The United Nations Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Internal Displacement today released its much-anticipated report, which advocates for nationally owned solutions for more than 55 million people displaced within their own countries.
Shining a Light on Internal Displacement: A Vision for the Future urges Governments to take a “development-oriented approach” to solutions for their citizens and residents displaced by violence, conflicts, disasters and the impacts of climate change.
The Panel presented its report to UN Secretary-General António Guterres at today’s event, calling on Governments, civil society, the international community and the private sector to step up collective action to end protracted displacement.
The report laments “a collective failure” to prevent, address and resolve internal displacement, but it also identifies real opportunities to bring about shifts in the approaches and practices required to end unnecessary suffering.
Secretary-General Guterres said: “For several decades, the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) around the world has been growing, reaching record highs year after year. Humanitarian assistance is vital to help them survive. But more is needed to restore a sense of normalcy and provide solutions.”
The report stresses that IDPs must be able to exercise their fundamental rights and not be seen or treated only as beneficiaries of short-term assistance. At present, IDPs are not systemically integrated in Government policies, development financing, peace processes or UN strategies.
“It is in the best interest of Governments to own this issue, because they cannot achieve the Sustainable Development Goals without improving the lives of all IDPs, from displaced women and children to older persons,” said Panel Co-Chair Donald Kaberuka.
