ABSTRACT
Just as the UN General Assembly voted to request the International Court of Justice for an Advisory Opinion on the forcible displacement of the inhabitants of the Chagos islands, there is continuing debate as to whether those forcibly displaced by armed conflict and gross human rights violations should be allowed to return home and to recover their properties. This chapter establishes that state practice and opiniojuris corroborate the view that, in fact, these rights are wellembedded in contemporary international customary law as fundamental human rights. The significance of recognition of these rights is not merely symbolic, but rather it has an impact on the sovereign powers of the state that no longer enjoys wide discretion to negotiate or compromise such rights, especially through peace agreements. As the chapter demonstrates, division along ethnic, racial or religious lines is no longer accepted under international law. Furthermore, while challenges arise from the ‘marriage’ between international humanitarian and human rights law concerning the rights to return and to restitution, this chapter argues for a harmonious interpretation for affording the strongest possible protection to the uprooted and for upholding international justice.
