Human Rights Council holds interactive dialogue on arbitrary detention and on the human rights of internally displaced persons – UNOG press release

Human Rights Council holds interactive dialogue on arbitrary detention and on the human rights of internally displaced persons

7 March – The Human Rights Council this morning heard the presentation of the report of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons and then held an interactive dialogue on arbitrary detention and on the human rights of internally displaced persons.

Chaloka Beyani, Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons, said that the annual thematic report for 2012 was dedicated to the situation of internally displaced persons living outside of camp settings, who were virtually invisible and faced protection challenges and more difficult access to basic services. The report focused on a number of specific areas that deserved particular attention, such as the importance of accurate and efficient data collection, the particular situation of internally displaced persons in urban contexts, and the special role that host communities could play. More concerted attention was necessary, Mr. Beyani said, as well as finding lasting solutions to their displacement, including better support to structures of host communities.

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Badil Ressource Centre for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights, speaking in a joint statement, urged the Working Group on arbitrary detention to visit Israel. Israeli authorities continued to arrest hundreds of Palestinians on a monthly basis, many of them in circumstances of arbitrary detention. More than 300 Palestinian were currently held without charges, and the detention orders could be renewed indefinitely.

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