IASC Policy on Protection of Internally Displaced Persons

This Policy serves as an update to the 1999 IASC Policy Paper on the Protection of Internally Displaced Persons (henceforth, “1999 IDP Protection Policy”), which was endorsed following the adoption of the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement in 1998 (henceforth “Guiding Principles”). Since then, there have been significant developments within the IASC and UN relevant to addressing internal displacement:

• Humanitarian reform and the adoption of the Cluster Approach by the IASC, and successive efforts such as the Transformative Agenda, aimed at institutionalizing a more coordinated and predictable response to humanitarian emergencies.
• System-wide commitments to protection and human rights advancement, not least through the Human Rights Up Front initiative, the IASC Policy on Protection in Humanitarian Action (henceforth, “IASC Protection Policy”), the Secretary-General’s Call to Action on Human Rights and the UN Agenda for Protection.[i]
• Multi-stakeholder efforts on internal displacement reinforced through, among others, successive efforts of the Special Representative to the Secretary-General on IDPs, the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of IDPs, her establishment of the three-year GP20 Plan of Action, as well as the Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel and Action Agenda on Internal Displacement (henceforth, “Action Agenda”).[ii]
• Redoubled efforts to support durable solutions as a critical need, reflected in the IASC Framework on Durable Solutions for Internally Displaced Persons (henceforth, “IASC Durable Solutions Framework”), the High-Level Panel, Action Agenda and consolidation of efforts achieved across UN action during the tenure of the Secretary-General’s Special Advisor on Solutions to Internal Displacement.
• Critical IASC advancements on, among others, accountability to affected people, gender equality, centrality of protection, localization and the empowerment of women and girls, integrating gender-based violence interventions in humanitarian action, inclusion of persons with disabilities in humanitarian action, and protection from sexual exploitation and abuse and sexual harassment.[iii]

Despite these advances, internal displacement remains one of the world's most significant challenges. The number of IDPs has risen to historic levels as conflicts proliferate around the world, while disasters and the climate threat intensify. Internal displacement is increasingly complex, characterized by prolonged and often repeated displacement due to overlapping factors such as the protracted nature of conflicts, generalized violence, human rights violations and abuses and slow- and sudden-onset disasters exacerbated by climate change. Internal displacement is increasingly an urban phenomenon, and the overwhelming majority of IDPs are women and children.[iv]

The experience of internal displacement involves heightened or particular protection risks prior to and during displacement, the consequences of which can continue even after IDPs have physically returned or decided to settle elsewhere.[v] While fleeing in search of safety, IDPs might be exposed to the dangers of hostilities and heightened risk of different forms of violence, including from armed actors and gender-based violence, particularly affecting women and girls. They might be subjected to: family separation resulting in separated and unaccompanied children; land tenure insecurity and deprivation of land, housing or other property; inadequate standards of living; or displacement into inhospitable and hostile environments, where they suffer stigmas, marginalization, rejection or discrimination.[vi] The impact can be devastating, as loss of access to housing, lands, livelihoods, legal identity, family members, and social networks can negatively affect their ability to assert and enjoy a range of human rights, not least the right to participate in decisions that affect them. Depending on age, gender, ethnicity, religion, disability and other diversity factors, compounded by hierarchy and power dynamics, IDPs frequently suffer from multiple and intersecting discrimination and human rights violations and abuses throughout displacement.[vii]

An independent review of the humanitarian response to internal displacement commissioned by the IASC and concluded in 2024 found that the IASC system responds too slowly, is not effectively joined up, overlooks the specific priorities and needs of IDPs, in particular protection, and is often too focused on internal processes, neglecting to meaningfully engage IDPs in decision-making or help IDPs get their lives back on track. Current IASC guidance rarely addresses the specific protection risks and needs of IDPs.[viii] The review echoed a separate independent review of the implementation of the IASC Protection Policy, finding that protection, including for IDPs in particular, has yet to be meaningfully implemented across the system. [ix] 

