Introduction
Forced displacement, exile and uprooted ness are among the conditions that characterize or face millions of individuals across the globe. Various circumstances in different countries have actually led to unprecedented forced human displacement both within and across borders. OCHA (2009) affirm that the problem of forced displacement is actually a global crisis that exists in more than 39 countries in the world. Generally the number of individuals that have been displaced has more than doubled and is larger than it had been at any time during the past five years. OCHA (2009) clarify that the internally displaced persons figure in the world is approximated at fifty million. They continue to state that out of the fifty million more than ten million internally displaced persons are in Africa, approximately five million are found in Asia, five more million exist in Europe while two million are present in America. The number of those that have been forced to migrate across borders on the other hand exceeds twelve million. It is also important to note that unfortunately half of the individuals that have been displaced are children.
Understanding forced displacement and its causes
Displacement is defined as the situation where individuals have to leave where they live either due to compulsion or since they have decided that it would be dangerous in the prevailing circumstances for them not to move. External displacement describes the situation where individuals are displaced to another country while internal displacement occurs when citizens are forced to move to another territory within their own country. Generally displacement usually takes place unwilling and may be due to threat of force or direct utilization of force against particular people. Nonetheless it can also be non forcible or spontaneous due to other circumstances that did not necessarily involve deployment of threats or force. Legally displacement is only forced when it occurs in a way or manner that is considered unlawful. International law describes forced displacement or forcible transfer as that which was effected by use of physical force, coercion, threat of force like that caused by the fear of violence, duress, psychological oppression, detention or abuse of power (UNHCR 2007, 1217-1219). Newman and Selm (2003, 2) agree stating that largely forced displacement has been the consequence of wars and conflict between and within the society, human rights violations, colonial domination, persecution for ethnic, social, religious or political reasons other reasons that lead to the use of physical force against individuals.
Institutional players engaged in management of the forced displacement in the contexts of conflict, development and the environment
The United Nations (UN) has been recognized as an important player in the management of people that have been displaced. Nonetheless the responsibility of managing, protecting and generally assisting the displaced also rests on individual government national and local authorities. Government involvement is important because when the UN’s participation in management of forced displacement scenarios is required then it must be done first with consent from national authorities that are concerned. Clearly problems can emerge when trying to address the concerns and needs of those that have been displaced in areas that are in conflict but not under the control of a recognized government such that international community has to seek clearance from armed rebels (Schnabel 2002, 15-16). In essence there is no single agency or institution that is charged with dealing with or responding to forced displacement emergencies. Containing the situation that arises from forcible transfers in essence requires combined efforts of host communities, national and local governments, churches, international and local non governmental organizations.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
Within the United Nations system the UNHCR has been given the mandate and responsibility to lead and guide international action that will ensure protection and management of forced displacement scenarios or even guarantee for instance the containment of conflict that is still ongoing. The UNHCR is essentially in place to assist the international community in finding effective ways that will help address the problem of forced displacement. The Office has showcased its commitment in assisting to manage such situations by refining its policy on their role in dealing with the displaced. Generally UNHCR is interested in enhancing the welfare and wellbeing of the displaced or safeguarding their rights essentially because of their likeness or similarity to refugees particularly in terms of consequences and causes of their displacement and also their humanitarian needs.
Generally the Commission has the responsibility to mobilize international support for them from organizations such as World Bank, Red Cross among other humanitarian response organizations, advocate on their behalf, strengthen its capacity and ability to respond or address their problems and take the lead in safeguarding their interests in certain situations. However it is important to note that for the Commission to operate effectively in an area it requires the authorization of the UN’s Secretary General, consent of the concerned state, access to the population that is affected, clear lines of accountability and responsibility with ability to directly intervene on protection matters and adequate capacity and resources.
Where their humanitarian action is constrained they usually work together with other significant institutional players to mobilize support that will be imperative in helping them to overcome those obstacles to other organizations and its involvement. It furthermore usually seeks to pursue solution oriented strategies that will ensure that their will be no prolonged humanitarian engagement by for example ensuring repatriation of the displaced in their homeland. UNHCR have actually already worked to help settle back the displaced in their homes in areas such as Sri Lanka, Sudan, Uganda and Columbia. In the case of forced displacements that have been induced by conflict they provide physical protection and security together with basic services and life sustaining assistance. Protection is imperative since they believe that providing assistance without protection will most likely be unsuccessful in ameliorating the victims conditions and may in fact exacerbate their circumstances. In partnership with other agencies such as the UN children’s Fund (UNICEF), World Health Organization, World Food Programme, UN Development Programme (UNDP), Office for the coordination of Humanitarian Affairs(OCHA), UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Red Cross and World bank (UNHCR, 2008) they provide the displaced with shelter, food, water, sanitation, energy supplies and medical care. The agency furthermore does not only coordinate the delivery of items and help in the management of individual camps but moreover using donor funding designs special projects for women, the elderly and children who usually make up eighty percent of the population of displaced individuals. Education is in addition an important need that the UNHCR provides.
