ECOSOC Side-event: Addressing internal displacement associated with disasters and conflict
Internal displacement remains a significant global phenomenon. Extreme weather events, such as floods, storms, wildfires and drought, continue to force millions of people from their homes every year, and as the impacts of climate change are expected to intensify both in scale and frequency, displacement driven by sudden and slow-onset disasters is expected to increase. Meanwhile, conflict and violence remain key drivers of internal displacement, also displacing millions of people annually. In some circumstances, conflict interacts with disasters or environmental degradation and vice versa. This can prevent the internally displaced from returning relatively quickly to their homes, force them to flee again, exacerbate tensions with other groups, and complicate the achievement of durable solutions.
While displacement can affect all countries regardless of their levels of income or development, the risks and impact of disasters and conflict are often disproportionately borne by those countries and communities which already face significant development and humanitarian challenges. Having lost their homes, livelihoods and often more, internally displaced persons struggle to access their rights and can face particular vulnerabilities and discrimination. Their displacement can become protracted for numerous reasons, including prolonged conflict, slow recovery, inadequate national legal frameworks, a sole focus on humanitarian assistance, and lack of dedicated financial resources. The high costs associated with addressing the impacts of displacement could further undermine national development and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Reducing the risk and impacts of disaster displacement while preventing and addressing the consequences of conflict displacement require governments and the humanitarian, development and peacebuilding sectors to work together more effectively to resolve protracted crises, support internally displaced persons to secure durable solutions, and invest in efforts to manage risk and build resilience in the long term. It is also important to understand the unique specificities of conflict and disaster displacement to ensure they are appropriately addressed. This side event will explore the parallels and distinctions between internal displacement caused by conflict and disasters as well as good practices, challenges and opportunities in addressing these complex issues.
Chair and moderator:
- OCHA ASG/Deputy ERC Ursula Mueller
Panel composition:
- Government Representative – Indonesia (TBC)
- Government Representative – Afghanistan (TBC)
- IDMC- Director Alexandra Bilak or Head of Policy and Research Bina Desai
- Envoy of the Chair of the Platform on Disaster Displacement, Prof. Walter Kaelin (TBC)
Background Material:
- IDMC, Global Report on Internal Displacement, 2019
- IASC Operational Guidelines on the Protection of Persons in Situations of Natural Disasters, 2011
- IASC Framework on Durable Solutions for Internally Displaced Persons, 2010
- OCHA, Breaking the Impasse: Reducing Protracted Internal Displacement as a Collective Outcome, 2017
- GP20 Plan of Action for Advancing Prevention, Protection and Solutions for IDPs, 2018-2020
For more information, please contact:
- Nadine Walicki, GP20 Coordinator, [email protected], +41 78 700 4658
- Greta Zeender, Adviser on Internal Displacement, OCHA, [email protected], +1 212 963 5857
- Avigail Shai, Political Adviser, IDMC, [email protected], +41 22 552 3624
Download the Concept Note and the event flyer
See the full ECOSOC programme here
