Largest number of internal refugees in Turkey
Largest number of internal refugees in Turkey
Turkey has the largest number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) within Council of Europe member states live in Turkey. One million of internal refugee in Turkey are victims of armed conflict and violence by state and non-state forces in areas inhabited mainly by Kurds, according to Nils Muižnieks, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights,who just published his Human Rights Comment.
There are an estimated 2.5-2.8 million IDPs in Council of Europe member states. Elsewhere in Europe, the vast majority of IDPs are people displaced by conflicts when the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia disintegrated more than two decades ago, and more recently, as a result of the 2008 conflict in Georgia. Thus, Azerbaijan has about 600,000 IDPs, Georgia 274,000, Serbia 225,000, Bosnia and Herzegovina 113,000 with the remainder in other Balkan states, Armenia and Russia.
The IDPs in Europe have been thrown out of their homes and remain in a state of limbo, unable to return, utterly powerless -- surviving, but not really living. About 390,000, or 15 percent, of the total number of IDPs live in collective housing centers -- which tend to be located in vast disused buildings, makeshift shelters or informal settlements -- often without any security of tenure or access to basic services, the human rights commissioner states.
“In addition to substandard housing, IDPs are often destitute with limited access to health services, education or employment. Many are traumatized and remain vulnerable to violence and abuse. Most cannot return to their places of origin because the underlying conflict which led to their flight has not been resolved. Those who try to return are faced with a real threat of persecution.”
“The protection of IDPs is primarily the responsibility of national authorities,” Muižnieks says. However, IDPs often find themselves in situations where national authorities do not or cannot enforce protective measures, according to Muižnieks.
On July 5, 2012, the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) adopted an important resolution on the human rights of IDPs in which UN member states recognized their own role in promoting and protecting the human rights of IDPs, the commissioner says in his comment, calling on states to take measures to prevent internal displacement, to improve the quality of their response to the situation of IDPs and to respect their obligation to ensure access to humanitarian aid when themselves unable to provide relief.
There are an estimated 2.5-2.8 million IDPs in Council of Europe member states. Elsewhere in Europe, the vast majority of IDPs are people displaced by conflicts when the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia disintegrated more than two decades ago, and more recently, as a result of the 2008 conflict in Georgia. Thus, Azerbaijan has about 600,000 IDPs, Georgia 274,000, Serbia 225,000, Bosnia and Herzegovina 113,000 with the remainder in other Balkan states, Armenia and Russia.
The IDPs in Europe have been thrown out of their homes and remain in a state of limbo, unable to return, utterly powerless -- surviving, but not really living. About 390,000, or 15 percent, of the total number of IDPs live in collective housing centers -- which tend to be located in vast disused buildings, makeshift shelters or informal settlements -- often without any security of tenure or access to basic services, the human rights commissioner states.
“In addition to substandard housing, IDPs are often destitute with limited access to health services, education or employment. Many are traumatized and remain vulnerable to violence and abuse. Most cannot return to their places of origin because the underlying conflict which led to their flight has not been resolved. Those who try to return are faced with a real threat of persecution.”
“The protection of IDPs is primarily the responsibility of national authorities,” Muižnieks says. However, IDPs often find themselves in situations where national authorities do not or cannot enforce protective measures, according to Muižnieks.
On July 5, 2012, the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) adopted an important resolution on the human rights of IDPs in which UN member states recognized their own role in promoting and protecting the human rights of IDPs, the commissioner says in his comment, calling on states to take measures to prevent internal displacement, to improve the quality of their response to the situation of IDPs and to respect their obligation to ensure access to humanitarian aid when themselves unable to provide relief.
