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Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT
Decades of armed conflict, natural disasters and climate change, have given rise to sizable populations of internally displaced persons (IDPs) throughout Africa. On October 23, African heads of state and government signed a legally binding convention on internal displacement, which as Andrew Solomon notes, demonstrates their commitment to protect the fundamental rights and freedoms of IDPs, to facilitate durable solutions and to ensure that millions of people are no longer excluded from society as a whole.
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Mon, 03 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT
Internal displacement continues to be one of the world's major humanitarian and human rights challenges and many internally displaced persons (IDPs) experience serious violations of their human rights. In his annual report to the UN General Assembly, Walter Kälin argues that it is important to translate the increasing recognition of the human rights dimension of internal displacement at the international and regional levels into effective action at the national and local levels of government.
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Mon, 08 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT
Massive displacement of people within and across borders has become a defining feature of the post-cold war world. It is also a major feature of human insecurity in which genocide, terrorism, egregious human rights violations and appalling human degradation wreak havoc on civilians. Though there has been a critical shift in thinking at the international level with regards to forced displacement, Cohen and Deng argue that concepts of sovereignty as responsibility and the responsibility to protect remain far ahead of international willingness and capacity to enforce them.
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Mon, 20 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT
Since 2002, the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor has issued four criminal indictments, carefully navigating turbulent national and international political waters. In each case, the timing of the indictments has elicited much controversy, particularly regarding their potential impact on peace agreements or ongoing negotiations. According to Jacqueline Geis and Alex Mundt, at issue is a fundamental debate over whether peace and justice can be pursued simultaneously.
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Mon, 16 Feb 2009 00:00:00 GMT
Throughout the Muslim world, millions of people have been forced to flee their homes and communities for many reasons, including both conflicts and natural disasters. This massive displacement of people affects both national development plans and individual human development, affecting relationships between countries, UN Security Council discussions, and peace processes. In short, as Hady Amr and Elizabeth Ferris argue, understanding—and resolving—displacement is central to development, peace, and security.
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Fri, 26 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT
At first glance, the reaction of humanitarian actors on the ground in Darfur to potential indictments of the Sudanese president Omar Bashir seems pretty obvious. Darfur's 2.5 million internally displaced people, the 4.2 million in need of food assistnace and the 17,000 or so humanitarian workers would make easy targets for an angry Sudanese government. But like everything in Darfur, Elizabeth Ferris explains, the situation is more complicated than it seems at first glance.
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Fri, 26 Sep 2008 10:30:00 GMT
Event Information:
- September 26, 2008, 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM
On September 26, the Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement will host a discussion of the effect of the possible indictment on peace and justice, and potential impact on humanitarian and peacekeeping operations in Darfur and on the ICC itself.
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Tue, 16 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT
When those working with IDPs develop programs and policies without taking the time to listen to those most affected — the IDPs themselves — plans often go wrong. In order to ensure their needs not only are met but also that lasting solutions are found for their displacement, Roberta Cohen explains that it is critical to listen to the voices of IDPs.
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Fri, 27 Jun 2008 14:00:00 GMT
Event Information:
- June 27, 2008, 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM
On June 27, the Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement hosted a discussion with representatives from the Sudanese government; Lynn Fredriksson, Africa advocacy director for Amnesty International USA; and Pamela Fierst, a member of the Sudan policy group at the State Department, to examine Sudan’s 2005 peace agreement and to explore the ways in which it has been successfully implemented and the areas in which challenges still exist.
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Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT
Darfur has been on the international agenda for the past four years despite the advocacy campaigns, the growing public awareness, the large and expensive relief operations, and (eventual) Security Council action. Despite these efforts, as Elizabeth Ferris points out, the war is far from over.
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Wed, 06 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT
Despite the UN resolution creating an international peacekeeping force for Darfur with 26,000 troops, the force has been unable to fully deploy into the region. Brookings expert Roberta Cohen discusses the difficulties surrounding the deployment with Stephanie Hanson of the Council on Foreign Relations.
