Protecting people displaced in their own country through law and policy
Data on law and policy on internal displacement: what UNHCR collects and why
12 July 2024
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©UNHCR/Martim Gray Pereira
Internal displacement
As of December 2023, some 75.9 million people were internally displaced due to conflict, violence, human rights violations and disasters. Numbers have climbed every year of the last decade, and forced displacement grows increasingly protracted.
Number of IDPs from 2002 to 2023
UNHCR's role
UNHCR exists to protect and assist everyone who has been forcibly displaced, whether across borders or within their own country ( internally displaced persons or IDPs). In collaboration with our humanitarian, human rights, peacebuilding and development partners, we work closely with countries affected by internal displacement to assist them in the exercise of their primary responsibility towards IDPs.
Why a focus on IDP law and policy?
As citizens of their state, IDPs are entitled to protection under constitutions and other national laws. However, these often fail to address IDPs’ specific needs and vulnerabilities given their general scope. In some cases, existing laws may even inadvertently create obstacles to IDPs’ enjoyment of their rights. This is why national laws and policies on internal displacement are often necessary.
Countries have been developing and adopting law and policy instruments to address the plight of internally displaced people since the early 1990s. Supporting these efforts is a key area of UNHCR’s work as part of its protection mandate and cluster leadership role. UNHCR has maintained a Global Database on Law and Policy on Internal Displacement since 2016, now developed into an IDP Law and Policy Dashboard.
The Dashboard is a comprehensive interactive compilation of domestic laws, policies, strategies and other legal instruments adopted by governments at central and local level over the past three decades to advance prevention, protection and solutions for IDPs.
The IDP Law and Policy Dashboard is a component of UNHCR’s Rights Mapping and Analysis Platform (RiMAP).
Global trends
As of the end of 2023, a total of 52 countries worldwide had adopted at least an IDP law, policy or strategy/action plan on internal displacement (for a total of 298 IDP-specific instruments worldwide):
- 42 laws on internal displacement had been adopted across 17 countries, with Honduras and Chad adopting new IDP laws in 2023;
- 90 policies and strategies/action plans.
In addition, IDP-specific national frameworks were under development or pending adoption in at least 17 countries.
IDP-specific instruments
When it comes to causes of displacement, legal and policy instruments on internal displacement have tended to focus mainly on displacement associated with armed conflict, generalized violence and human rights violations. However, over time, there has been an increasing recognition of the importance of addressing causes of displacement other than conflict and violence, particularly disasters and the adverse effects of climate change.
Comprehensive IDP-specific instruments should articulate the concrete measures for the state to take around three main objectives: to protect people from displacement and prevent the conditions leading to it; to protect and assist people once they have been displaced; and to support durable solutions for IDPs. However, the majority of existing IDP laws and policies do not comprehensively address all phases of displacement. Prevention in particular has received relatively limited attention, though the number of IDP-specific instruments that include prevention-related provisions is increasing over time.
Regulating internal displacement at the domestic level
Internal displacement is a cross-cutting issue that relates to many different policy areas.
The IDP Law and Policy Dashboard includes and distinguishes between:
- “IDP-specific” instruments, i.e. those specifically dedicated to protection and assistance of internally displaced persons; and
- “IDP-inclusive” instruments, i.e. frameworks relevant to internal displacement though with a main focus on other issues (e.g. documentation, land, development, peace, disasters and climate change)
While IDP-specific laws and policies may be necessary to provide a general and coherent framework for governments’ response on internal displacement, mainstreaming the issue in other legal and policy frameworks may also be necessary. The adoption of IDP-inclusive instruments has been continuously growing over the past two decades, with two trends increasing relevance in recent years: the inclusion of internal displacement in national and local development plans, and in instruments related to disasters and climate change.
The Kampala Convention
©UNHCR/South Sudan
In 2009, the African Union (AU) adopted the AU Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa (also known as the “Kampala Convention”) - a landmark instrument that constitutes the only legally binding continental treaty to advance prevention, protection and solutions for IDPs. The Kampala Convention is based on a combined framework of international human rights law and international humanitarian law in line with the Guiding Principles on Internal DIsplacement. As of June 2024, 33 out of 55 AU Member States were parties to the Kampala Convention.
AU Member States that signed or became party to the Kampala Convention
Becoming a State Party at the international level only represents an initial step towards the full implementation of the Convention. Action towards its incorporation into domestic law should swiftly follow to realize its full potential.
Working with goverments to increase protection of IDPs
National instruments on internal displacement are not a silver bullet for resolving internal displacement, and their adoption is but an important first step. Ultimately, what matters is their implementation, which remains a challenge in many contexts. As we are grappling with these issues every day, we at UNHCR remain strongly committed to continuing our work with governments and all partners to ensure that existing legal frameworks and tools translate effectively into better protection to people on the ground.