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Protecting the internally displaced: Sovereignty, agency and the localization of international norms

In 2021, the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Internally Displaced People (IDPs) painted a stark picture of the expanding number of forced migrants worldwide and outlined a series of challenges related to the provision of humanitarian assistance, protection, and ‘durable solutions’ for this growing population. The Panel also provided a series of recommendations to improve national and international responses to IDPs –including through more research on IDPs and strengthened collaboration between researchers and policymakers on these responses.

In response to this call, the primary objective of this four-year SSHRC-funded research project, led by ProfessorÌýJennifer WelshÌýand Professor Megan Bradley, is to develop a landmark, comparative study of the localization of international norms on IDP protection. The project acknowledges the increased attention to IDP participation in the design of policy responses, by centering the roles of IDPs themselves and focusing on two critical challenges: acute risks to IDPs’ physical security, and the pursuit of durable solutions to displacement. The project engages in original empirical and normative analysis, with a particular focus on four cases studies: Ukraine, Ethiopia, Mexico and Fiji. The research team also engages closely with the UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of IDPs (Paul Gaviria Bentancur) and UNHCR.

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