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Tue, 05 Feb 2008 14:00:00 GMT
Event Information:
- February 05, 2008, 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Gonzalo Vargas-Llosa, a senior policy adviser from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, participated in a discussion on the current realities in Darfur. He was joined by experts Colin Thomas-Jensen, a policy adviser with the ENOUGH Project, and Paul Miller, Africa adviser with Catholic Relief Services. Elizabeth Ferris, senior fellow and co-director of the Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement, moderated the discussion.
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Fri, 14 Dec 2007 00:00:00 GMT
Because IDPs have needs that are different from both refugees and other war-affected civilian populations, they require special attention in peace processes. As Brookings expert Khalid Koser argues, resolving these displacement issues is crucial to achieving a sustainable peace.
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Sat, 01 Dec 2007 00:00:00 GMT
Debates within the human rights and humanitarian communities have centered on the numbers who have died in Darfur, the use of the term genocide, the efficacy of military versus political solutions and the extent to which human rights advocacy can undermine humanitarian programs on the ground.
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Wed, 24 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT
Genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan has lasted over four years and claimed as many as 450,000 lives. Over this period, as the situation has steadily worsened, the United States has done little to halt the killing. U.S. policy has coupled generous humanitarian assistance with unfulfilled threats and feckless diplomacy. Susan Rice argues that candidates for President should demand forceful and effective action to stop the killing.
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Fri, 05 Oct 2007 19:08:03 GMT
News Release (11/08/05)
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Thu, 04 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT
The issue of finding durable solutions to internal displacement and peace agreements are closely intertwined. Therefore, as RSG Walter Kälin argues, the inclusion of IDP-specific needs in peace agreements is not only justified, but required, as is their participation in the peace process.
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Sun, 30 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT
Article by Erica Downs, Far Eastern Economic Review (September 2007)
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Thu, 09 Aug 2007 00:00:00 GMT
Commentary by Roberta Cohen (8/9/07)
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Fri, 29 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT
Article by Elizabeth Ferris, New Routes (6/29/07)
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Fri, 27 Apr 2007 00:00:00 GMT
Article by Elizabeth Ferris in the Horn of Africa Bulletin (April 2007)
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Thu, 05 Apr 2007 10:00:00 GMT
Event Information:
- April 05, 2007, 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM
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Fri, 16 Mar 2007 12:30:00 GMT
Event Information:
- March 16, 2007, 12:30 PM to 02:00 PM
The Brookings-Bern Project hosted a seminar with the Secretary-General of the South Sudan Law Society to discuss the current challenges faced by internally displaced persons in South Sudan, including the return process, the security situation, and actions that are needed to ensure that the returns are sustained.
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Thu, 15 Mar 2007 00:00:00 GMT
Statement by Roberta Cohen at Harvard University's Committee on Human Rights Studies (3/15/07)
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Thu, 08 Feb 2007 00:00:00 GMT
Testimony by Susan E. Rice before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs (2/8/07)
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Wed, 17 Jan 2007 12:30:00 GMT
Event Information:
- January 17, 2007, 12:30 PM to 02:00 PM
The Brookings-Bern Project hosted a seminar with a group of six women political leaders from across Sudan to discuss their work in promoting good governance in Sudan and improving the lives of Sudanese women.
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Thu, 21 Dec 2006 00:00:00 GMT
Opinion by Michael E. O'Hanlon, The New Republic (12/21/06)
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Mon, 11 Dec 2006 00:00:00 GMT
Interview with Roberta Cohen, Radio Times (12/11/06)
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Mon, 20 Nov 2006 10:00:00 GMT
Event Information:
- November 20, 2006, 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM
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Fri, 17 Nov 2006 00:00:00 GMT
Interview with Susan E. Rice, PBS (11/17/06)
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Tue, 10 Oct 2006 00:00:00 GMT
Interview with Roberta Cohen, Council on Foreign Relations (10/10/06)
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Wed, 04 Oct 2006 00:00:00 GMT
Interview with Susan E. Rice, NPR (10/4/06)
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Mon, 02 Oct 2006 00:00:00 GMT
Opinion by Susan E. Rice, Anthony Lake and Donald M. Payne, The Washington Post (10/2/06)
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Fri, 29 Sep 2006 00:00:00 GMT
Over the past decade, peacekeeping forces have been increasingly called upon to play critical protection roles in humanitarian emergencies around the world. They are no longer confined to the traditional role of monitoring ceasefires between nations but are thrust into the midst of civil wars and called upon to protect civilian populations, among them IDPs.
