The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Press Conferences | UNITED NATIONS
Press Briefing: Special Adviser on Solutions to Internal Displacement - 21 June 2024
Two years of the Action Agenda on Solutions to Internal Displacement
Robert Piper, Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General on Solutions to Internal Displacement, said that 24 June would mark two years since the launch of the Secretary General’s Action Agenda on Solutions to Internal Displacement. Today, there were 76 million internally displaced people (IDPs) – people who had lost their homes, livelihoods, communities and sometimes also their legal identities. They were “internal” because they had not crossed international borders but had stayed withing their own countries. Some IDPs returned home relatively quickly, usually after natural disasters; others got stuck in protracted displacements of five, ten years or longer, usually displaced by conflicts, such as in Syria and Somalia. Those numbers were growing exponentially, and today there were twice as many IDPs as in 2014. The largest number of IDPs today were in Sudan, informed Mr. Piper.
In 2023, the United Nations had helped as many as 50 million IDPs. The Secretary-General’s Action Agenda aimed to break the long-term displacement pattern; it aimed to help IDPs find a durable solution to their displacement; better prevent new displacement crises from emerging; and ensure those facing displacement receive effective protection and assistance. The Agenda set out 31 concrete commitments, and numerous UN agencies had signed up for it. Mr. Piper was focused on building a coalition to break down the pattern of protracted displacement. Governments in several affected countries, from Colombia o Iraq, had really stepped forward to take the lead, he said. Those governments had introduced new approaches to dealing with internal displacement; they had put money behind their political commitments. In Nigeria, for example, the Borno State had pledged 15 percent of its revenue to this issue over the next four years.
Mr. Piper explained that there were fifteen pilot countries which would help identify the best solutions; there were already commitments to move 8.5 million IDPs to more permanent solutions, based on international standards, which included safe, dignified, and voluntary settlement. Globally, the UN and partners had made progress with supporting those governments; a new financing mechanism had been established, and relevant UN Resident Coordinator offices had been accordingly strengthened. The UN had made a big investment in data systems, which was of critical importance. The visibility of this issue had been lifted globally, stressed Mr. Piper. Several partnerships with regional development banks had been built. The humanitarian community had upgraded its own capacity to respond to the needs of the internally displaced people, from day one onwards. The major deficit today lay with prevention, as numbers of IDPs kept going up, partly caused by natural disasters, partly by conflict. UN was still working with various partners on finding the right level of financing; providing homes and livelihoods were expensive, and a breakthrough there was still needed. The whole of the UN and the whole of national governments needed to be fully engaged on this issue. There was still no forum that brought all relevant actors together and there was no adequate international architecture in place. He appealed to Member States to create a forum to comprehensively address this issue in a more coordinated, cross-sectorial way. All parts of the system ought to come together and establish an adequate governance structure.
More details are available in the June 2024 factsheet.
Responding to questions, Mr. Piper said that the UNHCR and the IOM were by far the two most active agencies dealing with displacement, but they also recognized that this issue demanded a much broader, coordinated action to find long-term solutions for internally displaced people. They could not do it alone, he stressed. An intergovernmental forum that would bring all actors together and meet periodically could be a good way forward, said Mr. Piper responding to another question. This process ought to be led by Member States.
Similar Stories
2
1
2
Press Conferences | UNCTAD
Presentation of the Review of Maritime Transport 2024: Navigating maritime chokepoints
1
1
1
Press Conferences | IFRC , UNDP , UNEP , UNFPA , WHO
Rolando Gómez, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section at the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid briefing, which was attended by the spokespersons and representatives of the United Nations Development Programme, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Environment Programme, World Meteorological Organization, the United Nations Population Fund, and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNIFIL , OCHA , UNICEF , IOM , WHO
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid briefing, which was attended by the spokespersons and representatives of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the World Health Organization, and the International Organization for Migration.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNECE , UNDP , UNHCR , IFRC , OHCHR , FAO , WFP , ICRC
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid briefing, which was attended by the spokespersons and representatives of the United Nations Development Programme, the World Food Programme, the United Nations Refugee Agency, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the World Health Organization, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNHCR , OHCHR , WHO , UNICEF , OCHA , UNCTAD
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, chaired the hybrid briefing, which was attended by spokespersons and representatives from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Children's Fund, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, and United Nations Trade and Development.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | HRC , WTO , WFP , WHO , WMO
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid briefing, which was attended by the spokespersons and representatives of the World Food Programme, the World Health Organization, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the World Meteorological Organization, and the Human Rights Council.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | WMO
WMO: State of Global Water Resources report
1
1
1
Press Conferences | HRC , ILO , WHO , UNHCR , IOM , ICRC , FAO
Rolando Gómez of the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, chaired the hybrid briefing, attended by spokespersons and representatives of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the International Labour Organization, World Health Organization, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Organization for Migration, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Food and Agricultural Organization.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | IFRC , OCHA , OHCHR , UNRWA , WHO
Rolando Gómez, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section at the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid briefing, which was attended by the spokespersons and representatives of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNRWA
Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA Commissioner-General update on the situation in OPT
1
1
1
Press Conferences | OCHA , UNHCR , UNWOMEN , WHO , OHCHR
Rolando Gómez, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section at the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid briefing, which was attended by the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in Lebanon, representatives and spokespersons of the United Nations Refugee Agency, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the World Health Organization, and UN Women.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | IPU , OHCHR , UNECE , UNHCR , UNICEF , UNWOMEN , WFP , WHO , WIPO
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid briefing, which was attended by the spokespersons and representatives of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the Economic Commission for Europe, the World Intellectual Property Organization, UN Women, the United Nations Refugee Agency, the World Food Programme, and the Interparliamentary Union.