OCHA Situation Report
Nepal: The Internally Displaced Persons
3 October 2006


Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Issue No. 1 Kathmandu, 6 September 2006

"Go back to what? There is nothing to return back to. The land has been 
captured or lost and our house has been looted and would need to be 
restored. We would return only if the situation changes and the 
conditions are in place". Dalit woman in Surkhet during the June 2006 
IDP inter-agency assessment mission to the Mid West.

I- INTRODUCTION

The fate of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) is one of the many 
outstanding issues of the peace negotiations between the interim 
government of Nepal and the CPN (Maoist). Granting those that had to 
flee their homes due to the conflict the opportunity to return safely 
and reintegrate socially and economically is key for a lasting peace.

With the signing of the 12-point agreement in November 2005, the Seven 
Party Alliance (SPA) and the CPN-Maoist have already expressed their 
willingness to unconditionally allow the safe return of "displaced 
democratic party leaders, activists and common people". The ceasefire 
Code of Conduct signed on 26 May takes it a step further with specific 
references to the needs of IDPs (1) and the issue of restitution of land 
and property to returnees (2). Moreover, for the fiscal year 2006-07, 
the government committed to mobilizing resources to support the process 
of return and announced an immediate cash relief package for conflict 
victims (3).

Since the end of the hostilities in April, it is estimated that 
thousands of displaced persons have returned to their original homes 
either spontaneously or under the auspices of local human rights NGOs. 
The majority of IDPs are still uncertain about the security situation or 
unable to make it back to their home due to financial constraints, but 
may well be on the verge of returning.

With this thematic report OCHA aims to provide a broad view of how the 
ongoing ceasefire and the recent political changes have had an impact on 
the displacement dynamic in Nepal. It also intends to highlight the 
unresolved issues affecting IDPs and the many challenges that the 
Government, donors and the aid community will need to consider when 
planning their IDP return support programmes.

II- MONITORING DISPLACEMENT

Monitoring the dynamics of displacement in Nepal has never been a 
straightforward task. Unlike other contexts where IDPs remain within the 
internationally recognized borders of the country to seek refuge in 
established settlements or easy- totrace host families, in Nepal IDPs 
have either gone to India through the 1,500 km-long open border or 
quietly settled in the district headquarters. The majority have remained 
voluntarily unidentified due to fear, insecurity or unawareness of their 
status.

The unclear boundaries between conflict-related displacement and 
historically seasonal and economic migration from the hill districts to 
the Terai and to India have further complicated the task of identifying 
and monitoring IDPs.

Consequently, today, almost 11 years after the armed conflict began, no 
one can ascertain the number of persons that have been displaced due to 
the conflict. Surveys carried out by organizations active in the field 
suggest that the number of IDPs could be anywhere between 100,000 and 
250,0004. While differences over the numbers are substantial, most 
organizations agree that Nepal's IDP situation would have long attained 
the scale of a classical humanitarian emergency if it were not for the 
porous border with India.

The wide range and diversity of the persons displaced has further 
hampered the ability to trace them and contributed to the relative 
'invisibility' of the IDPs. Traditionally, landowners, political party 
workers and the village elites were the first to flee following or 
fearing harassment by the CPN-Maoist. Forced recruitment of men and 
youth by the CPN-Maoist combined with the Security Forces' suspicion of 
their collaboration with the CPN-Maoist forced many young people and 
male heads of households to move out. As the conflict evolved, 
extortions, closure of schools, disruption of local commerce and failure 
of basic services prompted entire families to abandon their homes in 
numerous instances.

(1) "Assistance shall be provided in the work of returning displaced 
persons to their respective and rehabilitating them peacefully, 
comfortably and with dignity"

(2) "The property of political party leaders and workers and ordinary 
members which was seized or padlocked or whose use was not permitted 
during the conflict shall be returned to the individual or family 
concerned and its use shall be allowed. Any problems which may arise in 
the process of returning this property shall be resolved on the basis of 
mutual agreement."

(3) Rs 5,000 for returnees and an additional agriculture credit of up to 
Rs 10,000.

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