[JURIST] Eric Schwartz [official profile], the UN's deputy special envoy for tsunami recovery on the protection of vulnerable communities in the tsunami region, concluded his 10-day assessment of the region [press release] by urging the countries affected by the 2004 disaster [JURIST news archive] to do more to protect human rights. Schwartz commended the efforts made by the countries to provide the basic rights spelled out in the UN's Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement [text], including shelter, health services and education, to the victims but added that governments and non-governmental organizations and UN agencies are also responsible for "involving the affected populations in the critical decisions impacting their future well-being."

Human rights organizations reported last month that recovery efforts in the path of the tsunami were inadequate and discriminatory [JURIST report], but both Indonesia and India, implicated in the report, quickly rejected the criticism [JURIST report]. EuropaWorld has more. The UN News Centre has additional coverage.