Thank you, Madam Special Rapporteur.

The European Union would like to thank you for the presentation of your report.

As we have heard, more than 71 million individuals were internally displaced at the end of last year, primarily due to conflict, human rights violations, and natural disasters. An overwhelming majority of IDPs are women and children, who are especially at risk of human rights violations, including sexual and gender-based violence.

As the leading international donor in situations of forced displacement, the EU continues to provide humanitarian assistance to IDPs worldwide, including in Syria, Colombia, South Sudan, Iraq, Myanmar, Yemen, and Ukraine – where the full-scale Russian invasion resulted in over a third of the country fleeing their homes.

At the same time, we realize that internal displacement requires more than a purely humanitarian approach. It is important to recognize the links to broader governance, development, human rights, climate change and peace challenges. The EU therefore welcomes your endeavours, Madam Special Rapporteur, to advance a humanitarian-development-peace nexus to improve coherence, complementarity and sustainability of policies in this context, in line with the promise of the 2030 Agenda to leave no one behind.

In your report, you highlight the situations of generalized violence or the adverse effects of climate change, and how they can amplify structural inequalities that IDPs face.

In follow-up to the report, I have two questions:

• How can Member States support affected communities through preventive measures to help protect IDPs?
• And, how can States assist host communities with high numbers of IDPs to implement and strengthen disaster-preparedness measures?

Thank you for all of your hard work and dedication, and for serving as an advocate for IDPs around the world. Thank you.