It is also critical to point out that the United Nations together with UNHCR recently came up with an important tool for practitioners that contains thirty pointers to guide the actions of humanitarian and government organizations referred to as the Internal displacement guiding principles. The guiding principles gave Emergency Relief Coordinator also known as ERC the mandate to ensure the needs of those replaced are taken care of adequately. The UN ERC basically works closely with donors to make sure that they generate funds to assist cater for the needs of the displaced.
Local and international Non Governmental organizations (NGO’s)
International NGO’s such as Oxfam, CARE, Save the children and World Vision have been very important players that have assisted the society in the management of crises arising from forcible transfers. In fact these NGO’s are said to have higher budgetary allocations set aside to deal with such situations even more than UNHCR making it easier for them to handle these kinds of circumstances. Generally both local and international NGO’s have made commendable steps in drawing everyone’s attention to the circumstances and conditions surrounding the displaced and have in fact been noted to take the lead in advocating and seeking for nations’ positive response to their rights and needs.
They have played an active role in informing the public and creating awareness on pertinent issues concerning the displaced and the pivotal role that governments and the public can play to alleviate suffering of the individuals and aid in the management of their condition. NGO’s have participated in advocacy efforts to intentionally encourage specific arms of the government such as the judiciary to take a more active role in protection of the displaced (Bayefsky and Fitzpatrick 2000, 66-69). They have moreover conducted civil education through the media and other society organs to ensure that members of host societies become tolerant of persons that are displaced by respecting their human rights and making certain they are protected from violations such as sexual exploitation and abuse (Grabska and Mehta 2008, 17). They have in addition involved themselves in the provision of basic services such as social health services and basic needs such as temporary shelter, food and clothing in camps.
Religious organizations
The church has as well played a very important role in managing individuals that have been displaced and therefore in need. Most notably they have been able to yield volunteers that help out in giving the displaced material needs in form of tents, food, sanitation and medical care (Christian Aid, 2009). Religious organizations like churches also cater for the spiritual needs of these individuals giving them emotional support and hope which is important to keep them surviving in the tough conditions. Besides they sometimes run other development programs such as those that concentrate on financial counselling, good nutrition, healthy cooking, health promotion, environmental protection and conservation. They as well host fun events for the displaced children and young people while on camp and also continue to offer support to the displaced once they have been resettled back to their homes until that time when their lives return back to normal.
Methods employed by states to contain forced displacement
Growing numbers of the displaced in some host communities has led to adverse or negative effects in the societies for instance the damage of important infrastructure like roads by trucks that serve the camps, overexploitation of forest and water resources, competition for employment as the displaced drive down wages, increased rates of crime, gender based or sexual violence. Laenkolm (2007) adds that some societies being aware of the effects that can result from hosting the displaced have been compelled to restrict the displaced in camps thus making them entirely dependent on international community support for survival. Nonetheless as time goes by the support systems for the camps become strained as a result of donor fatigue necessitating cuts in provision of services such as fuel, medical care, shelter items and fuel. This effects and situation have necessitated that states try and find durable strategies and solutions that will assist to contain forced displacement as soon as is possible. Among the solutions are resettlement, local integration and voluntary repatriation.
Voluntary Repatriation
Essentially most persons that have been forcefully displaced usually prefer to go back to their homes when circumstances permit for instance if the conflict that caused them to flee has come to an end and some degree of stability and peace has been restored to their areas. The UNHCR together with most states encourage and perceive voluntary repatriation as the ultimate and best solution for containing displaced groups since it is safe and is basically a viable option. To facilitate this cause governments with the assistance of UNHCR provide the displaced with transport services and start up packages usually in form of money to assist them in the initiation of income generation projects, together with practical assistance like seeds and farm tools.
Along with NGO’s, states sometimes extend their help to further include the rebuilding of the displaced individuals homes including their communal infrastructure like roads, clinics, bridges, wells, and schools. Such assistance most of the times ends up not only being beneficial to the displaced but also the impoverished people already living in those areas. Governments moreover provide field staff to consistently monitor the well being and the welfare of the returnees until everything totally returns to normal (UNHCR, 2000). According to UNHCR (2008) reports in 2007 more than 700, 000 individuals were voluntarily repatriated in forty six countries.
