The Ugandan government has launched Africa's first national policy to improve the lives of over 1.4 million internally displaced persons (IDPs).

Ugandan Prime Minister Apolo Nsibambi launched the 40-page document at Speke Resort Munyonyo in southern suburb of Kampala on Thursday, saying it was among the first national policies on IDPs worldwide, where over 25 million people are displaced.

Nsibambi was quoted on Friday by local media as saying that Uganda has 1,421,087 people mainly in the north, who are displaced due to the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) insurgency and cattle rustling in Karamoja.

He said the policy would ensure that IDPs enjoyed the same rights and freedoms under the constitution, as all other Ugandans.

The senior technical adviser and program manager in the Office of the Prime Minister, Techeste Ahderom, presented the national policy for IDPs to donors, local council chiefs and resident district commissioners from northern and northeastern Uganda, saying that only Peru and Colombia in South America had similar policies.

According to the 40-page document, the national policy for IDPsaims to promote integrated and coordinated response mechanisms to address the effects of internal displacement through cooperation between relevant government institutions and development and humanitarian agencies and other stakeholders.

It also aims to assist in the safe and voluntary return of IDPsand to develop sectoral programs for rehabilitation and reconstruction of infrastructure and support sustainable livelihood projects.

Source: Xinhua