Building on the 1999 IASC IDP Protection Policy and informed by key findings and recommendations of the independent review of the humanitarian response to internal displacement and more broadly, the Action Agenda,[x] this updated Policy sets out responsibilities of national authorities and humanitarian actors for ensuring such protection. Guided by the framework of rights reflected in the Guiding Principles and enabled by the IASC Protection Policy and Framework for Durable Solutions to Internal Displacement, it identifies priority areas for IASC members to ensure that humanitarian action prevents and reduces risks related to displacement and helps lay the groundwork for restoring enjoyment of their rights by IDPs so that durable solutions are achieved. In its supporting Annex, it also outlines the definitions and principles relevant to the protection of IDPs under applicable bodies of international law.

[i]     IASC, Policy on Protection in Humanitarian Action, 2016; OHCHR, A United Nations Agenda for Protection – Strengthening the ability of the United Nations System to protect people through their human rights, 2024.

[ii]    United Nations. The Secretary-General’s Action Agenda on Internal Displacement: Follow-Up to the Report of the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Internal Displacement, 2022.

[iii]    IASC, Collective Accountability to Affected People Framework, 2023; IASC, Policy on Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and Girls in Humanitarian Action, 2024; IASC, Guidelines, Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action, 2019; IASC, Vision and Strategy: Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse and Sexual Harassment, 2022-2026.

[iv]    United Nations, Shining a Light on Internal Displacement: A Vision for the Future, Report of the Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Internal Displacement, 2021; Overseas Development Institute, Independent Review of the IASC Humanitarian Response to Internal Displacement, 2024.

[v]    United Nations, Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, 1998; OHCHR, Report of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons, A/73/173, July 2018.

[vi]    UNHCR, Handbook for the Protection of Internally Displaced Persons, 2010.

[vii]   United Nations, Protecting Internally Displaced Persons: A Handbook for National Human Rights Institutions, 2022. For example, displacement disproportionately affects women through higher risks of gender-based violence, legal discrimination, economic marginalization or exclusion. Displaced children and youth can face heightened risks of abuse, neglect and violence, and have specific needs related to vaccinations, nutrition, education. IDPs with disabilities encounter physical, environmental and societal barriers to accessing specific displacement-related information, humanitarian assistance and services and the right to participate in society on an equal basis with others.

[viii]   Overseas Development Institute, Independent Review of the IASC Humanitarian Response to Internal Displacement, 2024. 

[ix]      Overseas Development Institute, Independent Review of the Implementation of the IASC Protection Policy, 2022.

[x]    The independent review, completed in March 2024, recommended an "updated" IASC policy on IDPs and the IASC Deputies Group subsequently agreed to revise the IASC's 1999 Policy Paper on the Protection of IDPs. 

IASC Policy Paper on Protection of Internally Displaced Persons, 1999

Protection problems are endemic to the plight of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). They arise not only as a cause of flight, but also during displacement and in the search for durable solutions. The objective of the paper is to outline the IASC policy on the protection of internally displaced persons. The IASC emphasizes that the protection of internally displaced persons must be of concern to all humanitarian/development agencies. The policy paper identifies fourteen strategic areas to focus on in order to build a protective environment and to integrate protection features into operational response and remedial action: the need for advocacy, prevention and preparedness including the promotion of the Guiding Principles; the strengthening of national and local capacities as well as integrated training activities; the need for systematic efforts to support community-based protection and to develop protection strategies for women, children and other vulnerable groups; the search for durable solutions is a central concern in ensuring the protection of the internally displaced,; and highlights the importance of coordinated programming, monitoring and reporting.

The paper consists of four parts:

1)     Part one examines the nature and content of protection for internally displaced persons

2)     Part two sets out a number of strategic areas of activity for ensuring that protection responsibilities are discharged effectively

3)     Part three contains a short analysis of the responsibilities of action

4)     Part four develops basic principles for allocating responsibilities in specific country situations to increase the predictability of response and facilitating the work of the Humanitarian Coordinators and/or Resident Coordinators in addressing gaps