GENEVA, 19 December 2006 - As Kenya's general elections scheduled for late 2007 draw nearer, increasing political tensions may cause further displacement in a country already strug-gling to respond to the needs of an estimated 400,000 people internally displaced by previous political violence, continuing ethnic clashes, violent cattle raids and government evictions, warns a report published today by the Norwegian Refugee Council's Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre.
The report, "I am a Refugee in My Own County: Conflict-Induced Displacement in Kenya", documents the plight of Kenyans displaced by violence and human rights abuses and raises con-cern over the near absence of any systematic national or international response to the protection and assistance needs of the affected populations.
"While people displaced by drought and other natural disasters normally receive considerable assistance, attention to Kenyans uprooted by conflict and human rights violations is ad-hoc and inconsistent", said Elisabeth Rasmusson, Head of the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre. "Failing to respond to conflict-induced internal displacement poses an acute threat to Kenya's long-term peace and security."
Kenya is plagued by various conflict-related internal displacement situations, most of them caused by inter-ethnic clashes over access to land and political power. Often inter-ethnic tensions leading to displacement appear to be instigated and exploited by local politicians. The Kenyan government has started to address the unresolved issue of land distribution, one of the major underlying causes of displacement. But as the necessary redistribution and formalisa-tion of land ownership touches upon powerful political and economic interests, these initiatives have stagnated.
In its current response to internal displacement, the Kenyan government has sought to identify "genuine" internally displaced people, or IDPs, through linking displacement to land ownership. The report raises serious concern about this approach, as under international law the Kenyan government is obliged to assist and protect all IDPs, not only those owning land.
"While the government has taken a number of steps to recognise and address the internal dis-placement situation, more must be done to ensure that all displaced are able to exercise their fun-damental human rights," said Rasmusson.
The international response to conflict-induced displacement remains nearly non-existent. The UN has committed itself on paper to address the situation of conflict-induced IDPs, but does not run any IDP-specific programmes.
"It is extremely worrying that the international community has not done more to assist the gov-ernment in protecting the displaced in Kenya, a country which is relatively stable and where there is a certain political will to tackle this issue", Rasmusson said.
The IDMC called upon both the Kenyan government and the United Nations in Kenya to insti-tute a functioning response system to specifically address the protection and assistance needs of IDPs generated by conflict. Additionally, the IDMC acknowledged the government's recom-mendation to develop an IDP policy and urged that such development be supported by the UN and draw upon the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement and the recently signed Pact on Security, Stability, and Development in the Great Lakes Region, which requires Kenya to im-plement the Guiding Principles into national legislation.
Ends.
The Geneva-based Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, established by the Norwegian Refugee Council, is the leading international body monitoring internal displacement worldwide.
For more information, please contact Jens-Hagen Eschenbaecher, NRC IDMC, Geneva, +41-22-799 07 03, or 41-79 79 79 439. liticians. The Kenyan government has started to address the unresolved issue of land distribution, one of the major underlying causes of displacement. But as the necessary redistribution and formalisa-tion of land ownership touches upon powerful political and economic interests, these initiatives have stagnated.
In its current response to internal displacement, the Kenyan government has sought to identify "genuine" internally displaced people, or IDPs, through linking displacement to land ownership. The report raises serious concern about this approach, as under international law the Kenyan government is obliged to assist and protect all IDPs, not only those owning land.
"While the government has taken a number of steps to recognise and address the internal dis-placement situation, more must be done to ensure that all displaced are able to exercise their fun-damental human rights," said Rasmusson.
The international response to conflict-induced displacement remains nearly non-existent. The UN has committed itself on paper to address the situation of conflict-induced IDPs, but does not run any IDP-specific programmes.
"It is extremely worrying that the international community has not done more to assist the gov-ernment in protecting the displaced in Kenya, a country which is relatively stable and where there is a certain political will to tackle this issue", Rasmusson said.
The IDMC called upon both the Kenyan government and the United Nations in Kenya to insti-tute a functioning response system to specifically address the protection and assistance needs of IDPs generated by conflict. Additionally, the IDMC acknowledged the government's recom-mendation to develop an IDP policy and urged that such development be supported by the UN and draw upon the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement and the recently signed Pact on Security, Stability, and Development in the Great Lakes Region, which requires Kenya to im-plement the Guiding Principles into national legislation.
Ends.
The Geneva-based Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, established by the Norwegian Refugee Council, is the leading international body monitoring internal displacement worldwide.
For more information, please contact Jens-Hagen Eschenbaecher, NRC IDMC, Geneva, +41-22-799 07 03, or 41-79 79 79 439. non-existent. The UN has committed itself on paper to address the situation of conflict-induced IDPs, but does not run any IDP-specific programmes.
"It is extremely worrying that the international community has not done more to assist the gov-ernment in protecting the displaced in Kenya, a country which is relatively stable and where there is a certain political will to tackle this issue", Rasmusson said.
The IDMC called upon both the Kenyan government and the United Nations in Kenya to insti-tute a functioning response system to specifically address the protection and assistance needs of IDPs generated by conflict. Additionally, the IDMC acknowledged the government's recom-mendation to develop an IDP policy and urged that such development be supported by the UN and draw upon the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement and the recently signed Pact on Security, Stability, and Development in the Great Lakes Region, which requires Kenya to im-plement the Guiding Principles into national legislation.
Ends.
The Geneva-based Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, established by the Norwegian Refugee Council, is the leading international body monitoring internal displacement worldwide.
For more information, please contact Jens-Hagen Eschenbaecher, NRC IDMC, Geneva, +41-22-799 07 03, or 41-79 79 79 439. legislation.
Ends.
The Geneva-based Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, established by the Norwegian Refugee Council, is the leading international body monitoring internal displacement worldwide.
For more information, please contact Jens-Hagen Eschenbaecher, NRC IDMC, Geneva, +41-22-799 07 03, or 41-79 79 79 439.
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