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Thu, 28 Sep 2006 00:00:00 GMT
Op-ed by William G. O'Neill, Christian Science Monitor (9/28/06)
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Sun, 17 Sep 2006 00:00:00 GMT
Interview with Susan E. Rice, NPR (9/17/06)
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Mon, 04 Sep 2006 00:00:00 GMT
Opinion by Erica S. Downs, BusinessWeek (9/4/06)
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Mon, 12 Jun 2006 00:00:00 GMT
Online Chat with Peter W. Singer, Washingtonpost.com (6/12/06)
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Sun, 07 May 2006 00:00:00 GMT
Opinion by Michael E. O'Hanlon, The Washington Times (5/7/06)
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Thu, 13 Apr 2006 10:00:00 GMT
Event Information:
- April 13, 2006, 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM
The ongoing conflict in the Darfur region of western Sudan has produced one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. By some estimates, genocidal acts have claimed as many as 400,000 lives. More than 2 million people are crowded into squalid camps where they are dependent on international aid to survive. Following attacks by rebels in 2003, the Sudanese government and the Janjaweed militia it supports have engaged in a deliberate ethnic cleansing campaign and are now crossing into Chad. Talks between the government and the rebels have not produced results. The 7,000 African Union troops and police on the ground do not have the numbers or mandate to bring the situation under control, and a UN force could take up to a year to deploy.
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Wed, 01 Mar 2006 00:00:00 GMT
Paper by Philip H. Gordon, Emirates Lecture Series (Spring 2006)
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Wed, 01 Mar 2006 00:00:00 GMT
On May 5th, one of Darfur's main rebel groups signed an agreement with the government of Sudan following African Union mediation efforts backed by the U.S. and European governments. But it is questionable whether the Abuja accord will protect the people of western Sudan from genocidal acts of war by their own government and the Arab militias (the Janjaweed) it supports.
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Wed, 01 Mar 2006 00:00:00 GMT
The African Union has been struggling in Darfur to alleviate what has been called the world's "worst humanitarian disaster." Brookings expert Roberta Cohen and William G. O'Neill argue that the efforts aimed at protecting the 3.5 million people considered by the UN to be at risk--half the population of Darfur--has become a test case for African peacekeeping.
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Tue, 01 Nov 2005 00:00:00 GMT
Article on Protection by Walter Kälin
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Tue, 01 Nov 2005 00:00:00 GMT
Report by William G. O'Neill and Violette Cassis and Press Release (November 2005)
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Tue, 01 Nov 2005 00:00:00 GMT
Sudan is a nation whose identity has been divisively distorted but which is now striving to rediscover itself, albeit in a tragically violent way. The silver lining, Francis Deng argues, is that a more constructive search for an identity framework around which Sudanese could unite may be within reach.
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Sun, 11 Sep 2005 00:00:00 GMT
Opinion by Roberta Cohen, The Philadelphia Inquirer (9/11/05)
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Sun, 07 Aug 2005 00:00:00 GMT
The U.S. and NATO, not the African Union, are best equipped to lead the effort against genocide in Darfur. Susan E. Rice, The Washington Post (8/7/05)
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Mon, 20 Jun 2005 00:00:00 GMT
World Refugee Day is a time to remember the millions of men, women, and children who have crossed international borders to flee persecution and violence in their homelands. It is also a day to pay tribute to UNHCR, which is helping them find new lives abroad and has been championing their rights. However, as Cohen argues, World Refugee Day is also a time to acknowledge the far larger number of internally displaced persons.
