In many places affected by conflict and crisis, displaced women continue to live in extreme vulnerability. They often suffer unbelievable human rights abuses and remain marginalised, unable to make decisions about their lives and their communities. This is especially the case with respect to the realisation of their housing, land and property (HLP) rights.
Norwegian Refugee Council’s (NRC) staff witness first-hand how conflict is most acutely felt by women and exacerbated by discrimination. Through our legal assistance operations we have witnessed the magnitude of the difficulties confronting displaced women seeking to access justice in order to claim their housing, land and property.
We fail in our humanitarian, development and peace-building efforts if we do not adequately support women and build on their own resourcefulness. In 2000, the UN Security Council passed the landmark Resolution 1325, generating numerous global initiatives and subsequent resolutions promoting the rights of women in conflict and post-conflict situations. Yet almost 15 years later, humanitarians still have a long way to go to put women at the centre of policy and operations. This is even more acute for displaced women’s rights.
This report is NRC’s contribution to generating policy and practice solutions based on our operational experience. We aim to shed light on the major hurdles that displaced women face when seeking to secure a home and rebuild their lives both during and after crisis. We have listened to their experiences in many countries and sought to reflect their voices, their concerns and their own vision for solutions. The report speaks of the difficulties, courage and triumphs of the displaced women with whom NRC works, and offers practical recommendations for humanitarians to support women as they recover from tremendous hardship.
But beyond this, the report reinforces NRC’s belief that even in the midst of conflict and crisis, humanitarians can seize opportunities to bring about lasting transformation and greater equality through our conflict and post-conflict interventions. We can do this by challenging discriminatory laws and practices that undermine not only women and girls’ rights, but also the effectiveness of humanitarian aid. Assisting displaced women to claim their HLP rights, particularly through legal assistance, is a crucial part of the solution.