UN expert scores govt for plight of refugees from conflict, 'development'

From InterAksyon (Aug 1): UN expert scores govt for plight of refugees from conflict, 'development'



Dr. Beyani at a meeting in Quezon City with human rights defenders and a leader of the lumad refugees in Davao City. (photo courtesy of Karapatan)

The United Nations expert on internally displaced persons scored the government for its failure to protect communities displaced or threatened by armed conflict and “development” such as mining despite laws and institutions meant to address the problem.

In a statement released Friday, at the end of a 10-day official visit to the country “to address not only displacement caused by disasters, but also other forms of displacement around the country,” Dr. Chaloka Beyani noted in particular how militarization and the incursion of large-scale commercial mining have impacted on indigenous people’s communities in Mindanao.

(READ IN FULL: Statement of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons, Chaloka Beyani, on the conclusion of his official visit to the Philippines, 21 to 31 July 2015)

"It is clear to me that existing legislation and institutions, including the exemplary Indigenous Peoples Rights Act, cannot provide adequate protection from displacement unless fully implemented in practice," Beyani said.

He also lamented how government’s “response to conflict-induced displacement … differs significantly to its commendable response to disaster and climate change induced displacement elsewhere,” such as in areas devastated by super typhoon Yolanda.

Among the places Beyani visited were Zamboanga City, where a month-long battle between government forces and the Moro National Liberation Front displaced up to 120,000 persons in 2013; Tampakan in South Cotabato where mining threatens to drive out up to 5,000 lumad from their ancestral lands; and Davao City, where authorities violently attempted to evict and forcibly return more than 700 Manobo who have sought refuge in a church compound after fleeing the militarization of their communities.

However, a planned visit to Maguindanao was limited by “security issues and government sensitivities in this region.”

In Zamboanga, he questioned the closure of the city grandstand where thousands of displaced persons had been staying since the crisis “just prior to my visit without ensuring adequate housing solutions” for those who wished to return to their original communities.

He also called the “transitional site” in Mampang “problematic on many levels,” lacking “adequate provision of water, electricity, adequate access to essential and basic services including health care and education,” as well as”making access to livelihoods extremely difficult” because of its distance.

In Tampakan, Beyani noted that the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, which “require a threshold of ‘compelling and overriding public interest’ in order for development-induced displacement to take place,” have not been observed, noting that “tribal leaders reported that their communities were consistently being manipulated and divided and that they had been harassed and received threats when they expressed their opposition.”

“Indeed some leaders and members of the indigenous communities have been killed over the past years reportedly due to their anti-mining activities,” he added.

Beyani said he was “concerned by the plight” of the lumad at the United Church of Christ in the Philippines Haran Mission House in Davao who “made it clear that it is (the military’s) presence and that of the paramilitary groups in their communities that continues to create anxiety amongst the indigenous communities,” contrary to the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ “assertion that it is seeking to protect the communities and provide services to them in conflict regions.”

He also noted the occupation of tribal schools by soldiers and the Alamara militia.

However, while Beyani said lumad leaders debunked claims, like that of North Cotabato Representative Nancy Catamco, that they were being held against their will at the UCCP compound, “their current situation is neither acceptable nor sustainable.”

“It is essential to find a rapid and peaceful solution to their situation in full consultation with their legitimate leaders, with their voluntary and secure return to their ancestral lands being a high priority,” he added. “I urge the government, in consultation with indigenous peoples themselves, to give greater attention to addressing the causes of displacement whether it be due to the militarization of their areas or due to development projects.”

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/115265/un-expert-scores-govt-for-plight-of-refugees-from-conflict-development