Agatu Crises- UNHCR advocates increased assistance for IDPs

The United Nations High Commission for Refugees, (UNHCR) has advised the Federal Government to increase its assistance to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Agatu, Benue.

UNHCR’s Representative to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Ms Angele DIkongue-Atangana, gave this advice on Wednesday in Makurdi in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

She said that the IDPs in Agatu required urgent and sustained attention just like their counterparts in the North-East and other areas in Nigeria.

She stressed the need for the government to provide the IDPs with necessary logistics and legal assistance to enable them return to their various homes voluntary or resettle in Agatu.

“The amount of damage done to Agatu communities is similar to what obtained in Borno and other affected states in Nigeria.

“As at now, over 2.2 million Nigerians have been displaced from their homes in villages and towns seeking refuge and protection in camps and communities,’’ she said.

DIkongue-Atangana said that the IDPs have equal rights and freedom under national and international laws, adding that they should not be discriminated.

She said that all UN member states had the responsibility to ensure that human rights of individuals in their territories or under their jurisdiction are protected during armed conflicts and disasters.

“As citizens of the same country in which they are displaced, the IDPs will have to turn for help from their own governments and authorities, “she said.

The UNHCR official said that the extent of the obligation a state owed its citizens depended on the international conventions to which it was a signatory to.

“States are also bound by rules of customary international law and may have obligations under regional agreements.

“The Great Lakes Protocol and the Kampala Convention make it mandatory for member states to develop national legal frameworks to protect the rights of the IDPs, she said.