IDPS

Who are internally displaced persons(IDPs)?

IDPs are "persons or groups of persons who have been forced or obliged to flee or to leave their homes or places of habitual residence, in particular as a result of or in order to avoid the effects of armed conflict, situations of generalized violence, violations of human rights or natural or human-made disasters, and who have not crossed an internationally recognized border." They are victims of forced evacuation and expulsion when armed conlifct, generalized violence, land conversion, environmental destruction, and other natural or man-made disasters are inevitable and by this they are considered as the world’s most vulnerable people, however, the sistuation of the IDPs remains largely unresolved in the absence of concrete structures and mechanisms that will meet their needs. IDPs are different from refugees, latter refers to a person who “owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion is forced to leave his or her country.” IDPs leave their habitual residence for almost the same reason as refugees, but they remain within their own country unlike refugees who crosses an international border. Therefore, while refugees become subject to the laws of their host state, IDPs remain vulnerable to the situation of the country in which the conflicts, violence and disasters are occurring.

Duties of the Philippine Government

National authorities have the primary duty and responsibility to provide protection and humanitarian assistance to IDPs within their jurisdiction.When disasters strikes against Flipinos such as Zambaonga Siege Incident and the Yolanda typhoon, the normal economic a...

... middle of paper ...

... syndromic treatment is available for people presenting with symptoms of sexually transmitted infections; and women and girls can access menstrual hygiene supplies.

Conclusion

Fundamental rights of every Filipino do not disappear the moment they become IDPs. There is more need to protect their rights because of their situation. We witnessed the aftermath of Zamboanga Siege and typhoon Yolanda in the southern part of the Philippines. The effect of it was very devastating and really hard to comprehend how will the IDPs will recover. This can be done by the help of the government and the people themselves. Therefore, IDPs are entitled to the full protection of national law and the rights it grants nationals, without any adverse distinction resulting from the fact of their displacement. It is the responsibility of the Philippine government to protect these rights.