A/HRC/19/54
IASC special weekly meetings. He considers the IASC to be a strategic venue within which
to mainstream the human rights of IDPs into the wider humanitarian agenda.
9.
In addition to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR),
which is the principal United Nations office supporting his mandate, the Special Rapporteur
has also maintained close cooperation and benefited from the valuable support provided by
the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), and the Office of the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). This cooperation and support
has included inter alia: periodic briefings by the Special Rapporteur on thematic or country
activities; participation in key events organized by these agencies; regular meetings with
regard to country situations and priorities for visits; strategy meetings to elaborate or
coordinate approaches and activities; exchange of substantive expertise on thematic and
country specific issues; and the invaluable assistance provided by these agencies in the
preparation and conduct of country visits. The Special Rapporteur wishes to express his
appreciation for the support provided to the mandate by these United Nations agencies, and
his intention to continue this constructive collaboration.
D.
Cooperation with regional and international organizations
10.
In addition to the above, the Special Rapporteur is pleased to report on his ongoing
collaboration with a number of regional and international organizations during the reporting
period, including, African regional organisations and mechanisms, the World Bank, the
International Committee of the Red Cross, and civil society organizations and networks. As
per his mandate priorities, he has engaged closely with regional organisations in Africa for
the promotion, ratification and implementation at the national level of the Kampala
Convention. Towards this end, he participated in, inter alia: the first Economic Community
of West African States (ECOWAS) Ministerial Conference on Humanitarian Assistance
and Internal Displacement in West Africa (6-7 July 2011), in Abuja; the Regional
Consultative Meeting on the Plan of Action on the Kampala Convention for the Eastern and
Central Africa region (20-21 May 2011) in Kinshasa; the Regional Consultative Meeting on
the Plan of Action on the Kampala Convention for the Southern African Development
Community (SADC), (17-18 March 2011) in Lilongwe, Malawi; and the Summit of Heads
of States of the International Conference for the Great Lakes (14-16 December 2011) in
Kampala.
11.
The Special Rapporteur has also maintained constructive collaboration with the
World Bank, and more specifically the “conflict, crime and violence unit”, the International
Committee of the Red Cross, with whom he is pleased to continue the annual open dialogue
session on issues of mutual concern, and with civil society organizations, both at
headquarters and in the field. More particularly he would like to express his appreciation
for the support provided to his mandate through the Brookings-London School of
Economics (LSE) Project on Internal Displacement. He is also appreciative of the strong
cooperation with the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), including on
thematic and capacity-building activities.
E.
Country engagement
Maldives
12.
At the invitation of the Government, the Special Rapporteur conducted an official
visit to the Maldives from 16 to 21 July 2011, during which he sought to examine the
situation of persons internally displaced as a result of the 2004 tsunami, and study issues
related to risks of potential internal displacement in the future, including due to the effects
of climate change (see A/HRC/19/54/Add.1).He found that climate change and other
factors specific to the low-lying island environment of the Maldives were already affecting
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