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Thu, 26 May 2005 00:00:00 GMT
Article by Roberta Cohen, Forced Migration Review (May 2005)
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Tue, 05 Apr 2005 00:00:00 GMT
Opinion by Ivo H. Daalder, The Center for American Progress (4/5/05)
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Mon, 14 Mar 2005 00:00:00 GMT
Interview with Ivo H. Daalder, The Diane Rehm Show (3/14/05)
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Fri, 25 Feb 2005 10:00:00 GMT
Event Information:
- February 25, 2005, 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM
A Judicial Issues Forum discussion among leading experts on the calamity in Darfur and the international community's failure to empower a suitable war crimes tribunal. The session reviewed the gravity of the situation in Sudan, the controversy over efforts to grant jurisdiction to the International Criminal Court, and the limited potential of other options—such as turning to the Rwanda genocide tribunal in Arusha, Tanzania, as an alternative.
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Sun, 06 Feb 2005 00:00:00 GMT
More than 300,000 people have died in Darfur from starvation, disease and violence during the past two years. Brookings expert Roberta Cohen asks how many more deaths will be tolerated before the international community will act.
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Sat, 01 Jan 2005 00:00:00 GMT
Francis Deng argues that the rebellion in Darfur cannot be viewed in isolation from events elsewhere in Sudan.
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Sat, 01 Jan 2005 00:00:00 GMT
Analysis by Michael Shurkin (January 2005)
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Thu, 11 Nov 2004 00:00:00 GMT
Press Release by Walter Kalin Representative of the Secretary-General on the human rights of internally displaced persons.
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Tue, 14 Sep 2004 14:00:00 GMT
Event Information:
- September 14, 2004, 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM
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Tue, 14 Sep 2004 00:00:00 GMT
Event summary on the Brookings-SAIS, Refugees International Briefing. (9/14/04)
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Wed, 01 Sep 2004 00:00:00 GMT
P. W. Singer, an internationally recognized expert on twenty-first-century warfare, explores how a new strategy of war, utilized by armies and warlords alike, has targeted children, seeking to turn them into soldiers and terrorists.
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Thu, 26 Aug 2004 00:00:00 GMT
Article by Michael O'Hanlon and John Prendergast, Financial Times (8/26/2004)
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Sat, 14 Aug 2004 00:00:00 GMT
An increasingly dire situation in Darfur in western Sudan has devolved into the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, according to international observers. More than one million people have been forced to leave their homes due to policies of the Arab government in Khartoum and militias known as Janjaweed operating with government support. Almost 200,000 Sudanese live in refugee camps in neighboring Chad.
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Fri, 13 Aug 2004 00:00:00 GMT
Opinion by Ivo H. Daalder, International Herald Tribune (8/13/04)
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Thu, 05 Aug 2004 00:00:00 GMT
Roberta Cohen argues that the United States should press France to act on Darfur, as a July 25 editorial advocated, but it also should seek action from China.
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Mon, 02 Aug 2004 00:00:00 GMT
Press Release on Mission to the Sudan, The Darfur Crisis
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Tue, 01 Jun 2004 00:00:00 GMT
Deng Report on Darfur to UN (Summer 2004)
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Sun, 30 May 2004 00:00:00 GMT
Opinion by Susan E. Rice and Gayle E. Smith, Washington Post (5/30/04)
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Fri, 21 May 2004 00:00:00 GMT
What is being called the world's greatest humanitarian disaster today is occurring in Sudan, 10 years after the genocide in nearby Rwanda. Arab militias (the "Janjaweed"), backed by the Sudanese government, are carrying out deliberate mass murders, deportations, rapes, and abductions of black Africans, belonging to the Fur, Massaalit, and Zaghawa farming communities, in the western province of Darfur. Roberta Cohen argues that, as in Rwanda before, the international community still has no effective means of stopping the violence.
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Thu, 08 Apr 2004 00:00:00 GMT
Article by Francis M. Deng (4/08/2004)
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Sat, 06 Dec 2003 00:00:00 GMT
Opinion by Parag Khanna, The New York Times (12/6/03)
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Mon, 01 Dec 2003 00:00:00 GMT
Statement by Francis M. Deng (December 2003)
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Wed, 03 Sep 2003 00:00:00 GMT
Report of IGAD Experts Meeting, Khartoum, Sudan (30 August - 2 September 2003)
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Sat, 30 Aug 2003 09:00:00 GMT
Event Information:
- August 30, 2003, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
- September 02, 2003, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
An estimated 5.2 to 6 million internally displaced persons are found in the IGAD region, where they face critical humanitarian, protection and reintegration needs. The Brookings-SAIS Project, in collaboration with UN OCHA's IDP Unit convened a conference in Khartoum to discuss the displacement challenges in the region.
