“IT IS CAUSE TO BE REFUGEE AND IDP”

As TakingITglobal this month of August focusing on the refugees, I wonder whether what to say because to be as refugee or IDP is as being in hell pf problems and actual is just as if one is caused by God.

This paper is my analysis of Human Rights situation of the refugees and IDPs and it is not an imagination of reality of the problems through my experience as being a refugee as well as IDP in Africa. The paper attempts to present the broader issues of Human Rights Violation of Rfugees/IDPs in conflicting Areas such as Sudan and the Northern Uganda and the question of the effectively implementation of UN convention of 1951 on Refugees.

Before any attempts I could made to this paper, I Just feel to Express what UN have defined the Term Refugees and IDPs during the UN 1951 Convention on Refugee. They Defined Refugees as any person fleeing due to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for the reasons of faith, race, religion, nationality, memberships of particular social group or political opinion and that must be outside the country of his/her nationality. Further more, such a person owning to such a fear of persecutions is unwillingly to avail himself/herself of protection of his/her Country and finally, owing to such fear is unwillingly to return to it. Such a person UN said has fulfilled the criteria, qualified to be Refugee. While, IDPs are people who have been displaced from their homes because of maybe natural or man-made disaster and seeks refugee within their own Country.


CAUSES OF REGUGEES AND IDPs
In 1987 when we were in Yeri, a town in Mundri Counties in South Sudan, it was in the early morning when the South Sudan Main rebel the Sudan People Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA/M) attacked Yeri Police Post and we hard to run into bush to hid ourselves. This was my first time to experience such incident because we hard to spent Night in the Bush without any thing to sleep on and even without food for complete one day and some hours. As we were hiding the bush, the rebel hard already capture the town and have done all that they could wish to do such as Killing the innocents, raping women and girls, looting properties, burning Houses and adopting people and they have gone. All these atrocities have been done within three hours time. When we came back home from the bush, we found nothing, and our lives seems to be in danger so this made us to took refugee in Mundri. These same incidents happened to us in Mundri, Amadi and Maridi within short period of time.

In 1989 we have been again displaced from Maridi where by we took refugee in Kaya. Kaya is quite a small town in Sudan, boarded Uganda and DR Congo and not longer, in 1993 Sudan Khartoum Government launched massive attack on us in the Displaced Camps and they were using air and ground to attack us so our lives is certain because we don’t know whether we gonna survive or not. To make live worse, the SPLA also lunched massive attack on the Civilian residing with them and they have been forcible conscripting people into rebel, they have being torturing Civilians, Killing Civilians and we remained in the wonder world of Confusions and suffering between the warring functions. There was no safe heaven to us and because of these threats of life that we faced and have been facing; we have to take refugee in Uganda on 5 August 1993. (We were about 20,000 in Number).

Indeed, the cause of refugees and IDPs are mostly on common ground and these are life threats by either the Government or rebels. These life threads could be on the bases of sex, race, and political opinion and for the case of Sudan, mostly war, faith and civil strife.

Therefore, something worse causes refugees and IDPs and these Worse things maybe threats to their life and thus made them to leave their comfort zone and become Refugees local or international. Thus means that any person claims to seek for refugee’s asylum, there is really need to consider his/her case on the base of the refugees and IDPs criteria.

It was not my own will to be first as IDP and then Refugee in Uganda,but because some thing worse has been threatening my life, I have to go where I Though I will real find safety and dignity.

Even though in 2000 I have repatriated myself voluntary back to Sudan for the sake of saving my fellow youths who are suffering as hard been before, I repatriated myself because I love to be with them, to advocate for their rights, to mobilize and empower them so as they could know their rights and overcome some of the crucial life issues they are facing in this Civil war in Sudan. (Currently, in Sudan I am IDP because I am staying the IDPs Camps in Kotobi and at the same time as Refugee because all my family stays in Uganda and I have been offered Refugee’s Asylum in Uganda by Ugandan Government).


RIGHTS OF THE REFUGEES AND IDPs
Whether you are a refugee or IDP or none of the two groups, Human Rights if for all Human Being living on the earth. That is because all State members of UN have adopted the fundamentalisms of the Human Rights although most does not put on to action the practicum of Human rights on their Citizens. The UDHR article 18 said that, “Every one has the Right to Freedom of Though, conscience and Religion” and Article 20 said that “Everyone has the Rights to the freedom of peaceful assemble and association” the UDHR constitution recognized that all Human being are accorded fully and equal dignity of person and that all human being are equal before and under the law in the sphere of politics, economics, social and cultural life; these it upholds itself on the rights of individuals to life, to liberty, to security, marriage, to work, to education, to decent standard of living, justices, ownership of property, freedom of movement and etc.

