UN urges Nigeria to pass IDP policy into law

The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) has urged the Federal Government to fast track the passage of the National Policy on Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) to tackle the challenges facing the IDPs across the country and especially the North-east.

The Deputy Country Representative of the UNHCR in Nigeria Bridget Eno made the plea on Thursday in Abuja at a stakeholder’s meeting to “Review the National Policy on IDPs in Nigeria organised by the National Commission for Refugees and IDPs (NCFR).

She said the humanitarian crisis in the Northeast due to the Boko Haram insurgency remain critical and disturbing hence the need for a strong response that also requires coordinated collaboration of all stakeholders.

“Since the Kampala Convention that Nigeria participated in and ratified, there have been series of advocacy to stakeholders in Nigeria and elsewhere to ensure the domestication of the Kampala Convention. Domesticating the convention and passing the enabling law, that is the National Policy on IDPs will lead to better response and effective coordination of response to the IDPs challenges,” Eno said.

The Honourable Federal Commissioner of the NCFR Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouk said providing assistance and protecting the IDPs has been difficult for government and non-government actors alike due to the lack of coherent framework that has drastically impeded their ability to act as expected.

“Our efforts have remained largely insufficient in the face of the massive humanitarian challenges we have on hand. The process for the adoption of the National Policy began in 2012, here we are five years later still without a National Policy,” Farouk said.

She said that the passage of the law will among others ensure that durable solutions are provided for survivors to ensure that they are rehabilitated and resettled and get them reintegrated into their communities and restore their dignity.

The Chief of Army Staff Lt-Gen Tukur Buratai represented by the Chief of Civil Military Affairs Army Headquarters Major General Peter Bojie, the Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) Auwal Musa Rafsanjani and the Legal Office of the International Committee of the Red Cross Isabel Robinson among others stressed the importance of passing the policy into law in the interest of the IDPs and the country.