Why Internally Displaced Persons Lack Protection

Every two seconds, someone in the world is forced to flee for safety.

While some of these individuals become refugees in other countries, almost two times more become Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). At the end of 2019, at least 79.5 million people were forced to flee their homes. While 26 million of these individuals became refugees, more than 45.7 million became IDPs.

At the end of 2019,

there were 45.7 million IDPs.

UNHCR – “Figures at a glance“

According to the United Nations Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, IDPs are:

“Persons or groups of persons who have been forced or obliged to flee or to leave their homes or places of habitual residence, in particular as a result of or in order to avoid the effects of armed conflict, situations of generalized violence, violations of human rights or natural or human-made disasters, and who have not crossed an internationally recognized state border.” 

In other words, IDPs are on the run at home. They have left their homes involuntarily, but they have not crossed a border into another country to find safety. Even if IDPs share many of the same circumstances as refugees, IDPs do not have the same special legal status in international law as refugees. They technically remain entitled to rights and guarantees as citizens in their country, but these rights are not always upheld.

According to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), internally displaced people may include: families caught between warring factions who have to flee their homes, residents of neighborhoods rendered unsafe (weather-related, geophysical, or technological hazards), indigenous communities forced to leave ancestral lands, families facing harassment from local criminal gangs, farming communities decimated by drought, communities impacted by environmental degradation due to climate change, and more.

What does the international community say about IDPs?

The United Nations Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, created in 1998, draw on international human rights and humanitarian law. While these principles are not legally binding, their authority has been recognized globally.

These UN principles affirm that even if people have been displaced, they still have economic, social, cultural, civil, and political rights. This includes the right to: food, medicine, shelter, protection from physical violence, education, freedom of movement and residence, participation in public affairs and participation in economic activities. They also have the right to assistance in voluntary and safe return and help in recovering lost property and possessions.

What challenges do IDPs face?

Internally Displaced Persons are vulnerable to innumerable perils. Even though IDPs technically have protections and rights as citizens of their country, IDPs may not actually receive their deserved rights since they are not protected by international law in the same way as refugees. In fact, not all IDPs are citizens— some are considered stateless. This means that many individuals are forced to become IDPs instead of refugees because they do not have citizenship in any certain country. IDPs are exposed to danger due to the lack of protection of their rights.

According to the IDMC, some of the threats IDPs face include: “family separation, loss of documentation, lack of freedom of movement in and out of camps, loss of property, and further exposure to the risk of secondary or onward displacement.”

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) adds that IDPs are at risk for sexual and gender-based violence, trafficking, discrimination, and harassment. IDPs suffer higher rates of mortality and are at risk of being used as “pawns, targets, or human shields” in zones of conflict.

Another factor to consider is that an overwhelming majority of IDPs are women and children, according to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). These two groups are especially at risk for human rights abuses.

“Internal displacement is the great tragedy of our time. The internally displaced people are among the most vulnerable of the human family.”

Kofi Annan, Former UN Secretary General

What can be done to protect IDPs?

A long-lasting solution to internal displacement should ensure that IDPs “no longer have any specific assistance and protection needs that are directly linked to their displacement,” and that they can enjoy their human rights without discrimination. IDPs should be given the chance to return to full autonomy over their lives. They should have access to basic rights.

An effective solution would give IDPs safety, security, freedom of movement, an adequate standard of living, access to education and employment and compensation for lost housing, land, and property.

The IDMC says that a sustainable solution would mean that IDPs could move forward in one of three ways: successfully return back to their place of origin, integrate sustainably into the area where they have taken refuge, or relocate somewhere else in the country. IDPs cannot be forced to return to a place where their lives or liberty would be at risk.

The Handbook for the Protection of Internally Displaced Persons says that durable solutions for IDPs must be context-sensitive and should consider:

• Causes of displacement (i.e. armed conflicts, natural disasters, etc.), 
• Length of displacement
• Displacement setting (i.e. urban, rural, camp, etc.)
• The way displacement has affected different populations (i.e. indigenous peoples, disabled persons, women, children, minority groups, etc.).

While international actors may help national authorities create solutions for IDPs, it is national authorities who should be primarily responsible. With that in mind, however, national authorities should make sure that any laws they make regarding internal displacement are consistent with the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement.

International humanitarian and development actors should have “complementary” roles that allow national authorities to act sovereignly. These roles may include: providing “legal advice or property restitution mechanisms,” or helping with efforts for “judicial, legislative and institutional reform and for the reinforcement of the rule of law.”

The IASC Framework on Durable Solutions for Internally Displaced Persons adds that ultimately, “All relevant actors need to respect the right of IDPs to make an informed and voluntary choice on what durable solution to pursue.” IDPs should always have the final say when it comes to decisions about their life.

In the end, the Handbook for the Protection of Internally Displaced Persons reminds us that short-term humanitarian relief is just as important as long-term development initiatives. The two go hand-in-hand when working toward a better future for millions of IDPs. These displaced persons need immediate relief; but they also need reforms that will impact their situations more profoundly and prevent them from experiencing the same losses in the future.

Every two seconds, someone in the world is forced to flee for safety due to violence or natural disaster.

To help provide “life-saving protection to families forced to flee their homes,” consider making a donation to UNHCR.

---

To learn more about IDPs:

• Click here to see displacement data by country.
• Look at this interactive world map to see global displacement over the past six months.
• Check out this page by the IDMC to see how the coronavirus has affected internal displacement.
• To learn more about the difference between refugees, asylum-seekers, and migrants, check out Grace’s article on “Misconceptions about Immigration.”
• To learn about the different types of migrants, including IDPs, read Sydney’s article on “The Impact of Language on Refugees.”
• To read about IDPs in South Sudan, see Eleanor’s article, “4 Million People Displaced in Seven Years: Understanding South Sudan.”