The UN on Thursday, May 30, 2019 decried the rising internal displacement in urban areas which it said are caused by conflict and disasters.
Filiep Decorte, Deputy Director of New York office of UN-Habitat, said that “the world is experiencing more conflicts while urbanisation is taking place in risk-prone areas”.
Decorte said on the sidelines of the first UN Habitat Assembly that “it is important for national and local governments to plan cities well so that they can take care of internally displaced persons.”
He added that both the Sustainable Development Goals and the New Urban Agenda provide tools for authorities to facilitate the return of the displaced to cities.
According to the UN agency, in countries experiencing civil conflict, people are often displaced within and between different neighbourhoods.
He noted that displacement can occur when houses are destroyed or when people have no access to livelihoods.
Decorte revealed that the arrival of people has huge impact on cities, especially on their capacity to provide water, housing, garbage collection and other critical services.
The UN-Habitat noted that completion for land resources is a key driver of conflict and internal displacement.
He observed that internal displacement could be solved through immediate responses via humanitarian services and long-term solutions that include policy reforms.
