Civil Society and NGO Reports, Papers and Statement

Evaluation of UNHCR's efforts to prevent and respond to sexual and gender-based violence in situations of forced displacement
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Policy Development and Evaluation Service

To read the report, please click HERE.

Top 10 Critical Needs Facing Refugees & Those Displaced in Emergencies - Gender
Women's Refugee Commission

During the initial stages of a conflict, those who are forced to flee are particularly at risk—women, children and young people most of all. The Women’s Refugee Commission has identified 10 pressing needs that must be met during the first weeks and months of an emergency to ensure the safety and well-being of refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs)*.

To read the Top Ten list, please click HERE.

Refugee Realities – meeting the need of refugees and other people of concern globally
UNHCR, Pilot Report, October 2008
Basic needs of refugees not all met. Improved access to asylum, protection of women and children are required, according to the report. An assessment of the plight of refugees in eight countries shows disturbing gaps between basic needs and services offered, including shelter, food, sanitation and prevention of sexual violence, says a UN report released yesterday. In an address to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' annual executive meeting, the agency's assistant high commissioner for protection, Erika Feller, also said too many refugees face intolerance and denial of their rights by the international community.

To read the full report, pleas click HERE

The Great Lakes Pact and the rights of displaced people, A guide for civil society
The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre and The International Refugee Rights Initiative, September 2008
This Guide is intended to help readers understand the political, legal and institutional framework of the ICGLR. It focuses on the three protocols in the social and humanitarian pillar which are the most relevant for protecting the rights of displaced people. The guide includes information on “Protocol on the Prevention and Suppression of Sexual Violence Against Women and Children”. Sexual violence against women and children, ranging from harmful traditional practices to rape and trafficking, is a cause of immeasurable suffering and displacement in the Great Lakes region. There are many examples in the region of sexual violence being used as a tool of war. Sexual violence is not only a cause of displacement, but displacement in turn heightens women and children’s vulnerability to sexual violence.

To read the guide, please click HERE

Disabilities Among Refugees & Conflict-Affected Populations
TheWomen’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children, June 2008
This report is the culmination of a six-month project commissioned by the Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children and co-funded by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to address the rights and needs of displaced persons with disabilities, with a particular focus on women (including older women), children and youth. Based on field research in five refugee situations, as well as global desk research, the Women’s Commission sought to map existing services for displaced persons with disabilities, identify gaps and good practices and make recommendations on how to improve services, protection and participation for displaced persons with disabilities. The objective of the project was to gather initial empirical data and produce a Resource Kit that would be of practical use to UN and nongovernmental organization (NGO) field staff working with displaced persons with disabilities.

To view the full report, please click HERE

Resource Kit for Fieldworkers: Disabilities Among Refugees and
Conflict-Affected Populations
TheWomen’s Commission for RefugeeWomen and Children, June 2008
This resource kit is the companion to the report, Disabilities Among Refugees and Conflict-Affected Populations. It is intended for United Nations (UN), nongovernmental organization (NGO), community-based organization (CBO) and disabled persons’ organization (DPO) field staff working with refugees, asylum seekers and internally displaced persons (IDPs) with disabilities. It is intended to provide practical ideas on how to improve services and protection for people with disabilities and enhance their inclusion and participation in community affairs. It is based on the findings of five country field studies, as well global desk research into other refugee and IDP programs and an analysis of existing international policies and practices relating to displaced persons with disabilities. The resource kit is a compilation of lessons learned and ideas for action. It is not intended as authoritative guidelines. It is an initiative that the Women’s Commission hopes will be built on and developed over time, with input from a broad range of humanitarian actors, CBOs, DPOs and displaced persons with disabilities themselves. References to relevant international guidelines are given after each section.

To view the resource toolkit, please click HERE

Women, War, Peace & Displacement
WomenWarPeace.org
The often cited statistic that as many as 80 per cent of displaced populations are women and children fails to convey the complete devastation that displacement visits upon women and communities. Leaving homes, property and community behind renders women vulnerable to violence, disease and food scarcity, whether they flee willingly or unwillingly. Internally displaced women face additional dangers as they are often invisible to the international community within the context of violent conflict. Camps for refugees and the internally displaced have been criticized for not addressing women’s needs and concerns in their design and procedure. Failure to account for women’s security and health needs can make a camp intended to provide refuge a dangerous and deadly place for women and girls. Fortunately, UN, governmental and civil society organizations that serve displaced women are beginning to rise to the challenge of including women and a gender perspective at every stage of policy-making and implementation.

