The Sub-Commission
on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities,
Conscious that human rights violations and breaches of international
humanitarian law are among the reasons why refugees, as defined
in relevant international legal instruments, and internally displaced
persons flee their homes and places of habitual residence,
Recognizing that the right of refugees and internally displaced
persons to return freely to their homes and places of habitual residence
in safety and security forms an indispensable element of national
reconciliation and reconstruction and that the recognition of such
rights should be included within peace agreements ending armed conflicts,
Recognizing also the right of all returnees to the free exercise
of their right to freedom of movement and to choose one's residence,
including the right to be officially registered in their homes and
places of habitual residence, their right to privacy and respect
for the home, their right to reside peacefully in the security of
their own home and their right to enjoy access to all necessary
social and economic services, in an environment free of any form
of discrimination,
Conscious of the widespread constraint imposed on refugees
and internally displaced persons in the exercise of their right
to return to their homes and places of habitual residence,
Also conscious that the right to freedom of movement and
the right to adequate housing include the right of protection for
returning refugees and internally displaced persons against being
compelled to return to their homes and places of habitual residence
and that the right to return to their homes and places of habitual
residence must be exercised in a voluntary and dignified manner,
Aware that intensified international, regional and national
measures are required to ensure the full realization of the right
of refugees and internally displaced persons to return to their
homes and places of habitual residence and are indispensable elements
of reintegration, reconstruction and reconciliation,
1. Reaffirms the right of all refugees,
as defined in relevant international legal instruments, and internally
displaced persons to return to their homes and places of habitual
residence in their country and/or place of origin, should they so
wish;
2. Reaffirms also the universal applicability
of the right to adequate housing, the right to freedom of movement
and the right to privacy and respect for the home, and the particular
importance of these rights for returning refugees and internally
displaced persons wishing to return to their homes and places of
habitual residence;
3. Confirms that the adoption or application
of laws by States which are designed to or result in the loss or
removal of tenancy, use, ownership or other rights connected with
housing or property, the active retraction of the right to reside
within a particular place, or laws of abandonment employed against
refugees or internally displaced persons pose serious impediments
to the return and reintegration of refugees and internally displaced
persons and to reconstruction and reconciliation;
4. Urges all States to ensure the free and
fair exercise of the right to return to one's home and place of
habitual residence by all refugees and internally displaced persons
and to develop effective and expeditious legal, administrative and
other procedures to ensure the free and fair exercise of this right,
including fair and effective mechanisms designed to resolve outstanding
housing and property problems;
5. Invites the United Nations High Commissioner
for Human Rights, in consultation with the United Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees, within her mandate, to facilitate the full implementation
of the present resolution;
6. Invites the United Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees, in consultation with the United Nations High Commissioner
for Human Rights, to develop policy guidelines to promote and facilitate
the right of all refugees and, if appropriate to her mandate, internally
displaced persons, to return freely, safely and voluntarily to their
homes and places of habitual residence;
7. Decides to consider the issue of return
to place of residence and housing for refugees and internally displaced
persons at its fifty-first session, under the agenda item entitled
"Freedom of movement" to determine how most effectively
to continue its consideration of these issues.
35th meeting
26 August 1998
[Adopted without a vote. See chap. XII.] |