The UDHR is guaranteed to all human being with the soul, spirit and body irrespectively of the life status or personalities. Although I stated that Human Rights is for all, but there are some specific Law that is made to the protections of their rights and dignity and these laws are three folded. The UN 1951 Convention Article 13-33 set minimum Law to govern the minimum standards of the rights of the Refugees and these laws includes the Rights to Education, the Rights to the freedom of Movement, the Rights to the Humanitarian assistance, the Rights to the Acquiring the Identification Paper (Card), the rights to the acquiring the immovable Property, the Rights to the Intellectual property, the rights to the association with none Political and None Profit Making Organizations and trade union, the Rights to the access to the National Court, the Rights to the wage Earning employments, the rights to the self- employment.

The 1951 UN Convention continued to say that, No refugee shall be expelled or repatriated in any manner whatsoever to the frontiers of the territories where his/her life or freedom would have been in danger on the bases of his/her Human rights. This article could be and is well enforced by the UDHR article 5.

The Constitution also said that, in the conflicting areas, Refugees have fundamentality of Rights to the physical security and they are not objected to any military operations or target for military operations.

This it applies the IDPs that they are governed by the Constitutions of the own Government and will remain under the responsibilities of their own government.



VIOLATION OF THE RIGHTS OF REFUGEES AND IDPs

Based on the experiences, there are two major source of the violation of the Refugees and IDPs rights and these are from the Civil Authorities working with the Relief, Humanitarian Agencies and the Government army as well as rebel.

The acts of both the Sudan Government and the South Sudan main rebel group the SPLA (See the Cause of Refugees and IPDs) it is an act of Human rights Violation of the Rights of IDPs and in most case what I have seen is that the IDPs insecurity cases or issues are not taken seriously by both the government of their Country or even by the International Communities.

Refugees and IPDs are some times camped in dry areas where there is not water such as in Yoya, the Sudanese Refugees Camp in Ikaff-west Nile Region of Uganda. There was no water in that land and we have to wake up at doom to go to fetch water at a distance of six kilometers away from the camp moreover even the sources of the water is not suitable Human being uses, While other camps are located in the sweep areas.

The 1996 LRA attack on the Sudanese Refugees Camps of Acolppi and agogo and massacre 107 Sudanese refugees- (see the New Vision, July 16th 1996). Some of the Violation of the refugees and IDPs are directly as the result of the polices of the UNHCR that Refugees must restrict live only within Refugees Camp and this was Against the UN 1951 article 27 that Refugee rights of freedom of movement and refugees rights to chose where to stay and opportunities to make fresh start of life.. In that same July 1996 the UNFR 11 attached our Camp in Yoyo and all the UNHCR Staffs and other Humanitarian agencies such as Oxfam has to evacuate the Base camp to Town for the Fear of being attached by the UNRF 11. They lift us in the camp to be murdered by the Rebels. So when rebels continuously attacking the camps, we hard to evacuate the camps and fellow the UNHCR and Humanitarian Agencies are Based in Yumbe Town, but the UNCHR issued other that no food shall be distributed to refugees in town unless in the camps moreover there in Yumbe we are staying outside under the trees and it has been raining on us. Of cause since most of us dying because of Hunger, we became into two groups, they those who decided to voluntary repatriated themselves back to Sudan, and other decided to go back to the camps so as to be killed by the Rebels.

In Uganda, refugees are not titled to Identifications Paper any howl and it is only at time students been and will be issued with an identification documents. In 1996, some refugees have been forceful repatriated back to Sudan and this was either the collaboration of the SPLA or the Sudan Government. These are not only the atrocities but the worse of when Sudanese Refugees has been recruited into army by the Uganda Government through the collaboration of the SPLA in 1995 whereby they are based and trained at Gulu in northern Uganda with the aim of fighting the LRA.

It is against all what that I have experienced as Refugee and IDP, I have to only say that it is cause to be refugees or IDPs because this is the status of life time whereby you may have no obligations and your Rights are always abused indirectly or directly by the government, Civil authorities and Humanitarian Agencies including the UNHCR.

John Sunday Martin