It is International Law to Restore Family Ties for Displaced Persons

Restoring family ties

Principles 16 and 17 deal with the issue of missing persons and the reunification of dispersed family members. They refer to the right of internally displaced persons to be informed of the fate and whereabouts of relatives reported missing and to be reunited with them as quickly as possible. In both cases the Guiding Principles stipulate that the authorities concerned shall cooperate with the humanitarian organizations engaged in such tasks. Indeed, tracing missing persons, conveying messages between separated family members and arranging for family reunifications form part of the traditional activities conducted by the ICRC.

Assistance and protection

One entire section of the Guiding Principles (Principles 24-27) is based on the rules of humanitarian law providing for relief to be delivered to the civilian population in an impartial manner. The document further reaffirms that offers of services made by humanitarian organizations shall not be regarded as interference in a State’s internal affairs nor arbitrarily refused.

The Guiding Principles also contain provisions aimed at affording better protection to internally displaced persons. Principle 27, for example, stipulates that:

“International humanitarian organizations (...) when providing assistance should give due regard to the protection needs and human rights of internally displaced persons and take appropriate measures in this regard. (...)”


http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/iwpList128/2B7B10C17B8F1A07C1256B66005C4550

since Bushco has so messed things up. I would highly recommend that everyone hop over to www.refugeesinternational.org for their detailed analysis of what needs to be done with the internally displaced persons. This group has been reporting on refugee status around the world for 25 years, and they know of what they speak.

Hurricane Katrina: Apply lessons from international disasters

• Make special efforts to protect vulnerable people: There have been reports of rape and other incidents of gender-based violence taking place in the New Orleans Superdome. Special efforts need to be made to identify vulnerable people --- women, children, the elderly, the sick --- and get them to safe locations. In large enclaves of displaced people, such as in the Superdome and other areas being considered for temporary refuge, adequate numbers of security personnel need to be present to prevent violence and abuse of people unable to protect themselves. Unaccompanied children need to be immediately identified and have their special needs for food, education, health care, and moral support met in safe places away from the chaos.

• Ensure a secure environment as rapidly as possible: In the absence of overall security and law and order, it is very easy for isolated looting to degenerate into widespread lawlessness and violence. Once this downward spiral begins, it is difficult to arrest. People displaced as the result of Katrina need to see that order is being maintained so that they have fewer anxieties for their personal safety and the safety of their remaining possessions. Rapid deployment of civilian policy and National Guard units, which has already begun, is essential.

• In the temporary relocation process, avoid the establishment of large encampments and strive to establish normalcy: The establishment of some large temporary relocation sites is inevitable given the extent of the destruction and the need to evacuate a city of the size of New Orleans, but this approach should be avoided to the extent possible. In the aftermath of a disaster, large camps of dependent people, while they facilitate service delivery, are also breeding grounds for despair and prolong the individuals’ sense of being victims. Ways should be found to provide basic support to people who can stay with friends, relatives, and concerned individuals and thereby reduce the overall demand on government organized services. In the large centers for displaced persons, every attempt should be made to establish the routines of normal life as soon as possible, especially through assuring access to education and recreational outlets for young people.
• Support the capacity of individuals and communities to rebuild their own lives: Refugees International has witnessed again and again --- most recently in the immediate aftermath of the tsunami --- the determination of disaster victims to begin the rebuilding process as soon as possible. Supporting this determination rather than undermining it is a basic principle of effective disaster assistance. Community and religious leaders should be identified who can help plan and organize the rebuilding process at the local level. The massive clean-up operation should employ disaster victims to the extent possible, injecting much-needed cash into the family economy, rather than relying on contractors utilizing labor from outside the community.

http://www.refugeesinternational.org/content/article/detail/6710?PHPSESSID=598c26da5e9f1cc3b8dee6c0895ddaaa

They probably defy gravity too.

edit: I really should make some coffee