A/HRC/19/54
powerful disincentive to include them in these programmes or to ensure their access to
services within the community - thus pointing to the need to support local authorities in the
essential task of collecting disaggregated data on the number and specific needs of IDPs
outside camps.
51.
Provincial and municipal authorities can play a key role in liaising with their
national Government authorities and displacement-affected communities, as well as in the
development and implementation of IDP-specific and community based programmes.
Supporting local authorities in the development of community based programmes may be
particularly appreciated when authorities must contend with the competing demands of
other vulnerable sectors of the population who may feel their needs are being neglected.
Such programmes should be based on disaggregated data on both IDPs and the host
community, which includes their specific vulnerabilities, needs and coping mechanisms,
and be participatory and inclusive. Community-based programmes can vary significantly
depending on the context, but can include financial or in kind assistance to host families;
community revitalisation programmes; or the expansion and strengthening of local
infrastructures and services. Support to local authorities, through awareness raising and
training, including on technical matters such as the conduct of consultative processes, data
collection and programme design, should be areas for investment.
52.
Political considerations must often have to be borne in mind. In addition to working
with central authorities towards the elaboration of policies, international actors may need to
remain mindful of and develop strategies to work with local authorities and address their
local sensitivities. This is particularly so, when the government is decentralized, when State
authority does not reach or have effective influence over all parts of the country, or when
the central authority cannot impose its policies too strongly on local affairs.
Durable solutions
53.
Provincial and municipal authorities responsible for local development, social
services and security in their areas have a particular responsibility and interest in ensuring
that IDPs outside camps, receive assistance in achieving durable solutions. In some cases,
durable solutions will imply local integration in the host community, a process in which
local authorities play a key role, and with regard to which the collection of good practices
would be valuable. They can also however, contribute towards other durable solutions,
including returns and resettlement elsewhere in the country, including by: ensuring that
IDPs in their communities are identified and included in national durable solutions
programmes; improving access to information for IDPs; and facilitating the transference of
documents or benefits they may have acquired during their displacement. They can also
facilitate transitional or a combination of solutions, such as permitting IDPs to retain certain
rights, e.g. residency permits in host communities while they set up their new life in their
area of return and ascertain its safety, or by facilitating procedures so that some members of
the family may remain working in the host community while the rest of the family returns
to the place of origin. Where IDPs originally from the host community are returning to it,
local authorities will also play a central role in reinstating their rights, and addressing issues
such as secondary occupancy which may emerged as a result of their prolonged absence.
54.
When local integration is the preferred solution of IDPs, further measures will often
be necessary, both for the benefit of IDPs as well as their local constituencies. Foremost
among these are land, housing and livelihood measures, often necessary in order to deal
with conditions of overcrowding, dependency and illegal tenure which often affect IDPs
during their displacement. Consultations and the participation of affected communities,
both hosts and IDPs, will be essential in this process, in order to avoid unsuccessful
programs and secondary displacements. IDPs should also be given access to national and
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