Defining Displacement: The urgent need for clarity and protections in Pakistan’s humanitarian crisis
Triggered by torrential monsoon rains, Pakistan’s 2022 floods submerged one-third of the country, with the deluge leading to over 1,700 deaths, and affecting over 33 million people. Some eight million people were displaced at the time, and many continue to live in tents and makeshift homes. This was not Pakistan’s first brush with large-scale human displacement. The country has also seen a similar scale of internal migration in the aftermath of the 2010 Super floods, as well as due to military operations in the country’s northwest in the 2000s and the 2010s. Add to that, the very many displacements on a relatively smaller scale due to conflicts tied to factors such as religious extremism, and intra-city gangwars to claim greater control, in the past 20 years, Pakistan has grappled with communities fleeing their dwellings and the effects that these events have on the socioeconomic fabric of the country.
Many displaced communities are forced to live in isolation, depriving them of necessities. While being displaced, these people live in constant threat and uncertainty for the future, causing severe mental health issues.
Forced to live in unforeseen circumstances, communities that end up uprooting themselves not only begin to exist in the shadows, leading to a significant impact on the physical and mental health of their members, nevertheless, they are also left with no choice but to embrace extreme uncertainty when it comes to future prospects around employability and housing.
In Pakistan, the core causes that have led to the displacement of large populations include extreme climate events and conflicts around the Taliban and religious militancy. Additionally, Pakistan is also host to a significant population of Afghans escaping Afghanistan with the Taliban’s return to power in Kabul. Not a signatory to the 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, Pakistan has no domestic laws or procedures to safeguard refugees or assess the refugee status of individuals seeking international protection within her borders. Consequently, individuals in this category are subject to the regulations outlined in the Foreigners Act of 1946.
Though, for over two years, a large number of Afghans who legitimately fled hunger, conflict and women’s rights violations, and arrived in Pakistan have been living in the country, a big number of them without adequate access to services. The visas that many Afghans obtained to travel to Pakistan in 2021, have expired, rendering them vulnerable to exploitation.
They also face a very palpable risk of deportation to Afghanistan, where women, persons from persecuted religious minority groups, journalists, and Human Rights Defenders, face a significant threat under Taliban rule.
In this milieu, these refugees do not have legal protections and are not considered ‘displaced’ either, given how ‘displacement’ is almost always categorised as an internal phenomenon and cross-border movement of communities is left out.
Why define displacement?
Defining 'refugees,' 'migrants,' and 'displaced' within a broader framework is crucial for shaping public discourse and ensuring accurate representation.
Misinterpreting these groups can compromise their legal rights, impede access to necessary protections, undermine state obligations, disregard their lived experiences, and jeopardize their safety within mixed movements. Failing to recognize their distinct statuses risks their lives and might push for their return to dangerous environments. Therefore, it's imperative to acknowledge the legal standing of individuals in mixed movement scenarios, granting them the necessary protection and tailored support they require, even on an international scale.
The term "migrant" lacks a universally accepted definition, sparking intense debates over its precise scope. This discrepancy revolves around two primary perspectives: the inclusivist view, which encompasses anyone who has relocated from their usual residence, regardless of their motives or legal status, and the residualist view, which considers migrants as those moving for reasons other than fleeing war or persecution.
Within the United Nations, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) adopts the inclusivist stance, defining migrants broadly as individuals who have moved away from their customary dwelling, whether within a country or across borders. This definition encompasses various legal statuses, voluntary or involuntary movements, diverse reasons for relocation, and varying durations of stay.
Nevertheless, the United Nations conventions, such as the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, and the UN Refugee Agency, lean toward the residualist perspective. According to them, "migrant" refers strictly to voluntary moves made for personal convenience, like seeking employment, pursuing education, or reuniting with family, devoid of external threats or persecution influencing the decision.
Source: Meaning of Migrant by J. Carling
However, ‘displacement’, sometimes used interchangeably with 'forced migration', encapsulates the difficult reality faced by individuals compelled to leave their homes due to various distressing circumstances.
According to UNOCHA, displacement or forced migration refers to the “movement of persons who have been forced or obliged to flee or to leave their homes or places of habitual residence, in particular as a result of or in order to avoid the effects of armed conflict, situations of generalized violence, violations of human rights or natural or man-made disasters.”
To navigate through the challenges, this displacement can be within the city, or country, or can even be cross-border.
Therefore, as a significant global challenge, human displacement requires immediate as well as long-term solutions and an internationally recognised definition of the phenomenon to provide a common understanding of what it constitutes, can help in accurately identifying and addressing affected populations, whether they are internally displaced, are refugees, migrants or are facing other forms of displacement.
From enabling accurate collection of data and reporting on displacement trends, a definition is a critical first step to developing evidence-based policies and interventions. A shared understanding of the problem will help governments and international bodies in developing coherent policies and strategies for addressing displacement challenges.
National Identification – enabler or disabler?
One of the most critical challenges the displaced face is that of identification – in Pakistan, this is a very critical function that gate-keeps access to services. With no identity documents immediately available, members of these displaced groups become vulnerable, not only at the hands of host communities, but also at the hands of fellow displaced who were able to gather, hold, and carry their documents during the displacement event. These individuals take on the informal role of guarantor – a phenomenon we have observed in the climate-hit communities that migrated to Karachi’s 500 Quarters, Musharraf Colony, and Sindhabad areas.
A similar dynamic can be observed in the displaced communities of the Hazara and the Afghans who were victims of conflicts. This lack of documentation often becomes the main reason for these affected individuals and families to form ‘communities’. With their ability to access services, employment opportunities, and accommodation, these document-ready individuals end up lording over the vulnerable within their groups, with those at their mercy living in constant fear.
With this in mind, a clear definition is essential in order to develop legal frameworks and protections for displaced persons and communities, so as to ensure that their rights are upheld and their inability to produce identity documents in the aftermath of a traumatic event is not a prerequisite to them deserving adequate safeguards. Having these protections will facilitate accountability for violations of displacement-related rights, identification of responsible parties, and the pursuit of justice for affected persons.
Struggling to integrate, unable to resettle
Furthermore, in Pakistan, it has been observed that large-scale internally displaced communities who were primarily victims of extreme climate events, often find it difficult to integrate into the host communities, who often exploit them by keeping them on low wages due to their inability to produce identity documentation. And with little interest from power quarters in helping the displaced resettle on their lands and reconstruct their homes destroyed as a result of extreme weather events, these lost communities do not go back. This adds to further tensions along ethnic lines between the displaced and the host communities. Tensions that we observed between different ethnic groups living in Karachi are indicative of the strife that persists in other parts of the country. Sindhi leaders often restate that Karachi belongs to Sindhis and that those who moved here after 1954 should pay tolls and taxes to live in the mega city. With Sindhi nationalists becoming more vocal, such statements have become a common refrain that we also heard in the city’s 500 Quarters neighbourhood.
Displaced communities also reported the loss of language, culture, and cuisine
A definition is thus critical to ensure that the displaced receive adequate protection and are offered meaningful assistance that can help them resettle on their lands and reconstruct their homes. This is particularly so for those displaced as a result of weather events, whereas, those affected by conflict, should only be offered resettlement options when it is indeed safe for them to return. This exercise can take place correctly with a definition that helps in collecting accurate data and enables the understanding of the causes and patterns of displacement, guiding policymakers in working towards reducing the impact of crises if not prevent them and in ensuring that displaced individuals receive the support and the rights that they are entitled to.