STATEMENT
Human Rights Council 47th Session.
Item 3 – Interactive Dialogue. Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of internally displaced persons (IDPs)
Statement delivered by Ambassador Tine Mørch Smith, Permanent Representative of Norway on behalf of the Nordic-Baltic countries
(Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden)
Check against delivery
25 June 2021
I am pleased to deliver this statement on behalf of the Nordic-Baltic countries.
Thank you to Special Rapporteur Cecilia Jimenez-Damary for the report and briefing.
Housing, land and property constitute critical components in achieving durable solutions for internally displaced persons. These issues can also drive displacement. Tensions and conflict related to land and housing are likely to increase, also due to an increased number of IDPs. According to UNHCR’s new Global Trends report, there are now 48 million IDPs, a sharp increase from one year ago.
The situation of internally displaced women is often particularly challenging. Discrimination based on tenure is prohibited under human rights law. However, in many societies, patriarchal, statutory, customary, religious and social norms disadvantage women in terms of access to land and in terms of ownership and inheritance of land. Women’s insecurity of tenure in relation to land and housing threatens food security and the well-being of their families. These forms of discrimination are unacceptable, and no efforts should be spared to rectify this injustice. situation.
Limited adequate housing opportunities also represent an increased risk of sexual and gender-based violence.
We must strengthen the international efforts to enhance the situations of internal displacement, including on housing, land and property issues. The report by the High-Level Panel for Internal Displacement to be launched later this year will be important in this regard.
Thank you.