EU Statement – UN General Assembly 3rd Committee: Interactive Dialogue on Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons
Thank you, Mr. Chair,
Madam Special Rapporteur,
The European Union would like to thank you for the presentation of your report.
The European Union and its Member States continue to be one of the leading international donors in situations of forced displacement. In 2021, the European Commission allocated most of its humanitarian budget of €1.4 billion to projects that address the needs of forcibly displaced and local communities.[1]
EU humanitarian aid supports IDPs worldwide, including in Syria, Colombia, South Sudan, Iraq, Myanmar and Yemen, and most recently, in Ukraine. Due to the unprovoked, unjustified and unlawful full-scale Russian invasion in Ukraine, one-third of Ukrainians have been forced from their homes, constituting the largest human displacement crisis in the world today.[2] The EU and its Member States continue to implement humanitarian aid to help civilians affected by the war in Ukraine, including those displaced within the country, as well as supporting refugees.
The EU endorses the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, and systematically promotes their inclusion in international and national law. When we support IDPs and seek joint solutions, we must consider the intersectionality of different factors that aggravate situations of vulnerability.
We recognize the achievements of the UN Secretary-General's High-Level Panel on Internal Displacement, and the call in its final report for a strong follow-up to its recommendations, involving Member States and all relevant stakeholders.[3]
Madam Special Rapporteur,
As you point out in your report, forced internal displacement occurs due to conflict, violence and both human-caused and natural disasters. Climate change can also lead to displacement and further exacerbate the vulnerable situation of the displaced.
While other causes of displacement have traditionally received more attention, we welcome your report’s focus the impacts that some development projects can have on the human rights of those displaced. Development activities can affect various human rights, including the right to adequate housing or even the right to life, and disproportionally affect women and children, as well as indigenous peoples. However, we lack clear estimates for the overall number of people who have been displaced due to development projects, and there is no agreed methodology in this regard.
We echo your assessment that these potential impacts of developments projects are preventable through appropriate policy choices and by States’ full implementation of their human rights commitments. This also implies a strong commitment to the rule of law.
Madam Special Rapporteur,
Could you explain in more detail what kind of legal and technical assistance and capacity-building the international community could provide to strengthen institutional capacities to help prevent internal displacement induced by some development projects?
In your report you suggest the creation or mandating of a multilateral body to address development-induced displacement globally. Which existing institution might be tasked with such a mandate and what could be its scope?
Let me finish by thanking you once more for all your hard work throughout your six-year tenure, and for serving as an advocate for internally displaced persons around the world.
[1] Forced displacement: refugees, asylum seekers and internally displaced persons (IDPs) (europa.eu)
[2] UNHCR, Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) – UNHCR Ukraine.