- The coercive or otherwise involuntary character of movement
- The fact that such movement takes place within national borders. (INMC)
According to United Nations Guiding Principles On Internal Displacement, internally displaced persons are “persons or groups of persons who have been forced or obliged to flee or to leave their homes or habitual residence, in particular as a result of or in order to avoid the effects of armed conflict, situations of generalised violence, violations of human rights or natural or human-made disasters, and who have not crossed an internally recognized State border.”
UN Commission on Human Rights, Report of the Representative of the Secretary-General, Mr. Francis M. Deng, submitted pursuant to Commission resolution 1997/39. Addendum: Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement,11 February 1998, E/CN.4/1998/53/Add.2, available at: http://www.unhcr.org/43ce1cff2.html [accessed 10 April 2014]
In addition, International Committee of the Red Cross defines internal displacement as a situation in which people are at risk or have been victims of persecution in their country of origin but “have not crossed an international frontier, but have, for whatever reason, also fled their homes.”
ICRC, http://www.icrc.org/eng/war-and-law/protected-persons/refugees-displaced-persons/overview-displaced-protected.htm
The Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms defines internal displacement as the presence of real or imagined danger and thus a person’s forceful move out of their residence while remaining on the territory of their own country.
Furthermore, according to The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, internal displacement refers people who are forced to flee their homes, often for the very same reasons as refugees- war, civil conflict, political strife, and gross human rights abuse, but remain within their own country and do not cross an international border.
http://www.unesco.org/new/en/social-and-human-sciences/themes/international-migration/glossary/displaced-person-displacement/
Synonyms: Internally Displaced Persons.
Internal displacement may be considered to be one of the most daunting humanitarian challenges of today as Kellenberger (2009) insists. This is perhaps because contrary to traditional notion of security, internally displaced persons are not offered protection and assistance by their national authorities and thus reducing internal displacement incidents worldwide and to initiate a move towards completely eliminating its occurrence requires huge effort by the international humanitarian community as a whole. Internally displaced persons are particularly vulnerable. This is not to understate the vulnerability of all other persons affected by conflict or human rights violations. As outlined by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, internally displaced persons (IDPs) may be in transit from one place to another and may be forced to hide as a result of unhealthy or inhospitable environments. The act of physical displacement may destroy social organization of certain groups along with family and especially children, elderly, and pregnant women may experience profound psychosocial distress due to internal displacement (http://www.internal-displacement.org/). Similarly, Birkeland (2009) explains that internal displacement “dramatically disrupts livelihoods, and leads to a severe reduction in access to the basic necessities of life including food, clean water, shelter, adequate clothing, health services and sanitation.” (p. 499, refer to bibliography section for full citation).
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees revealed that there were 26.4 million internally displaced individuals at the end of 2011. Three largest countries with internally displaced persons include Colombia, Iraqand South Sudan. In addition, UNHCR insists that other civilians who have been made homeless due to natural disasters such as Cyclone Nargis in Myanmarof 2008, Pakistanfloods and the Haitiearthquake in 2010 are also considered internally displaced persons. UNHCR original mandate does not specifically cover internally displaced persons; however, UNHCR has been protecting and assisting individuals through “cluster approach”. (http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49c3646c146.html) Kellenger (2009) describes this cluster approach as an agreement by UNHCR to take on sectoral responsibility for the protection cluster, camp co-ordination, and camp management, and emergency shelter within the framework of UN humanitarian reform. Regrettably, there are no global convention for internally displaced person equivalent to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees despite the fact that there are at least twice as many internally displaced persons in the world (Ferris, 2012, refer to “Bibliography” section for full citation). The main bodies of law and principles that guide international legal framework applicable to internal displacement include national law, international humanitarian law, international human rights law and the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement (International Review of the Red Cross, 2009, refer to “Bibliography” section for full citation). However, the adoption of the Kampala Convention by African governments in 2009 is considered to be a milestone step in attempting to solve the issue of internal displacement. The Kampala Convention echoes the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement but also articulates the obligations and roles of African states and African Union, armed groups, international organizations, and civil society to prevent and respond to internal displacement (African Union, Kampala Declaration on Refugees, Returnees and Internally Displaced Persons in Africa, 23 October 2009, Ext/Assembly/AU/PA/Draft/Decl.(I)Rev.1, availableat:http://www.refworld.org/docid/4af0623d2.html). Ferris(2012) describes the Kampala Convention as a “comprehensive legal instrument dealing with all phases of internal displacement and tackling its root causes through a set of measures ranging from prevention and protection during displacement to durable solutions”. It imposes on states the obligation to protect and assist persons displaced because of natural disasters and such man-made actions as armed conflict. “As a legal document potentially binding all African countries – a quarter of world’s States – the treaty represents a significant step forward in the protection and assistance of internally displaced people inAfrica,” said Bruce Mokaya Orina, head of the ICRC delegation to the African Union. Furthermore, according to Cohen(2006), expanding UNHCR’s mandate to take on greater protection obligations would be the most effective next step in improving the institutional arrangements for internally displaced persons.
Allain, J. (2001). The jus cogens Nature of non-refoulement. International Journal of Refugee Law, 13(4), 533-558.
UN General Assembly, Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, 28 July 1951, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 189, p. 137, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/3be01b964.html [accessed 26 February 2014]
Other Related Terms:
- Asylum seeker
- Refugee
- Human rights and humanitarian law
Birkeland, N. (2009). Internal displacement: Global trends in conflict-induced displacement. International review of the Red Cross, 91(875), 491-508.
Cohen, R. (2006). Strengthening Protection of IDPs. Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, 7(1), 101-109.
Ferris, E. (n.d.). A Great Day for Africa! A Great Day for IDPs!. The Brookings Institution. Retrieved February 26, 2014, from http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/up-front/posts/2012/11/14-african-union-ferris
Internally Displaced People. (n.d.). UNHCR News. Retrieved February 26, 2014, from http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49c3646c146.html
African Union, Kampala Declaration on Refugees, Returnees and Internally Displaced Persons in Africa, 23 October 2009, Ext/Assembly/AU/PA/Draft/Decl.(I) Rev.1, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/4af0623d2.html
Kellenberger, J. (2009). The ICRC’s response to internal displacement: strengths, challenges and constraints. International review of the Red Cross, 91(875), 475-490.
Reports and Documents: Movement Policy on Internal Displacement.(2009) International review of the Red Cross, 91(875), 593-611.
UNHCR (2005). Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement. Refugee Survey Quarterly, 24(3), 197-205.