A/81/339 reconstruction frameworks compound these obstacles, rendering reconstruction inaccessible to many of those most directly affected. 28. Reconstruction may also be structured through governance mechanisms dominated by national elites or external actors, excluding displaced persons. In relation to Gaza, the Board of Peace, welcomed by the Security Council in resolution 2803 (2025), holds oversight and supervision over transitional governance, and its functions include reconstruction; although the day-to-day running of public services and municipalities is entrusted to a Palestinian committee, that committee operates under the Board’s supervision, so ultimate authority over governance and reconstruction remains with a body in which there is no meaningful Palestinian participation. Special procedure mandate holders have warned that its establishment and endorsement are fundamentally contrary to basic principles of international law, including the right to self-determination – a peremptory norm from which no Security Council decision can derogate 31 – and that decisions on the reconstruction and future of Gaza should rest with Palestinians whose right to self-determination extends to decisions on what is rebuilt and on the type of development they wish to pursue. 32 29. Internally displaced persons facing intersecting forms of discrimination encounter additional barriers. In many contexts, women face discrimination in access to property and inheritance, which excludes them from reconstruction processes. 33 Young people and older persons may also be excluded, and persons with disabilities may be prevented from participating if these processes are not made accessible. 34 Minorities, Indigenous Peoples and peasants similarly tend to be underrepresented in reconstruction and may face additional linguistic or geographic barriers. 30. Strategies to engage internally displaced persons are frequently one -off exercises, limited to complaints desks, hotlines, focus groups or surveys, leaving many feeling ignored or consulted for expediency. 35 Participation tends to focus on physical rebuilding rather than broader questions such as where people want to live, how they will sustain themselves and how community life should be organized. 36 31. Access to clear information about reconstruction plans, eligibility criteria, compensation procedures, housing, land and property processes, risks and accessible complaint mechanisms is crucial for meaningful participation. Information should be shared in languages that internally displaced persons understand, and through channels with which they are familiar, including community meetings, local committees, civil society networks and trusted local actors. 37 32. Participation must be safe. Displaced persons may fear expressing views on sensitive issues such as return, property claims, security concerns or experiences of harm. Participation mechanisms should therefore include confidential channels, __________________ 31 Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, Advisory Opinion, I.C.J. Reports 2024, para. 233; and A/77/10, chap. IV (conclusion 16) and annex (h). 32 See https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2026/03/un-experts-condemn-board-peace-callreparative-rights-based-approach. 33 Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, general recommendation No. 30 (2013). 34 Submissions from Committee for Justice, Chad, and Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining. 35 Lewis Sida and others, Independent Review of the Humanitarian Response to Internal Displacement (London, ODI Global, 2024), available at https://interagencystandingcommittee. org/sites/default/files/2024-03/Independent%20review%20of%20the%20humanitarian%20 response%20to%20internal%20displacement.pdf. 36 See, for example, Kamal Kishore, “Getting post-disaster housing recovery right”, 27 December 2025, available at https://www.undrr.org/news/getting-post-disaster-housing-recovery-right. 37 Submission from Mouyad Al-Ekhwan. 26-12053 9/24