26 million displaced by conflicts need urgent aid: UN expert

New York, Mar 14 (PTI) Over 26 million people have
been uprooted by natural disasters and conflicts worldwide, a
UN human rights expert said Saturday, asking for urgent
efforts to address displacement crises in countries like Sri
Lanka.

"There is an urgent need for the international
community to pay more attention to some of the worst crisis
situations," Walter Kälin, UN Secretary-General's Special
Representative on the human rights of internally displaced
persons (IDPs) said, citing Somalia, Sri Lanka and Sudan as
being among the worst-affected countries.

Regarding the conflict in Sri Lanka, where many
civilians are trapped by fighting between the Government and
the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Kälin
called on both sides to do their utmost to prevent civilian
casualties.

In Somalia, over 1.3 million people have been forced
from their homes and are "struggling to survive in a void
created by the absence of functioning State authorities that
could protect them," he said after briefing the Human Rights
Council in Geneva.

These IDPs face life-threatening situations given
their lack of access to water, food and health services, the
expert added.

In nearby Sudan, nearly 5 million people – including
2.7 IDPs – have been impacted by hostilities in the war-torn
Darfur region and rely on humanitarian aid.

"Governments have to make a greater effort to prepare
for natural disasters and, in particular, to protect
disaster-affected populations, including the displaced."

Kälin also voiced his concern over the Sudanese
Government's recent decision to expel 13 major international
aid organizations and revoke the licenses of three national
non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

The decision came last week, immediately after the
International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant
for President Omar Al-Bashir for alleged war crimes and crimes
against humanity committed in Darfur.

"We could see a humanitarian catastrophe in the
region," the Special Representative noted, stressing that due
to the Government's decision, "the rights of large numbers of
internally displaced persons to life, food, water and the
highest attainable standard of health may be gravely
affected."

He also appealed to the Lankan government and rebels
to allow civilians to evacuate the conflict zone in the island
nation's north.

The expert urged the Government to provide all IDPs –
who, as citizens, retain their right to freedom of movement
and should not be confined to camps – with necessary
protection and assistance.

Also driving displacement is climate change, which
threatens to increase the frequency and severity of natural
disasters, leading to ever-greater numbers of IDPs, he said.
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