For the full brief, please click HERE

Women and War
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), May 2008
War and violence today spare no one, but they affect men, women, boys and girls in different ways. Women and girls in war-torn countries are faced with unimaginable risks, threats and challenges. War can mean violence, fear, loss of loved ones, deprivation of livelihood, sexual violence, abandonment, increased responsibility for family members, detention, displacement, physical injury, and sometimes death. It forces women and girls into unfamiliar roles and requires them to strengthen existing coping skills and develop new ones.

Despite all the hardship women endure in armed conflicts, the image of women as helpless victims of war is flawed. Women are playing an increasingly active role in hostilities – whether voluntarily or involuntarily. Many also play a proactive role post-conflict in peacebuilding and social reconstruction.

To read the full report on the major risks and challenges that women and girls face during war, and some of the ICRC's responses, please click HERE

Rapid Assessment of the Situation of Women and Girls in IDP Camps in Western Kenya
Coalition on Violence Against Women, February 2008
The report provides summarised information randomly collected from the press on the suffering of women during the post election violence and crisis in IDP camps but also in slum and other marginal areas.

To read the report, please click here

Myanmar (Burma): No End in Sight for Internal Displacement Crisis
February 2008
Despite intense international focus on the human rights situation in Myanmar (Burma) in 2007, forced displacement, as a result of conflict and human rights violations, is ongoing in the country. The government remains the perpetrator of the majority of violations against civilians, particularly those belonging to ethnic minority groups. As a result of the abuses, hundreds of thousands of Burmese have been left with no choice but to migrate over the course of a number of years. As of October 2007, at least 500,000 people were estimated to be internally displaced in the country’s eastern States. This is, however, a conservative figure as no information exists for several parts of the country.

For the full report, please click HERE

African Refugee Network Newsletter
December 2007-January 2008
The African Refugee Network Newsletter is a bimonthly publication of the ECDC Center for African Refugees and Immigrants (CARI). ECDC is a community-based organization established in 1983 to promote cultural, educational and socio-economic development programs to assist refugees and immigrants in becoming productive members of their new homeland. This edition contains a story entitled "UNHCR Urges Women Leaders to Empower Female Refugees".

For the full newsletter, please click HERE

Displacement, Gender, and Security: An Analysis
Designing responses and remedies for the displaced is dependent upon how this population is defined by policymakers and practitioners. Addressing the needs of women displaced by conflict is further influenced by the application of gender approaches in displacement, humanitarian and peace and security forums.

In adopting resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (2000) the UN Security Council acknowledged women’s contributions to peace-building, as well as their vulnerabilities resulting from conflict. This analysis draws particular attention to the situation of displaced women and girls, focusing on the application of gender sensitive approaches as highlighted in the resolution. It proposes that in order to address gender and displacement, key challenges, such as the need for greater synergy between the UN’s work on displacement and gender equality, must be met.

For the full report, please click HERE

Women Building Peace in the World - The Case of Colombia (Mujeres construyendo paz en el mundo - El caso de Colombia)
Reflections of the WILPF Delegation to Colombia, July 2007
An international delegation of WILPF members went to Colombia in the end of July 07 to assess the situation for women within a 1325 context. The delegation supported the concern that the civil population, and particularly women and young girls make up the majority of those who are at a disadvantage in Colombia, particularly as internally displaced individuals who more frequently are the specific target of attacks by armed groups.

For the full report, please click HERE

Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre of the Norwegian
Refugee Council draws attention to the situation of internally displaced and refugee women in Kenya to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
IDCMC Report - June 14, 2007
In anticipation of the consideration by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (“the Committee”) during its 39th session in July-August 2007 of the combined fifth and sixth periodic report of Kenya, the IDMC would like to draw the Committee’s attention to the situation of internally displaced and refugee women in the country and to a number of substantial constraints they face in realising the rights enshrined in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (“the Convention”).

For the full report, please click HERE

Engendering Persecution: Refugee Women, Gender-based Violence and State Responsibility in South Asia
Oishik Sircar, Women in Security, Conflict management and Peace (WISCOMP) Discussion Paper 13 (2007)
This monograph makes a case for the development of "gender asylum law" in South Asia in order to protect women from myriad forms of gender-based violence during times of active conflict as well as times of apparent peace.

