April

22
2002

9:00 am EDT - 2:00 pm EDT

Past Event

When Internal Displacement Ends

Monday, April 22, 2002

9:00 am - 2:00 pm EDT

The Brookings Institution
Stein Room

1775 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC
20036

In the past decade, the term “internally displaced person” (IDP) has entered the international lexicon and gained wide currency to denote persons forcibly displaced within their countries. It is generally understood that a person becomes internally displaced when s/he is forced or obliged to flee or to leave his or her home or place of habitual residence, in particular as a result of or in order to avoid the effects of armed conflict, situations of generalized violence, violations of human rights or human-made disasters, but remains within  her or his country of origin. It has also come to be widely recognized that the factual situation of being internally displaced tends to create particular needs and vulnerabilities requiring special attention. The Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement seek to address these needs by spelling out the various norms relevant to providing protection and assistance in all phases of internal displacement. Yet, while there exists considerable awareness of when internal displacement begins and what special needs it entails for the affected persons, the issue of when internal displacement ends or, in other words, when an IDP ceases to be considered as such, has been unclear.

On April 22, the Brookings-SAIS Project, in collaboration with Georgetown University’s Institute for the Study of International Migration and the Norwegian Refugee Council, hosted a meeting to discuss criteria for when internal displacement ends. Participants included representatives from international organizations and non-governmental organizations working with internally displaced persons as well as experts from academia.

Download the Meeting Report »

Additional Materials:
When Does Internal Displacement End?Forced Migration Review, Special issue guest edited by Erin Mooney of the Brooking-SAIS Project 

Conference Statement on “When Does Internal Displacement End?”, by Erin Mooney

When Does Internal Displacement End: A Framework for Durable Solutions, Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement, September 2007

Agenda

  • April 22
    • When Internal Displacement Ends

      9:00 am - 2:00 pm

      Over the past decade, the term “internally displaced person” (IDP) has entered the international lexicon and gained wide currency to denote persons displaced within their countries. However, when a person ceases to be an IDP has been unclear. On April 22, the Brookings-SAIS Project, in collaboration with Georgetown University’s Institute for the Study of International Migration and the Norwegian Refugee Council, hosted a meeting to discuss criteria for when internal displacement ends.

      Francis M. Deng Former Brookings Expert
      EDM
      Erin D. Mooney Deputy Director
      Francis M. Deng Former Brookings Expert