Nepal: Failed implementation of IDP policy leaves many unassisted

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^{31 December 2010}

At the end of 2010, more than four years after the government of Nepal and Maoist rebels ended their ten-year conflict, about 50,000 people were still displaced by the war and by inter-ethnic violence, and remained unable or unwilling to return to their homes.

The Maoists generally fulfilled their commitments to return the houses and land they had taken from people during the war, but problems were still reported in some districts. Security concerns also persisted due to threats by Maoist-affiliated groups involved in extortion or land seizures, and in the Terai region by other armed groups who had been fighting for increased political involvement since 2007. Meanwhile, the government lacked the institutions, resources and presence in rural areas to provide basic services to many citizens. In a depressed post-war economy, many returnees had still not established the means to sustain their basic needs, and some were forced back to towns and cities again in search of work.

The majority of people still displaced in 2010 were living in the cities where they had sought refuge during the war. Some people who had fled the conflict had managed to integrate and find jobs, but others, including in particular internally displaced children and women, were struggling to find proper accom-modation or access basic services. They were also exposed to trafficking, sexual exploitation, discrimination and child labour.

Since 2007, the Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction has helped registered IDPs to return home, but it has done little for those hoping to integrate locally. Almost four years after being enacted, the national IDP policy has yet to be fully implemented, undermining IDPs’ chances of achieving durable solutions.

During 2010, the protection cluster led by OHCHR still struggled to involve the government. It recognised that needs remained significant and that some vulnerable groups, such as the IDPs, remained neglected, and so reviewed its strategy during 2010 to re-focus on the human rights of IDPs.

Nepal: Government launches plan for children affected by conflict (25 March 2011)

The Nepal government announced last week that children affected by the Maoist insurgency between 1996 and 2006 would soon benefit from a three-year rehabilitation programme. After an initial data-gathering phase to assess the scale of the problem and identify needs, the National Plan of Action (NPA) for the Rehabilitation and Reintegration of Children Affected by Armed Conflict will provide child combatants, displaced children and those who lost their parents with improved access to education, health and psychological care, and vocational skills training. The Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction (MoPR) will implement the plan, while the Prime Minister’s Office, cabinet ministers, the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare and an unnamed civil society group will all monitor its progress. The MoPR will encourage NGOs to take part in the programme.

Although there are no reliable figures, it is believed that the conflict left at least 40,000 children displaced. In 2009, a children’s rights group estimated their number at nearly 10,000. In 2010, some 50,000 people displaced by the conflict remained unwiling or unable to go home. Between 2007 and 2010, the MoPR provided a lump sum of Npr.2,400 ($34) as “education assistance” to almost 4,800 children.

More than three years after the government of Nepal and the Maoists ended their ten-year conflict, up to 70,000 people displaced by the war remain unable or unwilling to return home. Ongoing political crisis has hampered the peace process and the prospects for reconciliation and durable solutions to displacement.

Repeated Maoist commitments to return confiscated houses and land are yet to be honoured in several districts, and internally displaced people (IDPs) from non-Maoist political parties have found it particularly hard to recover property. The government return package has been limited to those officially registered, and in many districts, up to half of IDPs have been unable to register for assistance. (...)

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^{28 January 2010}