For information on how to acquire this publication, please visit http://www.wiscomp.org/publications.htm

Beyond Firewood: Fuel Alternatives and Protection Strategies for Displaced Women and Girls
Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children, March 2006
In the report, Beyond Firewood: Fuel Alternatives and Protection Strategies for Displaced Women and Girls, the Women’s Commission outlines alternative fuel options, firewood collection techniques and other protection strategies that should be used in displaced and refugee situations worldwide.To be effective, however, all strategies aimed at reducing the threat to women and girls should be accompanied by the development of income-generation activities. Women and girls must be able to earn a living in ways other than collecting or selling firewood.

Nepal Case Study
Darfur Case Study

Displaced Women and Girls At Risk: Risk Factors, Protection Solutions and Resource Tools
Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children, February 2006
There is a growing understanding among practitioners and policy makers that the experiences of women and girls vary significantly from that of men during flight, in exile and once peace has been brokered or populations return home. Less, however, is understood about the many forms of violence and risks to women’s safety and wellbeing during various phases of displacement, and how to address them.

Liberian Stories: A Population Caught in a Cycle of Violence and Displacement
Médecins Sans Frontières, Monrovia / Brussels, July 2003
Random violence, looting, rape, forced recruitment, family separation and general chaos have been part of the daily life of many Liberians for more than a decade. In addition to countless civilian deaths, the ongoing conflict in Liberia is causing hundreds of thousands of people to flee throughout the region. It is estimated that, by June 2003, 100.000 Liberians were displaced within their country whilst 150.000 had sought protection in neighbouring Sierra Leone, Guinea and Ivory Coast.Rebel and government attacks are frequently accompanied by sexual violence. Women and girls are separated from their families and forced to stay with the fighters. Although it is hard for people to openly talk about such issues, even though it is sometimes not explicitly stated, it is strongly implied by interviewees that rape and sexual assault is commonplace.

Mereka Yang Mengungsi
Oxfam GB and Yayasan Baris Baru, 2003
Oxfam GB and Yayasan Baris Baru produced 12,000 copies of this cartoon-format version of the UN's Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement. These were developed according to international law to help uphold the rights of those displaced within their national boundaries.

Researching Internal Displacement: State of the Art: A Conference Report
Forced Migration Review, February 2003
The Conference was held in Trondheim, Norway, 7-8 February 2003 by Research Council of Norway, Research Group on Forced Migration at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Global IDP Project of the Norwegian Refugee Council, and funded by Conflict and Humanitarian Affairs Department of the UK Department for International Development (DFID)and to NTNU .

State of the World's Mothers 2003: Mothers and Children in War
Save the Children, 2003
In a survey of 105 countries, 33 out of 50 that ranked lowest in mothers' and childrens' wellbeing had experienced recent conflict or hosted large refugee populations.

War and Displacement Resources
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

If Not Now, When?: Addressing Gender-based Violence in Refugee, Internally Displaced, and Post-conflict Settings: A Global Overview
Jean Ward, The Reproductive Health for Refugees Consortium, The Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children and the International Rescue Committee, April 2002
The overall objective of this report is to provide a baseline narrative account of some of the major issues, programming efforts, and gaps in programming related to the prevention of and response to GBV among conflict-affected populations worldwide. Other outcomes of the Initiative, including an extensive web-based bibliography of GBV resources (accessible at www.rhrc.org/resources/gbv/bib) and an RHRC field manual for GBV assessment, program design, and evaluation, are meant to supplement the findings of this report with practical and field-friendly tools, as well as educational and training materials. The report is composed of twelve country profiles: three each for Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America.

Peacebuilding Manual for Internally Displaced People Women Camps (Sudan)
International Rescue Committee
The manual is the product of a project by the IRC's Women in Development program to raise the internal capacity of the IRC's staff in peacebuilding. The training program was developed after extensive interviews by the author with women living in Sudanese IDP camps. These interviews served to inform the training program in order to make it more effective and responsive to the training environment. It includes several customized and cultural-friendly role-plays. The author is willing to share the lessons learned during this process with anyone interested. For more information contact the author: Tag El Khazin, Subsahara Center, 1981 Montclair Ave, Gloucester, Ontario,K1W 1H9, Canada. Telephone: 1-613-834 7817, Fax: 1-613-834 4930. Email: subsaharagroup@home.com

Con La Esperanza a Cuestas: Una Intervencion
Patricia Guerrero, El Segundo Encuentro de la Liga de Mujeres Desplazadas de Bolivar, Cartagena, Colombia, 1-2 de junio del 2002
Este documento quiere mostrar una experiencia de resistencia de mujeres desplazadas forzadas por el conflicto interno armado Colombiano.