Local integration
Nonetheless some displaced populations are usually unwilling to go back to their homes because of the possibility that they could face persecution again. In such circumstances governments with the help of UNHCR usually locally integrate them by assisting them to find new places of habitation or homes in the territory where they were seeking asylum. Local integration implies that the displaced will henceforth enjoy all local community benefits such as public housing, food stamps, job opportunities, education loans and social services grants among other benefits.
However few states choose local integration as an option for containing such populations. UNHCR (2008) affirms that only a small number of states accept annual quotas of the displaced or take part in resettlement or integration programmes initiated by UNHCR. It is generally not accepted by many states since it may create more problems for host communities. For instance because the displaced persons will be newcomers to the host societies values and norms there is possibility of conflict arising in future as a result of clashing values and views of the different groups. Additionally most communities’ resources and infrastructure are already strained by their growing populations therefore adding more individuals is unwelcome.
However while states have a say in how the displaced populations need to be contained particularly in the case of resettlement they have to retain their right of return (Harvey 2000, 64-68). They should actually not be forced to make decisions without knowing the consequences. Essentially governments must ensure that the displaced entirely maintain their self determination right and are empowered to accept only those options that will constitute the next best choice not only for them but also their children.
Dealing with emergencies without international institutions involvement
As earlier mentioned forced displacement is not always a consequence of wars, violence or conflict, in reality it can also be non forcible and due to other prevailing circumstances that do not necessarily involve deployment of threats or force (Raper1996). Forced displacements may also actually be a result of other spontaneous emergencies that are beyond the control of the state. An emergency in this case refers to a sudden occurrence that happens without warning which causes human, property, social economic or environment losses and that exceed the ability of the affected individuals to cope with the event using their ordinary resources thus creating need for exceptional response. For instance such emergencies may be the result of natural disasters that have been accelerated by ozone depletion, desertification, deforestation, climate change, population explosion or generally overexploitation of natural resources. The consequences of such circumstances occur in the form of floods, earthquakes, drought, landslides or tropical storms. As a matter of fact environment devastation has recently emerged as a powerful motivation and reason for forced displacement. Basically already more than ten million individual have been displaced as a result of the environmental disasters (Raper 1996).
When such emergencies occur leading to forced displacements international institution involvement may not always be necessary unless the government resources available are not adequate to handle the sudden existence of uprooted individuals. This is the threshold or only time that institutions such as UNHCR among other international organizations may come in to offer assistance in form of for example temporary schools, shelter, clinics, food, family hygiene kits, basic sanitation facilities, water or even cooking utensils (Reyes and Jacobs 2006, 77-78).
Some states are actually able to very well deal with the emergencies independently since they already have emergency management programs which constitute of deliberately planned and organized efforts that help them to prepare for, control, respond and recover from emergency situations. Such programs have allowed states to beforehand prepare for and allocate resources that will be utilized in the event of an emergency with the intent of reducing physical, human or economic losses and protecting the displaced.
Such programs also attempt to come up with sustainable solutions after emergencies. These are essentially solutions that will work to minimize disasters by tackling their root causes. For example in the case of areas that are prone to environmental degradation, floods or droughts they may encourage communities to develop agricultural practices that are drought proof, practice natural resource conservation, watershed management and initiate reforestation programs. These programs are in essence better than nothing because unarguably waiting for an emergency to strike before dealing with it will lead to more losses and make it even harder to manage displaced populations.
Conclusion
In conclusion controlling occurrences and events that can lead to forced displacement of individuals depends on efforts of individual governments and states. It is up to the government to in advance create mitigation programs that will ensure the society is empowered to know how to deal with risks and situations that may result to emergencies and consequently cause their displacement. It is indisputable that most of the root causes of forced displacement like conflict and environmental devastation can be prevented if only governments direct their efforts in ensuring that they instantly deal with any gaps and loopholes that may lead to their occurrence.
The weakness with many states is that they for instance leave minor conflicts to accelerate and become major conflicts as they watch. Simple measures such as public education to ensure that communities become aware of the consequences of strife or the creation of institutions to make sure early negotiations and arbitration occur when racial or ethnic animosity is sensed would go along way in preventing the existence of displaced populations. In the case of natural emergencies since there is little that can be done to control them the creation of disaster management programs would be imperative in minimizing their effects and dealing with their consequences when they occur. Generally international community relief and support in managing displaced populations is no longer sustainable, states should therefore take the lead role to ensure their citizens respect each other, their political, social and environmental systems.
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