Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) 

Statement by the Delegation of the United States of America 

As Delivered by Sheridan Gardner

Human Rights Council 50th Session, June 28, 2022 

Thank you, Mr. President.

The United States is alarmed at increasing trends in forced displacement across the world, primarily due to conflict and violence.  This is a global problem affecting people in all regions.

For example, Russia’s brutal full-scale invasion of Ukraine has displaced over seven million civilians internally as buildings and critical infrastructure continue to be destroyed across the country.

The military coup and escalating violence across Myanmar have tripled the number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), many of whom are targets for regime violence and blocked from accessing humanitarian aid.

In Afghanistan, the Taliban has threatened to demolish IDP camps and force people to move elsewhere.

We applaud efforts to achieve peace that will reduce forced displacement where ever it occurs, including the current UN-brokered truce in Yemen.

But even as peace may improve access to humanitarian assistance and protection, IDPs also need durable solutions, including commitments to overcome discrimination, and protect their human rights.

In this regard, we welcome the Special Rapporteur’s report on IDPs’ exclusion from electoral participation, highlighting just one of the many ways IDPs are marginalized.

We thank the Special Rapporteur for her advocacy for IDPs, including her efforts to focus the work of the High-Level Panel and improve the UN system’s accountability to IDPs.

Our question is: How can the international community better incorporate local governments and civil society into assistance and protection for IDPs?

I thank you.