INTERNATIONAL: Reaching Out to Internally Displaced People

Move needs effort by both the government and the ordinary citizen.

WOMEN rarely wage wars. Yet, they often suffer the most from the consequences.

There are more than 40 million internally displaced people (IDPs) around the world, living either within their own coutries or as refugees in another country. About half are women and children.

These statistics from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) encompass those whose are displaced because of wars, conflict, natural disasters and over-development. Displaced people are forced to leave their homes and communities, and many, particularly women and girls, suffer gender abuse and exploitation.

The abuse of women in conflict and disaster is nothing new. In 2000, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1325 which called for special measures to protect women and girls from gender-based violence, particularly rape and other forms of sexual abuse. Two other resolutions recognised rape as a weapon of war and classified sexual violence as a threat to international peace and security. Perpetrators must be brought to justice, and UN peacekeeping operations were mandated to protect women and children.

However, despite the resolutions, displaced women continue to be exploited and are still being raped, every day.

These were issues discussed at the international conference on Health and Well-being of Displaced Women organised by the NAM Institute for the Employment of Women (Niew) last month. The event brought together world famous women's activists, field-workers, academics and humanitarian workers, who shared their views on how to safeguard displaced women and girls.

Among the speakers were Elisabeth Rasmusson, secretary-general of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC); Leymah Gbowee, Liberian Women's activist and executive director of Women in Peace and Security Network (Africa); and Dr Noeleen Heyzer, executive secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.

In her keynote address, Rasmusson said that women need to unite in order for situations to improve.

“We have to come together to mobilise support. This conference allows us to exchange ideas and listen to stories from people in the field, and learn how these brave women have tackled extremely difficult and dangerous situations. All this has been truly informative, motivating and inspiring.

“But then, what? We have to ensure that there is some follow-up. We have to demand more of ourselves. We know that violence against women is unacceptable so we must do something,” she said.

Rasmusson's organisation runs programmes in more than 20 countries to promote and protect the rights of IDPs.

An independent and private foundation, NRC helps build homes and schools, distributes food and supplies, offers counselling and (IDP) camp management service as well as education for the displaced.

In Norway where women are well-represented and safe, Rasmusson said she was always predisposed to fighting for what was right and fair.

“I have always been concerned about fairness. When I was 14, my father went bankrupt and we lost everything. We had to move from a very nice part of Oslo to a not-so-nice part of Oslo. That was my first experience of loss.

“A few years after I graduated, I worked as a journalist in Mexico. That was the first time I was exposed to poverty. I was living with the Mayan Indians in the southern part of Mexico, and I saw that they lived in such poverty and supression. That triggered something in me and I wanted to do something about the situation,” she related.

Since then, Rasmusson has had extensive field experience working with IDPs all over the world. She joined the NRC in 1993 as the programme co-ordinator for Latin-America. She has since worked as field coordinator for the UN in Angola, cooperation coordinator for the International Red Cross Committee in Columbia, NRC country director in Georgia, resident representative in Geneva and UN Humanitarian coordinator in Uganda.

“Now, I work for an organisation that is rights-based. Refugees and IDPs have rights, and I believe we can contribute to fight for these rights. To be useful, you don't just scream and shout. You have to be creative and find out what works best – what they (IDPs) really need and don't need,” she added.

However, Rasmusson understands that activism and humanitarian work are not everyone's cup of tea.

“I don't think everyone should be on the field. For the normal citizen who is not an activist, it's important and intriguing just to learn more about the world and the lives of people outside your own little world. This is extremely important in the time of globalisation when a country cannot just close its national borders. We are all integrated. Environmental and economic issues are global, and therefore, human issues should be global too. Societies, NGOs and academic institutions have to rally together to apply pressure and make their governments accountable,” she said. The failure of governments to implement policies and UN resolutions is something Rasmusson finds “extremely frustrating”.

“Look at the UN Security Council that can make binding resolutions. The process of coming up with a resolution is incredible ... there is a lot of work before a resolution is adopted. And then? Nothing happens! It's extremely frustrating that we have decisions that are living their lives as documents on a shelf,” she said.

Before such support can be rallied, governments and the people have to understand the issues at hand.

“Raising awareness is very important and NGOs have to work with governments. But, we also have to understand the concerns of the refugees and IDPs, and at the same time consider the legitimate concerns of governments (as refugees may pose security problems),” said Rasmusson.

The challenge is enormous, but seeing change and listening to positive stories from women in the field keeps her going.

“It's not that my organisation is changing the world, but the fact that we are able to make a difference for many, many people every year, is encouraging. That keeps me going,” she concluded.