As delivered by Norway.
Check against delivery
Thank you, Chair,
Norway highly appreciates the scheduling of this debate on the agenda of the Human Rights Council. Norway is the pen-holder for the biannual resolution on internal displacement in the UN General Assembly, and we have for a long time followed this issue with great interest and concern.
Chair,
As we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, we should also stop to recognize how far short we have fallen in the global effort to prevent, reduce and address internal displacement. In the two decades since the Principles were adopted, conflict-induced internal displacement has in fact doubled. Furthermore, natural-disaster-induced internal displacement amounted to over 24 million new displacements in 2016. Climate change is likely to aggravate the challenges even more.
Chair, the persistence of internal displacement represents a major international challenge to our common commitments as UN member states, and particularly the 2030 agenda. IDPs are often among the most vulnerable and hard-to-reach populations at risk. If we are serious about “leaving no one behind”, then IDPs should be a top priority. There is an urgent need for a whole-of-system approach to internal displacement in the UN.
In conclusion, chair, we are hopeful that the GP20-agenda will help us move this agenda forward. It will require redoubling of efforts of states, NGOs and UN agencies across the board.
Thank you.