MANHATTAN: UN agencies, governments and partners have announced the launching of measures to strengthen protection of internally displaced persons as well as find solutions to address their problems.

UN agencies, governments and partners Addressing the protection needs of the forcibly displaced and seeking solutions to their plight contribute to greater stability for countries and whole regions, Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said in a statement about the three-year Plan of Action.

“The consequences of our failure to resolve internal displacement can be devastating,” he stressed.The framework, formally called the Plan of Action for Advancing Prevention, Protection and Solutions for Internally Displaced People (2018-2020), calls on all relevant actors to step up efforts to prevent, respond to and resolve internal displacement.

It also proposes concrete activities to strengthen the participation of internally displaced persons in decisions concerning them, and expand national laws and policies on internal displacement as well as actions to improve data collection and analysis on displacements globally.

By the end of 2016, more than 40 million people were displaced within their own countries due to insecurity or rights violations. An additional 24 million were driven from their homes due to disasters.

Every year, an estimated 15 million people are also displaced by development projects.Given this complex conundrum, “bold and ambitious” steps are needed, Cecilia Jimenez-Damary, the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons, stressed.

“The Plan of Action seeks to galvanize a strategic dialogue, concerted action and adequate resources to address the plight of the internally displaced, while engaging them in the decisions that affect them,” added the independent expert.

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