Conference on Internal Displacement in Asia
Bangkok, Thailand, February 22-24, 2000

REPRESENTATIVES OF NGOs, ACADEMIC AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS, HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSIONS AND MEDIA IN ASIAN COUNTRIES,
and from Laos : Keedaeng Thammalangsy, Secretary-General, Lao Red Cross

The meeting was jointly sponsored by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (Forum Asia), the Brookings Institution Project on Internal Displacement, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) and the U.S. Committee for Refugees (USCR). Conference hosts were the University of Chulalongkorn and Forum Asia. Close to 60 participants came from 16 Asian and other countries and included representatives of national human rights commissions, academic and research institutions, local, regional and international NGOs, media, and international organisations. The primary purpose of the conference was to focus attention on the problem of internal displacement in Asia and to identify ways of improving the response to that problem at the national, regional and international levels. More specifically, the conference was intended: to promote the dissemination and application in Asia of the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement (the first international standards for internally displaced persons, presented to the UN in 1998);

to share information on the problem of internal displacement within the Asian region and identify effective practices for addressing it; and to promote more regular networking among organisations involved with internally displaced persons, more systematic documentation of the problems facing the displaced, and the development of monitoring systems.

DEVELOPMENT INDUCED DISPLACEMENT
12. Participants stressed the importance of addressing the problem of development-induced displacement in Asia where rapid economic development has resulted in the forced displacement of millions of people. Development-induced displacement, participants noted, often produces conflicts and violence within societies and may provoke conflict induced displacement. It was noted that development projects may have a negative impact on human rights; first, they may benefit only certain segments of the population in the country and may thus affect the economic rights of the population which are affected negatively by such projects; and second, inadequate efforts to consult with and address the needs of the populations at risk of displacement may be detrimental to their human rights.

13. The relevance of Section II of the Guiding Principles which concerns protection from arbitrary displacement was underlined. In particular, Principle 6 provides that displacement as a result of large-scale development projects can be deemed arbitrary if the projects are not justified by compelling and overriding public interests.

14. Where the displacement cannot be prevented, participants stressed that protection measures should be undertaken by the authorities concerned to minimise the adverse effects of the displacement, as enumerated in Principle 7 of the Guiding Principles. Such measures should include adequate financial compensation as well as alternative accomodation which should be comparable to the area from which the displacement took place. It was underscored that with regard to the displacement of tribal populations, indigenous peoples, and other such groups, Principle 9 of the Guiding Principles imposes on States particular obligations to prevent their displacement given their special dependency on and attachment to their lands. Thus where displacement does occur, it was of particular importance that comparable alternative accommodation sites be provided by the concerned authorities, in view also of the fact that tribal and other populations generally have no land titles to claim ownership of the lands they have been occupying. It was recognised that the Guiding Principles would provide a valuable point of departure for the further development of legal norms and principles addressing with greater specificity issues of compensation and land reallocation.

15. Many participants emphasised the importance of states having legislative provisions and legal mechanisms which would enable the fair and efficient adjudication of claims of displaced populations. In this context, participants recognised the importance of assisting communities to develop their capacity to negotiate with the authorities concerned, and encouraged local non-governmental organisations and other local concerned agencies to support and assist such persons in the negotiation process.

16. Participants called on governments to establish consultation mechanisms which would allow the solicitation of views of the populations to be affected by large-scale development projects and, in this context, urged governments to ensure the undertaking of human rights impact assessment studies prior to such projects being endorsed.

Many participants voiced the need for international financial institutions which often fund development projects, to be included within the consultation process and reiterated that such institutions should not fund development projects which may lead to the violation of basic rights of the affected populations.