Topic Index
Country & Area-Specific
Development
General Overview
Guiding Principles
Institutional Arrangements
Mandate
National and Regional Laws and Policies
National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs)
Natural Disasters
Peace, Peace Agreements, and Peacebuilding
Peacekeeping
Property
Protection
Regional Organizations
Voting Rights
When Displacement Ends
Women and Children

One of the most important contributions of the mandate of the Representative of the Secretary-General has been the development of international standards for internally displaced persons. The Brookings Project since its inception has organized and supported the process of developing the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement which were presented to the UN Commission on Human Rights by the Representative in 1998.

The UN Commission and the General Assembly in unanimously adopted resolutions have taken note of the Principles, welcomed their use, and encouraged UN agencies, regional organizations, and NGOs to disseminate and apply them. Individual governments have begun to incorporate them in national policies and laws, international organizations and regional bodies have welcomed and endorsed them, and some national courts have begun to refer to them as relevant restatements of existing international law.

The Guiding Principles have been translated into over 40 languages from countries around the world. They can be downloaded from the Project's website (http://www.brookings.edu/projects/idp/gp_page.aspx). The Guiding Principles are based upon "The Compilation and Analysis of Legal Norms," Parts I and II.
For hard copies of the Guiding Principles, please contact the Project, email: brookings-bern@brookings.edu


For more information, see Chapter 3 "Legal Framework" in Masses in Flight: The Global Crisis of Internal Displacement, by Roberta Cohen and Francis M. Deng (Brookings Institution, 1998). Professors Walter Kälin and Robert Kogod Goldman prepared the legal analysis in the chapter.

See also:
The Handbook for Applying the Guiding Principels on Internal Displacement (Brookings Project on Internal Displacement and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (2000). Available in English (PDF), as well as in Albanian, Arabic, Bahasa Indonesia, French, Macedonian, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish (Peruvian Version), and Thai (Unofficial).
For copies contact The Brookings Institution, e-mail: brookings-bern@brookings.edu

Annotations to the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement. The Annotations may be downloaded in PDF Format from the American Society of International Law website or purchased by contacting ASIL by e-mail at services@asil.org.


Type Title Author Date
       
Opinion Renewed Effort Needed to Help the Displaced, The Irish Times Walter Kälin 30 October 2008
       
Book Protecting Internally Displaced Persons: A Manual for Law and Policy Makers Brookings-Bern Project October 2008
       
Opinion Strengthening the Rights of the Internally Displaced Walter Kälin 16 October 2008
       
Opinion  Displacement and Human Rights: A Continuing Challenge Carlos Pascual  16 October 2008 
       
Book The Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, Annotations, 2nd Edition Walter Kälin Spring 2008
       
Database Online Global Database on the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement February 2008 (launch)
       
Article The Future of the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement Walter Kälin December 2006
 
Article The Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement as International Minimum Standard and Protection Tool Walter Kälin Fall 2005
 
Article The Role of the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement Walter Kälin October 2005
 
Article The Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement: An Innovation in International Standard Setting Roberta Cohen 1 October 2004
 
Presentation Sovereignty as Responsibility: The Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement Roberta Cohen 5 December 2003
 
Report Recent Commentaries about the Nature and Application of the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement Walter Kälin April 2002
 
Statement How Hard is Soft Law? The Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement and the Need for a Normative Framework Walter Kälin 19 December 2001
 
Statement The Guiding Principles: how do they support IDP response strategies?Response Strategies of the Internally Displaced: Changing the Humanitarian Lens, Roberta Cohen 9 November 2001
 
Statement Introduction to the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement Roberta Cohen 23 September 2001
 
Article "A New Tool for NGO's: Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement"
Copies may be obtained by contacting publications@interaction.org		 Roberta Cohen 29 January 2001
 
Article Principles of Protection for Internally Displaced Persons Erin Mooney January 2000
 
Summary Report International Colloquy on the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, Vienna, Austria NA 21 September 2000
 
Article A New Tool to Protect Internally Displaced Persons: The Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement Roberta Cohen January 1999
 
Article "A New Tool for NGOs: Principles Provide Structure for Protection of IDPs," The Mustard Seed, Jesuit Refugee Service
Copies of this article can be obtained by contacting Laurie O'Bryon at Jesuit Refugee Service, e-mail: obryonjrs@aol.com 		Roberta Cohen Fall 1998
 
Article "International Standards for Internally Displaced Persons," Relief and Rehabilitation Network
RRN can be contacted at the Overseas Development Institute, London, fax: 44 171 393 1699, e-mail: rrn@odi.org.uk 		Roberta Cohen November 1998
 
Paper "International Standards to Protect Internally Displaced Persons," Brookings Institution-UNHCR-OAU Workshop on Internal Displacement in Africa, Addis Ababa, October 1998
These workshop papers were published in the Refugee Survey Quarterly 		Roberta Cohen August 1999
 
Article The Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement: A New Instrument for International Organizations and NGOs Roberta Cohen August 1998
 
Interview "Guiding Principles on the Internally Displaced," Uprooted People Newsletter
Uprooted People can be contacted at fax: 41 22 788 0067 or e-mail: pt@wcc-coe.org 		Francis M. Deng May 1998
 
Paper The Development of International Standards to Protect Internally Displaced Persons Roberta Cohen May 1998