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20th Anniversary of the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement: A Plan of Action for Advancing Prevention, Protection and Solutions for Internally Displaced People 2018-2020 (23 May 2018)

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Executive summary

This Plan of Action is being launched during the 20th anniversary of the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement (henceforth GP20) to galvanize and reinforce multi-stakeholder engagement towards reducing and resolving internal displacement through prevention, protection and solutions for internally displaced people (IDPs). Action to achieve this goal will be carried out primarily at the national, but also at the regional and global levels.

This Plan of Action centres around four priority issues identified at a 2017 IDP stakeholder meeting convened by the UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of IDPs: participation of IDPs; national laws and policies addressing internal displacement; data and analysis on internal displacement; and addressing protracted displacement and facilitating durable solutions. Collaborative activities on these issues will create changes that will contribute to reaching the Plan of Action’s goal and laying the groundwork for a possible high-level initiative on internal displacement.

National and local authorities, IDPs, host communities, UN entities, NGOs, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, academia, development finance institutions, human rights bodies and the private sector are called to rally around the goal and objectives of this Plan of Action and take individual or collective action in support of it. Stakeholders may wish to implement the activities suggested herein, or pursue bolder initiatives, especially in situations where IDPs face significant protection risks and humanitarian access is limited.

To map and track this first-ever effort, stakeholders are requested to share their planned and anticipated activities and initiatives with the GP20 Coordinator at GP20@unhcr.org. A Steering Group will oversee implementation and monitor progress of this three-year Plan of Action, while also promoting stakeholder engagement and cooperation at national, regional and global level towards the goal of reducing and resolving internal displacement through prevention, protection and solutions for IDPs in line with the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement.

Rationale In its 2017 resolution on IDPs, the UN General Assembly called on States, UN entities, the Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of IDPs, regional organizations, national human rights institutions, NGOs and other stakeholders to mark the 20th anniversary in 2018 of the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement (henceforth the Guiding Principles).1 As a complex human rights, humanitarian and development challenge, internal displacement requires a multi-disciplinary and multi-stakeholder approach. This Plan of Action thus acts on the General Assembly resolution’s call by bringing together stakeholders on internal displacement to work more effectively and collaboratively to promote and support the common goal of reducing and resolving displacement through prevention, protection and solutions for IDPs.

The Guiding Principles are an appropriate and internationally recognized framework for this work, with their emphasis on “sovereignty as responsibility,” the participation of IDPs in decisions that affect them, and their applicability in displacement prevention through to solutions. Confirmed by the UN General Assembly on numerous occasions,2 the Guiding Principles are authoritative, restating the rights of IDPs as enshrined in international human rights and international humanitarian law. The internally displaced are a particular group with distinct protection and assistance needs resulting from forced displacement and, having not left the country, they do not require a legal status and are entitled to protection by the state. There nevertheless remains considerable room to improve awareness, knowledge and application of the Guiding Principles. Their 20th anniversary is therefore a strategic opportunity to foster multi-year action aimed at protection, prevention and solutions for IDPs.