October

25
2013

9:30 am EDT - 11:00 am EDT

Past Event

Durable Solutions to Displacement: Development and Peacebuilding Dimensions

Friday, October 25, 2013

9:30 am - 11:00 am EDT

Auditorium
Dag Hammarskjöld Library

United Nations Headquarters
New York, New York

Displacement can undermine stability, undercut development and expose refugees and internally displaced persons to increased risk of human rights abuses. As new forced migration crises unfold in countries such as Syria and the Central African Republic, and displacement situations from Eastern Europe to Colombia become increasingly protracted, the need for durable solutions to displacement has never been clearer. 

Whether displaced persons return to their former homes, locally integrate or resettle elsewhere, enabling durable solutions to displacement requires cooperation between development, humanitarian and peacebuilding actors, including affected governments, donors, international organizations and civil society actors. Supporting durable solutions is a priority concern for Chaloka Beyani, the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons; his October 2013 report to the United Nations General Assembly addresses the development and peacebuilding dimensions of this challenge. In order to stimulate further discussion of this critical issue, on October 25, 2013, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Brookings-LSE Project on Internal Displacement joined with the Permanent Missions of Liechtenstein and Uganda to host an event on “Durable Solutions to Displacement: Development and Peacebuilding Dimensions.” 

The round table addressed several key topics including:

  • Uganda’s experiences in supporting the resolution of displacement
  • Enabling durable solutions: insights from the Special Rapporteur’s recent missions
  • Durable solutions as a development challenge
  • Durable solutions as a peacebuilding challenge
  • Reflections on durable solutions from UNHCR and civil society

The event report provides a brief overview of the discussion.