Subodh Raj Pyakurel
Chairperson
Informal Sector Service Centre (INSEC),
Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development FORUM ASIA Bangkok
Internally Displaced Persons in Nepal during the time of insurgency
People of Nepal have been migrating to internal and external destinations for centuries. Before the time when the Maoists launched their armed rebellion, most of such migration including displacement was for economic reasons. However, since 1996, from the direct threat of the Maoist insurgency the people became the subjects of conflict-induced migration including internal displacement. There is no proper data to fix the number of internally displaced persons exact in number but from INSEC's data record it is estimated it to be around 50,000. Different other agencies have their own figures but the Government of Nepal puts the number at 5 to 7,000.
Government of Nepal recognizes an “Internally Displaced Person" as a person who is living somewhere else in the country after having forced to flee or leave one's home or place of habitual residence due to armed conflict or situation of violence or gross violation of human rights or natural disaster or human-made disaster and situation or with an intention of avoiding the effects of such situations.
During the Maoists insurgency that formally concluded in 2006 displaced a huge number of Nepalese from their birthplace leaving them homeless and unemployed. Displaced and unemployed, the youth left the country in hoards to gulf countries and Malaysia among other destinations. Trend of IDP on Post conflict (Post CPA)
Following the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in November 21, 2006, the displacement in the hilly region due to political threats almost stopped. However, the Madhesh Movement, came in full fledge after the promulgation of the Interim Constitution 2007, created new scenario in Tarai. The political disgruntle changed into ethnic tension proving severe for people of hilly origins in the Tarai districts, especially the Eastern and Central Tarai districts. Due to threats, violent attacks, ransom, extortion and abduction by newly formed armed groups, the displacement of the people especially the people of hill-origin were uprooted from their places. Many of them were forced to flee either leaving their properties behind unattended or selling it on half the normal price. The data put the figure of displaced persons in Tarai at around 5,000. The internal displacement still continues though in lesser degree as the political stability has not been maintained yet in the country. The first attempt by the government of Nepal to pay attention towards the problem of conflict-induced IDPs was to form a Working Committee to Study 'Maoist Activities and Solutions' in 1997. Since the committee was mandated to study the Maoist excesses, it did not pronounce anything about the excess carried out by the security forces towards the civilians as well as the Maoist cadres.
Following the conclusion of the decade conflict, the political activities, such as putting the Maoist army in cantonment, entry to republican set up, Constituent Assembly elections and drafting of Interim Constitution, and the formation of a new government became the priorities of the government; which pushed the issue of IDPs to the background. . There has been no accurate displacement figures available as the movements were not monitored and many IDPs have remained unregistered, registration has been incomplete. The table below shows various IDP figures collected from various sources and documents since 2003
IDP Policy Directives: State policy and international obligation
There are some legal provisions to address the Internally Displacement in Nepal.
In the 12-point Agreement, the then CPN (Maoists) expressed its commitment to create an environment to allow the people and the leaders and workers of the political parties, who are displaced during the course of armed conflict, to return and stay with dignity in their respective places, to return their homes, land and property that was seized in an unjust manner and to allow them to carry out the political activities without any hindrance”. Similarly, the ceasefire Code of Conduct (COC) signed on May 26, 2006 takes it a step further with specific references to the needs of IDPs and the issue of restitution of land and property to returnees. In the section of Release and Rehabilitation, the Code of Conduct deals with the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) issue.
Code 18 and 19 deals with the return and restitution of land and other properties seized during the period of conflict. Code 18 states “to assist to the displaced persons to return to their respective houses and on the act of peaceful, comfortable and dignifiedly rehabilitation thereof” and Code 19 states “to return the properties that are seized, locked up or prohibited to use during the conflict, of the leaders and the workers of political parties and public - in- general, to the concerned persons or families and to allow them to consume. To resolve the problems through the mutual agreement, this may arise while returning the properties”. In point number 5.2.8 of Comprehensive Peace Agreement the both parties pledge to allow people, forced to be displaced due to conflict, to return back, without any prejudice, to their respective ancestral or former residence, reconstruct the infrastructure destroyed during the conflict and rehabilitate and socialize the displaced people into the society. In point number 7.3.3, the signatories expressed commitment to respect the right of the people who have been displaced to return home or to live in any other place they choose.
Article 33 (18) of the Interim Constitution of Nepal 2007 declares to conduct special program to rehabilitate the displaced, provide relief for damaged private and public property.
National Policies on Internally Displaced Persons, 2063 (2007) defines the internally displaced persons recognizing the violence, natural and human-induced displaced persons as Internally Displaced Persons. The guiding principles of these policies include International treaties on human rights to which Nepal is a party and Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations, United Nations Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, Constitutionally conferred fundamental rights, Universally accepted principles of social as well as natural justice and equality and all-party national agreement including the matter of minimizing the problems of internal displacement contained in Comprehensive Peace Agreement made in relation, inter alia, to rehabilitation of displaced persons.
