Human Rights Expert Reports on Maldives Mission 21 July 2011:
After returning from a mission to the Maldives, the Special
Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons
(IDPs) for the UN Human Rights Council, Chaloka Beyani, stressed
that the negative effects of climate change on peoples' rights
such as the right to housing, and safe water and livelihoods are
being felt across many islands. Beyani called on the Government
of Maldives to put in place measures to manage internal
displacement caused by climate change and natural disasters,
including a law on disaster risk reduction (DRR) to support the
implementation of the Strategic National Action Plan for
Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation 2010-2020,
and for the approval by the parliament of the law on disaster
management. He underlined that the lessons learned from the
internal displacement caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami
should inform and be integrated into future legislation and
policies. Beyani noted that measure