Closed Door Policy: Afghan Refugees in Pakistan and Iran
Human Rights Watch, February 2002
At least three and a half million Afghans are currently refugees in Pakistan and Iran,1 having been displaced from their homes by more than twenty-two years of civil strife, devastation, and political repression. Recently, thousands more Afghans have entered Pakistan and sought entry to Iran to escape generalized conditions of insecurity, factio nal conflict, and the U.S.-led bombing campaign that began in October 2001. Despite the overthrow of the oppressive Taliban regime, many Afghan refugees today fear to return home, recalling the fractious times that characterized the pre-Taliban era in Afghanistan. A primary problem in all of the refugee camps visited by Human Rights Watch was that there were no female police on site to ensure the security of female refugees, and from whom such female refugees could seek protection without putting themselves at risk of abuse or abridging cultural norms.

Human Rights of Women in Conflict Situations
Florence Butegwa, Stella N Mukasa and Susan Mogere for Women in Law and Development in Africa (WiLDAF), June 1995
This report focuses on Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Sudan and districts in the North-East and North of the country. Over 800 women were interviewed either individually or in small groups. It covers violations of the human rights of refugee and internally displaced women and the responsibility of the international community. It seeks to represent the opinions of the refugee and displaced women who were interviewed on what they saw as solutions.

UN Documents and Reports

UNIFEM Issue Brief on Women and Displacement
The often cited statistic that as many as 80 per cent of displaced populations are women and children fails to convey the complete devastation that displacement visits upon women and communities. Leaving homes, property and community behind renders women vulnerable to violence, disease and food scarcity, whether they flee willingly or unwillingly. Internally displaced women face additional dangers as they are often invisible to the international community within the context of violent conflict.
Camps for refugees and the internally displaced have been criticized for not addressing women’s needs and concerns in their design and procedure. Failure to account for women’s security and health needs can make a camp intended to provide refuge a dangerous and deadly place for women and girls. Fortunately, UN, governmental and civil society organizations that serve displaced women are beginning to rise to the challenge of including women and a gender perspective at every stage of policy-making and implementation.

To read UNIFEM brief review, please click HERE

UNHCR Handbook for the Protection of Women and Girls
January 2008
This handbook describes some of the protection challenges faced by women and girls of concern to UNHCR and outlines various strategies to be adopted with partners to tackle these challenges.

State of world population 2006: A passage to hope: Women and international migration
United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), 2006
Produced in tandem with the UN High Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development, this report recognises the reality that women constitute almost half of all international migrants worldwide- 95 million. The report emphasises the positive impacts that women migrants have had on reducing poverty through remittances that feed, clothe and educate children, provide health care and generally improve living standards for loved ones left behind. At the same time it warns that millions of female migrants face hazards in the form of trafficking and other types of exploitation. It critiques weak multilateral cooperation and the failure to establish, implement and enforce policies and measures designed to protect migrant women from exploitation and abuse.

Violence Against Women in Colombia
William Spindler and Jennifer Clark, UN High Commissoner for Refugees (UNHCR), Bogotá, Colombia, 25 November 2004

Statement by UN Special Rapporteur on adequate housing
Mr. Miloon Kothari, International Women’s Day, 8 March 2004

Guidelines for Prevention and Response Sexual and Gender-Based Violence against Refugees, Returnees and Internally Displaced Persons
UN High Commissioner for Refugees, May 2003

The Year in Review: Good News, Bad News
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, 2002
Developments in central Asia undoubtedly dominated the headlines, but there were other significant developments -both good and bad - during a year High Commissioner Ruud Lubbers described as a 'mixed bag.' The number of persons cared for by UNHCR had dropped by nearly 2 million the previous year, to just under 20 million. Those figures kept falling in 2002, fuelled mainly by the Afghan returns, and Lubbers predicted that thistrend would likely continue. Only eight years earlier the refugee agency had been assisting more than 27 million people around the world. And while the drop in the overall number of people needing help was encouraging in itself, equally positive was that much of this progress was reported from some of the world's worst trouble spots - situations described in official parlance as 'protracted situations.'

