HRN has released an oral statement reaffirming the Special Rapporteur on Internally Displaced People’s (IDPs) Report on the almost 30,000 people still displaced by the 2011 Fukushima disaster. The statement highlights the challenges and vulnerabilities these IDPs still face, and we reiterate the report’s recommendations that the government of Japan meaningfully consult with the IDPs and use a human rights centered approach in making decisions affecting them.
A transcript of the statement is below the video.
Statement transcription:
Human Rights Now appreciates the Special Rapporteur on Internally Displaced People’s [IDPs] recent visit to Japan, engagement with civil society, and Report on IDPs affected by the Fukushima disaster.
More than a decade after the disaster, about 30,000 people remain displaced and many more in vulnerable situations. Affected people face threats to their finances, housing, livelihoods, family life, physical and mental health, education, and right to live in a safe environment.
We want to reiterate several points from the Special Rapporteur’s report, including concerns that compensation levels are prematurely ending or becoming insufficient and are inappropriately linked to evacuation orders, pressuring evacuees to return to potentially unsafe areas; that an inappropriately high level of radiation exposure has been used as the standard for lifting evacuation orders; that voluntary and mandatory evacuees are not treated equally in the support they can receive; and that threats against vulnerable groups such as women, children, and elderly persons are not being sufficiently addressed.
We want to also highlight the report’s recommendations that the government base decisions affecting IDPs on direct and meaningful consultation with affected IDPs and modify them based on their feedback, and that it follow a human rights centered approach in its decision-making, consistent with the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement.
We urge the government of Japan to take the report’s recommendations seriously and provide sufficient remedies and support to all evacuees.
Thank you.