Shining a Light on Internal Displacement:

A Vision for the Future

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The High-Level Panel on Internal Displacement was established by the UN Secretary-General to identify concrete recommendations on how to better prevent, respond and achieve solutions to the global internal displacement crisis.

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Panel Members

The Panel officially began its work in February 2020, with the support of an Expert Advisory Group and a Secretariat.

 

Click here to learn more about each Panel member.

Federica Mogherini 
(Co-chair)

Rector of the College of Europe

 

Former High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission

Donald Kaberuka
(Co-chair)

Chair of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

 

Former Finance Minister of Rwanda and 7th President of the African Development Bank

Per Heggenes

CEO of the IKEA Foundation

Nasser Judeh

Senator, former Deputy Prime Minister and former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

Paula Gaviria

Director of Fundación Compaz

 

Former Head of the Victim’s Unit in Colombia and former Advisor to the President of Colombia on Human Rights

Mitiku Kassa Gutile

Commissioner for the National Disaster Risk Management Commission of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia

Pauline Riak

Professor of Sociology and Deputy Vice Chancellor, Academic Affairs, the Rumbek University of Science and Technology and Chair, Sudd Institute, South Sudan

Sima Samar

Member of the UN Secretary- General’s High-Level Advisory Board on Mediation

 

Former Special Envoy of the President and former Chair of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission

"Around the world, millions of internally displaced persons (IDPs) are trapped in situations of protracted displacement."

-Report of the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Internal Displacement

Panel Process

Throughout its process, the Panel has benefited from the input of stakeholders in the form of written submissions, consultations and discussions, targeted research and more.

More than...

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Submissions from Member States, UN agencies, NGOs, academia and other initiatives
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IDPs and host community members consulted
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Engagements with stakeholders including consultations and bilateral discussions
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States engaged in which half are impacted by internal displacement

"The world needs to go beyond addressing internal displacement as only a humanitarian crisis."

-Report of the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Internal Displacement

Consultations

The Panel has heard the voices of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and host communities, States, UN agencies, NGOs, Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, International Financial Institutions, regional organizations, the private sector, academic researchers and others.

Here are some of the consultations:

Photo: UNHCR/Martim Gray Pereira

Recommendations

The Panel has submitted its report to the UN Secretary-General on 29 September 2021 with recommendations to States, the international community, civil society and the private sector.

Make solutions a nationally owned, whole-of-government priority

Political will is key and should be catalysed

Ensure the whole of society is invested

Make better use of the capacities of the private sector for solutions

Make the UN fit for purpose and accountable for solutions

Harness international financing for solutions

Strengthen the effective use of internal displacement data

Address the drivers of displacement and reduce displacement risks

Strengthen the quality of protection and assistance to IDPs and host communities

Sustain momentum and ensure robust follow-up

Views of Panel Members

"Nations have to own this matter because IDPs are after all citizens of the country who have the same rights and entitlements as other citizens."

– Donald Kaberuka, Panel Co-chair

"It is critical for States and other actors to implement measures that allow IDPs to participate in public affairs as citizens."

– Paula Gaviria, Panel member

"Prevention is the most cost-effective way to save lives.“

– Mitiku Kassa Gutile, Panel member

"We need to leverage the private sector to invest in their community and provide job opportunities for everyone - the host community and IDPs."

– Per Heggenes, Panel member

"National ownership means more than just government ownership. It means the whole of society, civil society, the media, the private sector, other organizations."

– Nasser Judeh, Panel member

"We need to break the culture of impunity for violations of International Humanitarian Law and promote accountability.”

– Sima Samar, Panel member

"Leaders of the world must make a conscious U-turn in the opposite direction if changes are to take place in the trend of internal displacement by 2030 and beyond.”

– Pauline Riak, Panel member

Communications Materials

Press release:

High-Level Panel: Maintaining the status quo not an option for millions trapped in displacement

29 September 2021, New York – 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.

Opinion: Internal displacement remains an invisible crisis in plain sight

By Panel Co-Chairs Federica Mogherini and Donald Kaberuka

Originally published on Thomson Reuters Foundation
Republished on World Economic Forum​

Photos used in social media and communications materials were taken by:

OCHA/Giles Clarke

OCHA/Ivo Brandau

OCHA/Nicole Lawrence

UNHCR/Martim Gray Pereira

UNHCR/Ruben Salgado Escudero

UNHCR/Oksana Parafeniuk

Photo: UNHCR/Ruben Salgado Escudero

"Now more than ever before is when action is needed to bring about meaningful change."

-Report of the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Internal Displacement