Attachments
This year marks the twentieth anniversary of the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, an international framework that authoritatively restates the rights of internally displaced persons (IDPs) as enshrined in international human rights and humanitarian law. Twenty years later, this framework remains crucially relevant given the huge (and growing) scale of internal displacement globally. As of May 2018, there were over 40 million IDPs due to conflict and violence in the world—nearly double the number of refugees worldwide—and in 2017, an estimated 30.1 million people were newly displaced by conflict, violence, or natural disasters.
The Guiding Principles define IDPs as “persons or groups of persons who have been forced or obliged to flee or to leave their homes or places of habitual residence… and who have not crossed an internationally recognized state border.” The needs of IDPs are often similar to, if not more acute than, those of refugees, and those displaced often face multiple displacements. IDPs can become refugees, and refugees returning to their countries can in turn become internally displaced. However, because they are displaced within national borders, IDPs do not benefit from the legal status of refugees and its associated protections, and they fall outside of the mandate of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Therefore, they should benefit from all the protections afforded to other citizens and inhabitants of their country.
While states retain primary responsibility for protecting their populations, the international community has a responsibility to assist and support them. However, forward momentum on addressing internal displacement has waned in recent years. Recognizing this, and in response to a 2017 UN resolution requesting that the secretary-general and member states better address IDPs and their needs, the multi-stakeholder GP20 Plan of Action for Advancing Prevention, Protection and Solutions for Internally Displaced People 2018–2020 was launched earlier this year. The plan emphasizes four priority issues: participation of IDPs, national law and policy on internal displacement, data and analysis on internal displacement, and addressing protracted displacement. A number of broader policy agendas and frameworks now feature IDPs, and some UN agencies and other international organizations have stepped up their efforts to respond to the needs of displaced communities.
The UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development presents an opportunity to build on existing efforts and ensure that the plight of IDPs is addressed in both the short and long term. The 2030 Agenda is a universally applicable, intergovernmental agreement adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2015 to stimulate action on sustainable development. It includes seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), each with a list of targets and indicators. This agenda pledges to “leave no one behind” and specifically mentions IDPs as a vulnerable group that must be empowered through efforts to implement the SDGs. This is in line with policy discourse emphasizing the humanitarian-development nexus; increasing complementary action enables humanitarian and development actors to better respond to the needs of populations caught up in complex and protracted crises. This issue brief explores the links between internal displacement and the SDGs and highlights ongoing efforts to address the longer-term needs of IDPs. It looks at the specific cases of Nigeria and Iraq and provides recommendations for ways forward.