The figures speak for themselves. As of December 2011, more than 26 million people were internally displaced, forced from their homes by armed conflict and insecurity, while millions more had sought refuge abroad. In addition, an estimated 15 million people…
In 1993, in the context of the huge displacement crisis in the former Yugoslavia, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Sadako Ogata spoke for the first time on the ‘right to remain’. In addressing the UN Commission on Human Rights she…
The law of armed conflict – also known as international humanitarian law (IHL) – is the body of international law that most clearly codifies binding standards for the prevention of displacement. IHL is not concerned with the lawfulness or otherwise…
The perception of displacement as the failure of outsiders to prevent civilians being driven from their homes rests on several arguable assumptions: firstly, that displacement should be prevented, not pursued; secondly, that displacement can be most influenced by outsiders, not…
Forced displacement has many drivers but one of increasing concern is the use of explosive weapons in densely populated areas. Whether in Gaza during Operation Cast Lead in December 2008 to January 2009, during the final gruelling stages of the…
Disaster-related displacement affects millions of people every year[1] and is determined by multiple factors: the magnitude or intensity of the hazard, the number of people and homes exposed to it, and the level of vulnerability affecting their coping capacity and…
The Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement and the Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa (Kampala Convention) of 2009 already specifically place national governments under an obligation to set up a legal framework to prevent…
Flooding has not always been a cause for human displacement in Thailand. Thai vernacular architecture, culture and lifestyles were adapted to allow those living on fertile lowlands to continue with their daily lives during annual floods. However, this has changed…
When the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement were adopted in 1998, some of the Principles were relatively progressive in their recommendations, choosing interpretations of international law that reflected best practice rather than universal practice at the time in order to…
Each year millions of people are driven from their homes by natural disasters and often remain displaced because their homes have been damaged or destroyed. The likelihood that climate change will increase the force and frequency of storms, floods and…