Roberta recounts that she arrived at the Brookings Institution in 1994 to an empty desk, wondering how to define an IDP. Today internal displacement is a fully-fledged field of study and operations. Roberta’s contribution to this transformation cannot be underestimated.…
It is with great pleasure that I take this opportunity to pay tribute to a dear friend and a close partner in the promotion of international response to the global crisis of internal displacement. Roberta helped pave the way for…
These events were crucial steps in the history of human rights protection because they recognised IDPs as a vulnerable group in need of specific human rights protection. The Guiding Principles, in particular, have become the authoritative text on the human…
In 1992 the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) authorised the UN Secretary-General to appoint a representative on the issue of internal displacement. The mandate was to explore “views and information from all Governments on the human rights issues related to…
The short answer to this is yes. The more accurate answer is yes – in the last year or so, in quite dramatic terms – but with some way still to go. The sorts of deficiencies identified by Cohen and…
During the past year UNHCR has made a clear commitment to be a more predictable partner among humanitarian actors in its response to the protection, assistance and solutions needs of IDPs. UNHCR’s policy concerning engagement with IDPs has evolved from…
To fill this gap and support the goals of the Global Protection Cluster[1], an inter-agency Protection Capacity (ProCap) project has been developed to respond to gaps and needs in protection response in three priority areas: · providing surge protection capacity…
During conflict, flight and displacement, women and children are at heightened risk. They are more vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. Women and girls are often the systematic target of sexual violence, have special health needs that are often neglected and…
A few governments have registered IDPs in a comprehensive manner, most recently the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina with support from UNHCR. In Turkey the government is expected to release the results of a comprehensive IDP survey soon. However, for…
Discrimination against minorities, religious and ethnic hatred, state repression, demands for self-determination, famines, floods and ill-conceived development projects have contributed to massive internal displacement in South Asia. For the most part victims are unable to cross borders and are forced…