GENEVA (5 May 2022) – UN human rights experts* and the Global Protection Cluster Coordinator are alarmed by the scale of displacement in Ukraine and call for urgent action to protect internally displaced people. They issue the following statement:
*The UN experts: Cecilia Jimenez-Damary, Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons; Claudia Mahler, Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons; Gerard Quinn, Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities; Michael Fakhri, Special Rapporteur on the right to food; Reem Alsalem, Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences; Siobhán Mullally, Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children; and Tlaleng Mofokeng, Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.
The experts are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent of any government or organisation and serve in their individual capacity.
This statement is co-signed by the Global Protection Cluster (GPC) Coordinator, William Chemaly.