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Policy on Refugee Women
UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

The Gender Dimensions of Internal Displacement: Concept Paper and Annotated Bibliography
Judy A. Benjamin, Senior Technical Advisor on Gender, Khadija Fancy, Research Assistant at Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children, Office of Emergency Programmes, Working Paper Series, UNICEF, New York, November 1998

Government Statements and Reports

The Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement and their Pertinence to Governments in the ECOWAS Region
The ECOWAS/IOM Workshop on International Migration in West Africa, 30 September 2002
Erin D. Mooney, Deputy Director, The Brookings-SAIS Project on Internal Displacement
The Principles on internal displacement were developed by the Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General on Internally Displaced Persons, working in close collaboration with a team of experts in international law and in consultation with a wide range of international agencies and NGOs, regional organizations and experts in internal displacement worldwide. The process occurred over a four-year period. It culminated in 1998 when the Representative presented the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement to the UN Commission on Human Rights in Geneva.

Books, Journals and Articles

Burma – Women’s Voices for Hope
Alternative Asean Network on Burma, June 2007
“Burma - Women’s Voices for Hope” is the sixth edition of the Women’s Voices series. This book is a collection of stories and poems about the diverse experiences of women refugees, exiles and women activists from inside Burma.

Health Care of Refugee Women
Daniela Costa, Australian Family Physician, Vol. 36.3, April 2007
Women refugees have endured major discrimination and poverty in their countries of origin or countries of displacement. This has had a major impact on their physical and psychological health. The experience of resettlement places a further burden on their health.

Refugees and Internally Displaced: An Analysis of Human Rights Mechanisms and Advocates for Refugees and the Internally Displaced
Carol Bello Rodriguez, WHRnet, July 2003
The refugee and IDP crises will continue to worsen if its causes are not comprehensively and consistently addressed. Coupled with the implementation and expansion of existing protective international laws and mechanisms, direct and indirect causes of the displacement of peoples should be continually exposed and addressed. Feminist and solidarity movements at international and national/local levels that lobby and monitor laws and mechanisms, and the many peace efforts, including women’s peace initiatives, in various parts of the world should always exist and be further strengthened.

Where Are the Women? Gender Discrimination in Refugee Policies and Practices
Nahla Valji, Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation, Johannesburg; Lee Anne de la Hunt, Legal Aid Clinic at the University of Cape
Town; and Helen Moffett, African Gender Institute, University of Cape Town. AGENDA, vol. 55, 2003

War Has Changed Our Life, Not Our Spirit: Experiences of Forcibly Displaced Women
Jesuit Refugee Service, March 2003
The book is a collection of stories by and about women who have suffered war and displacement. War Has Changed Our Life aims to be a vehicle through which women can tell their stories of suffering and hope. Order this book

Refugee Survey Quarterly: Special Issue on Refugee Women
UN High Commisioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Oxford University Press, Volume 21, Special 01, August 2002

Resettlement: A Valuable Tool In Protecting Refugee, Internally Displaced And Trafficked Women And Girls
Alice Edwards, formerly UNHCR Focal Point on Refugee Women and Gender in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Rwanda. Forced Migration Review, vol. 11, December 2001
Resettlement‚ refers to the relocation to other countries of refugees who have sought refuge in a country where they continue to face risks to their life, liberty, safety, health or other fundamental human rights. It provides individuals with the opportunity to re-start and re-build their lives. It has been used successfully to resettle refugee women and girls who have been victims of sexual or gender-related violence, including rape. This article outlines the grounds upon which resettlement is granted, noting the very individual nature of a claim but recognising its use in protecting refugee women and girls in general.

Double Agony for Women Refugees
The Nation- Nairobi
Millions of African refugees are subjected to violence as war and civil strife ravage most of the continent. Eighty-five percent of refugees are women and children.

The Internally Displaced in Colombia: Gendered Experiences of Destruction and Rebuilding of Life: A Briefing Note
Donny Meertens, National University of Colombia, Gender & Development Program

Gender and Displacement
Refugee Studies Centre and Norwegian Refugee Council/Global IDP Project. Forced Migration Review, vol.9, December 2000
This issue of Forced Migration Review comes at a time when Gender and Development as a body of theoretical and professional practice is at a critical point in its evolution.

Women Start Taking their Places at the Peace Table
Miriam H. Zoll, The American News Service
This report examines the importance of women's involvement in conflict resolution and post-conflict reconstruction, explaining how such involvement strengthens development and economic recovery. Cambodia, Guatemala, Burundi, and the Middle East are used as case studies to show how women in these regions have been making their voices heard in peace efforts and negotiations.