives undertaken by regional
organizations, such as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe, the Organization of African Unity and the Organization of
American States, to address the assistance, protection and development
needs of internally displaced persons, and encourages them to
strengthen these activities and their cooperation with the
representative of the SecretaryGeneral;
14. Also welcomes the attention paid by relevant
rapporteurs, working groups, experts and treaty bodies to issues of
internal displacement, and calls upon them to continue to seek
information on situations which have already created or could create
internal displacement and to include relevant information and
recommendations thereon in their reports and make them available to the
representative of the SecretaryGeneral;
15. Calls upon the High Commissioner for Human Rights to
continue to develop projects, in cooperation with Governments, relevant
international organizations and the representative of the
SecretaryGeneral, to promote the human rights of internally displaced
persons, as part of the programme of advisory services and technical
cooperation, and to include in her report to the Commission information
on their implementation;
16. Decides to extend the mandate of the representative of the SecretaryGeneral for a further three years;
17. Requests the SecretaryGeneral to provide his
representative, from within existing resources, with all necessary
assistance to carry out his mandate effectively, and encourages the
representative of the SecretaryGeneral to continue to seek the
contribution of local, national and regional institutions;
18. Decides to continue its consideration of the question of internal displacement at its fiftyfifth session.
52nd meeting
17 April 1998
[Adopted without a vote. See chap. IX.]