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Sat, 01 Feb 2003 00:00:00 GMT
Report of the Seminar on Internal Displacement in southern Sudan.
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Mon, 25 Nov 2002 09:00:00 GMT
Event Information:
- November 25, 2002, 9:00 AM to 05:00 PM
In order to promote greater attention to the needs of an estimated 2 million IDPs living in areas controlled by the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) and the Sudan's People's Democratic Front (SPDF), the Brookings-SAIS Project, in collaboration with UNICEF, convened a seminar to discuss the issues of the displaced.
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Fri, 01 Nov 2002 00:00:00 GMT
When conflicts start, some people are lucky enough or have the means to cross into another country, becoming part of the worldwide refugee population and receiving help from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. However, those who do not cross a border receive no such assistance and remain the responsibility of their national government. A government, that as Roberta Cohen points out, could be the cause of the displacement or ambivalent toward it.
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Thu, 14 Dec 2000 00:00:00 GMT
Acceptance speech for the Rome Prize for Peace and Humanitarian Action.
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Fri, 19 May 2000 00:00:00 GMT
Interview of Francis Deng on IDPs in Africa by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs - Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN)
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Tue, 08 Jun 1999 00:00:00 GMT
Most people in the United States are unaware of the fact that there are millions of people in the world forcibly displaced within their own countries and in need of international attention. These internally displaced people can be found on all continents and number between 20 and 25 million. However, as Roberta Cohen points out, though the number of IDPs exceeds the number of refugees, there is no effective international system to protect and assist them.
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Thu, 01 Apr 1999 00:00:00 GMT
When looking at uprooted populations in Africa, one finds that those who are forcibly displaced internally outnumber refugees two to one. However, because these people have not crossed a border, they have no assured source of protection and assistance like refugees, who benefit from the 1951 Refugee Convention and its guarantees. Roberta Cohen argues that this gap in the international protection system is becoming more obvious.
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Wed, 11 Nov 1998 00:00:00 GMT
Forcible displacement can be found on all continents. Over all there are 20 to 25 million internally displaced persons (IDPs). Over the past decade these numbers have been climbing. However, as Roberta Cohen argues, unlike refugees who benefit from an established international protection system, IDPs have no guaranteed international protection and generally receive little or no help from their own governments.
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Mon, 19 Oct 1998 09:00:00 GMT
Event Information:
- October 19, 1998, 9:00 AM to 05:00 PM
- October 20, 1998, 9:00 AM to 05:00 PM
The Brookings Project, UNHCR and the Organization of African Unity (OAU) jointly convened a regional workshop to focus attention on the problem of internal displacement in Africa and to identify ways of improving response at the national, regional and international levels.
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Fri, 28 Aug 1998 00:00:00 GMT
Root Out, but Don't Bomb Out, Terrorism, The Los Angeles Times, August 28, 1998, by Francis M. Deng. Fighting terrorism is admittedly a complex and difficult enterprise with serious political and moral dilemmas. Obviously, terrorists must be punished
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Mon, 24 Aug 1998 00:00:00 GMT
This Time a Message; Next Time Get Him, Newsday, August 24, 1998, by Michael E. O'Hanlon. THURSDAY'S U.S. cruise-missile attacks against terrorist camps in Afghanistan and a suspected chemical weapons production site in Sudan seem to have been a succ
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Fri, 10 Jul 1998 00:00:00 GMT
The coerced displacement of people within the borders of their own countries by armed conflicts, internal strife, and systematic violations of human rights has developed throughout various regions of the world. The companion volume to Masses in Fligh
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Sun, 01 Jun 1997 00:00:00 GMT
Brookings Review article by Francis M. Deng (Summer 1997)
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Tue, 22 Aug 1995 00:00:00 GMT
War of Visions sheds light on the anomalies of the identity conflict in the Sudan between the Arab-Islamic mold of the North and the indigenous African race of the South. The author explores the historical discrimination between the two cultur