Internally displaced persons in conflict zones need urgent protection from abuse
A new report highlights the prevalence of slavery-related abuse among IDPs in conflict areas, a study reveals the toll of visa discrimination on migrant workers in Australia, and a UN expert celebrates the work of human rights defenders.
Experiences of slavery-related abuse are prevalent among internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), South Sudan and Northeast Nigeria, and are inextricably linked to the conflicts in each country, according to a new study. The abuses occur before, during and after displacement, and conflict-related policies and practices may be rendering people more vulnerable to forced labour, forced recruitment and abduction at displacement sites.
The study was carried out by the International Labour Organization (ILO), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and Walk Free, to address the shortage of data around slavery-related abuse among persons displaced by conflict, which is severely lacking despite the growing understanding that such contexts increase vulnerability to abuse including forced labour, forced recruitment into armed groups and armed forces, forced marriage, abduction, and human trafficking.
The study was designed to estimate the prevalence of abuse experienced by IDPs over a five-year period in three countries – Nigeria, South Sudan, and the DRC – each of which has endured protracted conflict which continues to uproot people and force them to seek refuge in camps, camp-like settings, and in host communities. In addition to estimating prevalence, the study sought to better understand the nature of slavery-related abuse in relation to displacement experiences, and explore the relationship between individual-level and external factors associated with such abuse.
The researchers found that in the DRC’s North Kivu region, one in five IDPs surveyed had experienced forced labour, forced recruitment or abduction in the previous five years. In South Sudan, an estimated one in 20 IDPs in Protection of Civilian sites had been subjected to one or more forms of slavery-related abuse in the five-year period, while the figure for Northeast Nigeria was one in 60. Conflict was the main driver of both displacement and exploitation, and the perpetrators were often members of armed groups who exploited displaced populations to further their conflict-related operations. The recruitment and use of children in armed groups and armed forces was also reported across all three settings, with the majority of child recruits in South Sudan and North Kivu forced to engage in fighting and military service (96 per cent and 76 per cent respectively).
Furthermore, forced labour, forced recruitment and abductions were characteristically violent, and the use and threat of physical violence were the most common methods of forcing IDPs into situations of slavery-related abuse and preventing them from leaving exploitative situations. In North Kivu, 70 per cent of reported forced labour cases and 63 per cent of forced recruitment cases during the reference period involved violent force.
The researchers also found that, in South Sudan and North Kivu, there were failures in fully protecting displaced persons in displacement sites from incidents of slavery-related abuse. In South Sudan, 52 per cent of forced recruitment cases, 61 per cent of abductions, and 21 per cent of forced labour cases had begun after displacement. In the DRC, half of respondents who experienced forced labour were in a displacement site when the forced labour began and 47 per cent of primary respondents who had been abducted in the preceding five years had been abducted after displacement.
The authors highlight the urgent need to improve funding and capacity-building for early detection of at-risk individuals and victims, to improve access to reporting mechanisms and referral pathways, to continue and enhance data collection on slavery-related abuse in these contexts, and to ensure victims have access to justice through strengthened accountability and justice mechanisms. Their recommendations for humanitarian actors include: the provision of needs-based protection-specific assistance in areas of high displacement; the activation of specific and safe referral and incident reporting mechanisms; strengthening of the evidence base on forced labour, human trafficking and other protection issues in humanitarian settings; activation of accountability and justice mechanisms for victims and survivors; and early warning and screening frameworks for potential or imminent risk of trafficking, especially in managed camps.
Here’s a round-up of other noteworthy news and initiatives:
The Joint Committee on Human Rights in the UK has launched an inquiry into the Illegal Migration Bill and its engagement with rights under the European Convention on Human Rights, which are given effect in domestic law by the Human Rights Act 1998. To help inform its work, it welcomes evidence from interested groups and individuals. The deadline for submissions is 6 April 2023.
A new Migrant Workers Centre report, Insecure by Design: Australia’s migration system and migrant workers’ job market experience, reveals the toll of visa discrimination on migrant workers and reiterates the indisputable link between temporary visa status and workplace exploitation. Visa discrimination by employers has created a dual job market where exploitative and insecure jobs are readily available to migrant workers, while decent jobs are inaccessible. The temporary visa system also restricts migrant workers’ ability to find jobs that utilize their skills, experience and qualifications.
This new paper analyzes gender-based stigmatization from services and the way in which it can compound children’s trauma. In responses for boys, justice-based rather than trauma-informed models of support predominate, while binary-gendered terminology in legal frameworks creates barriers, excluding anyone other than women and girls from protection. To improve access to support for more children, problematic gender norms and gendered terminology should be challenged, trauma-informed care should be accessible for all, and proactive support that specifically connects boys and gender-diverse children to therapeutic services should be implemented.
This article explains how the recent increase in the use of state-affiliated private military and security companies (PMSCs) in civil conflicts has implications for United Nations peace operations and its protection of civilians (PoC) mandates. As the use of private forces expands to include other state sponsors such as China and the Gulf states, it is ever more important for the international community to understand the consequences of modern mercenaries for peace operation environments and the effectiveness of these missions in protecting civilians from harm.
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders (HRDs) has said that, 25 years after government officials all over the world signed the Declaration on HRDs, promising to protect and support them, state officials in many places still vilify and target them in an effort to undermine their work. It’s time to stop the threats against them, and to start celebrating and recognizing the vital work they do, she says.
Join Blue Dragon for a webinar on “How to end human trafficking – Lessons from the front line” on 12 April, when they will be talking in practical terms about their work in Vietnam – what works, and what they are still trying to figure out. There will also be an update on trends in human trafficking since the end of the COVID-19 lockdowns.
We are delighted to officially invite you to our next (virtual) Freedom Collaborative networking event, which will take place on Thursday 6 April at 8am EST/2pm CET/8pm ICT. These events provide an opportunity for you to meet and talk, and allow for spontaneous chats, random encounters and unexpected conversations. Please register here to join, and we will send you the link!
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