UN urges Nigeria to pass IDP law

The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), has urged the Federal Government to fast track the passage of the National Policy on Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), to tackle challenges facing displaced persons especially in the North-East.

The Deputy Country Representative of the UNHCR in Nigeria, Bridget Eno, made the plea yesterday in Abuja at a stakeholder’s meeting to review the policy organised by the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, (NCFRMI).

She said since the Kampala Convention which Nigeria ratified, there have been series of advocacy to ensure the domestication of the pact.

The Federal Commissioner of NCFRMI, Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouk, said providing assistance and protecting the IDPs has been difficult for government and nongovernment actors due to the lack of coherent framework that has drastically impeded their ability to act as expected.

She said that the passage of the law will among others ensure that durable solutions are provided for survivors to ensure that they are rehabilitated and resettled.

The Chief of Army Staff Lt-Gen. Tukur Buratai represented by the Chief of Civil-Military Affairs, Army Headquarters, Major-General Peter Bojie, the Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) Auwal Musa Rafsanjani and the Legal Office of the International Committee of the Red Cross Isabel Robinson among others stressed the importance of passing the policy into law in the interest of the IDPs and the country.