As for the government, the Ministry of Peace & Construction has been the main agency dealing with the IDPs in Nepal. The Ministry is in the priority even in the National Planning Commission which ensures its operation without any hitches especially in regard to finance. The Ministry is responsible for protection and assistance to conflict-induced migration where is involved in protection and assistance to the IDPs. It has devised poverty alleviation programs, healthcare and employment for IDPs.
INSEC Involvement Regarding the Issue
INSEC has given specific focus to the IDPs in 2005, when the conflict was at its peak. Because of its involvement, INSEC managed to ensure the return of IDPs in Jumla on June 27, 2005 for the first time with the support of DFID. A total of 1173 persons successfully returned to their respective homes from 2005‐2006 with the support of various stakeholders namely, DFID, Action Aid, Lutheran and Caritas.
INSEC ran several programs including "Advocating for Appropriate and Coordinated IDPs Return" in five districts of Morang, Dhanusha, Baglung, Surkhet and Kailali) in February – May 2007. Major activities of the program included monitoring and research, documentation, networking and coalition building, communication and information sharing were the modalities of the program implementation. In the beginning of the assessment and identification process of IDPs was carried out to find the situation of IDPs and their basic needs. A total of 15 information centers were established to disseminate information about IDPs and related activities for providing assistance to IDPs and IDP returnees in co ordination with NRCS.
INSEC conducted events of district level interactions with the concerned stakeholders to share the findings of assessment as well as to make them aware of the provisions in the CPA, the Interim Constitution and Policy and Directives on IDPs. Interactions/meetings and counseling to the IDPs were carried out to assure the IDPs of their safety and to encourage them to return to the places of their origin. Interactions/meetings, dialogues and other related activities were organized during the project period for sensitization and reconciliation of IDPs, other conflicting parties in the host community.
With the collective efforts of INSEC, with other organizations like NRCS and Save the Children, a total of 5,991 IDPs of 981 households were successfully able to return to their places of origin. Besides this, a total of 1,037 IDPs of 172 households were found to have settled in the place of displacement with the initiation of small business and livelihood.
Conclusion
Unsettled IDP problems are affecting reconciliation process and return of the IDPs. People wishing to remain in their new homes are facing problems of discrimination, lack of recognition. Though, they were allowed to vote in the Constitutional Assembly elections, last year’s campaign on updating voters’ rolls registered the people only where they had obtained their citizenship certificates from. This will deprive many from voting in the coming years. In many places, the refusal by the Maoists to return the captured land has led to the tensions and also prevented many IDPs from returning home. In same cases, even when some people’s properties were returned, they did not get the movable properties affecting their resettlement.
It has been observed that the government work to raise awareness on the rights of the IDPs is not enough. Because of this, the government has not been able to collect accurate data. Lack of solution is creating outflow of youths for foreign employment which is affecting the agricultural sector in the country creating labor shortage and acres of fallow land.
Even after five years of formal conclusion of the armed conflict, problem of IDPs is not yet to be resolved. Rather, with the new political development, a new section of the population became internally displaced. There is little being done to tackle the issue. Even though, the government has issued the Policies on IDPs and its directives, the work for its implementation is not satisfactory. The political parties mainly the major parties should realize that the resolution of the problem is a milestone towards conclusion of the peace process. Only when the conflict victims including the IDPs get a sense of normalcy, the peace process would be realized.
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Mr. Subodh Raj Pyakurel
● Chairperson of Informal Sector Service Centre (INSEC), Nepal, Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), Thailand and Human Rights Home (HRH), Nepal.
● Executive Member of South Asia Forum for Human Rights (SAFHR)
● Convener of NEMA (National Election Monitoring Alliance) and NCICC (National Coalition for ICC), Nepal.
Contact:
+977 98510 26841 (Mobile), +977 1 4278770 (Telephone) and
Paper prepared for seminar on “National Approaches and Policies on IDPs in South Asia” Organized by MCRG, Kolkata. March, 5/2012 Kolkata.
The Paper is prepared at the panel discussion on the occasion of release of the report entitled "From
Responsibility to Response - Assessing National Approaches to Internal Displacement" (published by the Brookings Institution and London School of Economics Project on Internal Displacement in November 2011) on 5 April, 2012 (Friday) at Academy of Fine arts, Kolkata. National Policies on Internally Displaced Persons, 2063 (2007) Dhungana, Shiva K. The Policy of the Government of Nepal towards the Internally Displaced Persons Published in Policy and Practices # 17, Limits of the Humanitarian, Studies in Situations of Forced Migration, Mahanirban Calcutta Research Group (CRG), December 2007 An Overview of the recent scenario of IDP in Nepal, E-bulletin on IDPs in Nepal, Nepal Institute of Peace Rapid Assessment of Conflict Induced Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) for their Return, Resettlement and Reintegration, NHRC Research, 2008
