Why it's important to understand the unique plight of internally displaced people in Africa
The African Union an agreement more than 13 years ago to prevent the arbitrary displacement of people and to uphold the dignity of such victims.
Yet the problem has remained notoriously . In 2018, out of a global estimate of over , close to were on the continent.
Globally, conflict and violence are the main . Africa accounted for , of the world's internal displacement statistics in 2018, due to armed conflict and related human rights abuses.
Environmental disasters were the of internal displacement in Africa, .
Victims of internal displacement often from other countries. Yet they receive less attention from the major aid bodies, researchers and the media.
Their vulnerability has been well documented. But most of the literature generalizes their experiences, regardless of the . Or it simply conflates their experiences. Displaced people are often wrongly seen as better off than refugees. This heightens their vulnerability and prolongs their displacement.
A more nuanced understanding may benefit aid and development practitioners in their efforts to help displaced people.
My of internally displaced and refugee populations in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Somalia and South Sudan showed that those who were displaced within their nations' borders faced peculiar risks.
Falling through the cracks
Refugees are usually well regulated, whether freely settled or in designated refugee camps (making them more visible and accessible). In contrast, internally displaced people are usually scattered about. This makes it more challenging to reach out to them or to .
In the face of limited attention from the , civil conflict, oppressive governments and human rights violations are some of the major causes of displacement.
A good historical example is agro-pastoral Nuer and Dinka people were displaced from their oil-rich traditional homelands by the state. State-backed militias and later government soldiers erected garrisons, occupied land and prevented those displaced from returning to the .
When displacement is induced by the state, the victims often lack protection, and some end up . This makes it even harder to accord them the protections due to them.
Where governments are responsible for internal displacement, the sensitivity of the matter often leads to attempts to . This affects the collection of precise data. Without reliable data, it is hard for aid and development partners to implement the for national responsibility towards preventing displacement and finding durable solutions.
The longer displacement lasts, the more difficult it becomes to resolve. in Africa have protracted displacement situations lasting over five years.
Data and protection gaps
There is . Not so with internally displaced people. Each country has its own .
These disparities have resulted in numerous protection gaps for those who do not fit the criteria in each country. Particularly at risk in such situations are those fleeing from environmental disasters, poverty, underdevelopment and overpopulation. These factors are called the .
Where people are fleeing because of a number of factors, profiling them can become even more complex. For example, in the case of pastoralists in Somalia, displacement may be the result of a combination of drought, inter-clan conflicts and insecurity that . Many people may not be able to articulate the complex interaction of factors that .
These issues make reporting on the internal displacement statistics .
Where the state has its own data collection challenges, it may not grasp the full extent of the humanitarian situation, nor the need to form partnerships with external agencies to .
The Sudanese government, for instance, has been blamed for and in coordinating essential aid relief for its . In the absence of holistic, long-term responses, recurring droughts have periodically displaced people in .
Where internal displacement drivers remain unresolved, as seen in , they not only recur but can also .
Addressing the problem
The heightened vulnerability, limited visibility and limited protection of internally displaced people, , results from a poor appreciation of their peculiar plight. As seen in , this often results in their displacement becoming protracted and cyclical.
Displacements due to poverty and natural disasters on the one hand, and caused by conflict and human rights abuses on the other, are both on the rise. But conflict and abuses still account for . Thus, to work, any intervention needs to address human rights abuses, underdevelopment, socio-economic inequities and conflict to .
Provided by The Conversation
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