We must not fail to protect South Sudan’s IDPs: UN expert
Geneva, 1 February 2014: The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights
of internally displaced persons, Chaloka Beyani, on Friday urged the UN system and
the international community to give total priority to the safety and security of South
Sudan’s displaced populations.
“The armed conflict in South Sudan has resulted
in a widespread displacement and protection crisis, and violence continues unabated
despite the agreement to cease hostilities reached on 23 January,” Beyani noted. “In
attending to this crisis, we as a whole system must ensure that protection is up front,
and not fail in protecting South Sudan’s internally displaced.”
“Targeted
attacks against civilians, including women and children, are not acceptable,” the
expert stated with concern over the ethnic politicization of the armed conflict that
has uprooted almost 650,000 South Sudanese. Some 80,000 internally displaced persons
(IDPs) sought refuge in protected areas of the UN Mission in South Sudan, while the
majority fled elsewhere within the country.
The UN Special Rapporteur drew
special attention to those displaced before the crisis: “There is urgent need to put
in place a holistic system for protecting internally displaced persons in South Sudan,”
he said, reiterating one of his key recommendations after his first official visit
to the country in November 2013.
“The congested situation within the UN bases
has started to create risks for IDPs,” Beyani warned. “While decongestion of the sites
is advisable, this cannot be a quick and standalone measure amid South Sudan’s ongoing
crisis, but must be embedded in a long-term comprehensive strategy on internal displacement.”
“The safety and security of the displaced populations must be the absolute
priority for the United Nations to safeguard, the expert said. “IDPs must not be forced
or induced to leave these areas and robust physical protection of civilians irrespective
of the source of the threat is critical now.” Source: UN