US embassy cable - 05GENEVA2101

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 GENEVA 002101 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR IO/SHA, DRL/MLA 
USUN FOR EDWARD MALY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, PREF, UNHRC-1, Human Rights 
SUBJECT:  LETTER FROM REPRESENTATIVE OF THE SYG ON THE HUMAN 
RIGHTS OF IDPS REGARDING HURRICANE KATRINA 
 
 
1.  Mission received the following communication from Walter 
Kalin, Representative of the Secretary-General on the Human 
Rights of Internally Displaced Persons, regarding the 
situation in the United States in the wake of Hurricane 
Katrina.  This communication has been forwarded to IO/SHA 
via e-mail and is number 29 on the Geneva 2005 
Communications Log. 
 
2.  Begin text of letter: 
 
REFERENCE: G/SO 214 (26-14)/PO 
 
2 September 2005 
 
Excellency, 
 
Allow me, both personally and in my capacity as 
Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General on 
the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons, to extend 
my sincere condolences to your Government for the deaths and 
physical destruction suffered in New Orleans and surrounding 
areas of Louisiana and Mississippi in the wake of Hurricane 
Katrina. 
 
I take this opportunity further to the mandate entrusted to 
me by the Commission on Human Rights in Resolution 2004/55 
to engage in advocacy for improving protection and respect 
of the human rights of the internally displaced and to 
continue and enhance dialogues with Governments, to express 
my concern over the current situation in a number of 
respects. The displacement of up to half a million persons 
and the deaths of thousands would pose vast challenges for 
any Government to address; a number of the current 
circumstances could not readily have been foreseen and 
planned for in advance and emergency responses take time to 
be fully geared up. 
 
Bearing these factors in mind, I wish to communicate to you 
through this channel my concern in four main areas. Firstly, 
particularly in New Orleans, consistent media reports have 
indicated an exacerbated situation of physical insecurity 
for many thousands of people. Numerous cases of physical 
attacks, including rapes, and threats thereof are understood 
to have occurred in a situation of lawlessness and hostility 
exceeding the powers of law enforcement authorities 
currently to control. Persons in states of heightened 
vulnerability due to deprivation of food, water and, in some 
cases, essential medicine are at heightened risk in these 
circumstances. I therefore am sure you will agree that as a 
matter of utmost priority the deployment of sufficient law 
enforcement personnel is needed to assure the physical 
safety of those currently in New Orleans. 
 
Secondly, the slow pace with which essentials of food, water 
and basic medicines have reached hurricane-affected 
populations, notably in New Orleans, is a matter of concern. 
In particular, in situations of mass accommodation such as 
the Superdome stadium where the overall numbers of persons 
and corresponding needs can be readily ascertained, the 
provision of such supplies takes on a critical dimension. 
 
Thirdly, I encourage your Government in framing its response 
to the current disaster to take particular account of 
vulnerable groups. In the present situation, those have been 
shown to be, in particular, the poor, the elderly and those 
without medical or property insurance. I trust that the 
policies formulated will have as a particular priority a 
focus on the human rights and individual needs of persons in 
these categories and their corresponding vulnerabilities. 
 
Finally, given the large scale displacement of people to 
other parts of the States affected and further afield within 
the country, it is important that your Government once 
beyond the initial phase of emergency relief develop a 
comprehensive plan for the support and return of these 
persons to their places of habitual residence as soon as 
possible. It is of particular importance that such people, 
far from their homes, be kept informed about the efforts 
planned and undertaken, and be included in the formulation 
of policies affecting both them and their areas of former 
residence. 
 
In my visits to numerous countries as Representative of the 
Secretary-General, I have found the Guiding Principles on 
 
SIPDIS 
Internal Displacement to be a useful tool for Governments at 
all levels, federal, State and local, in identifying the 
needs of displaced persons and in formulating policies 
attuned to the human rights of these people. By way of 
offering practical guidance to policymakers and those 
executing emergency responses, the Principles have shown 
their value in situations of natural disaster as well as 
armed conflict. I would therefore also commend them to your 
Government in developing the response to the current 
situation. 
 
I stand ready to engage further with your Government on 
these pressing issues and offer my every support to the 
efforts at all levels that are being taken to safeguard the 
human rights of those affected by the current catastrophe. 
 
Yours sincerely, 
 
Walter Kalin 
Representative of the Secretary-General on the Human Rights 
of Internally Displaced Persons 
 
End text of letter. 
 
BIGELOW