Press Briefing: Special Adviser on Solutions to Displacement
/
18:31
/
MP4
/
1.1 GB

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.


Documents 1
Download Storyline
Download

Audio Files 1
Download Press Briefing: Special Adviser on Solutions to Displacement (Continuity)
Download

Similar Stories

UN Geneva Press Briefing - 28 October 2025

1

1

1

Press Conferences | IFRC , OCHA , OHCHR , UNCTAD , UNHCR , UNOG , WHO , WMO

UN Geneva Press Briefing - 28 October 2025 ENG FRA

Rolando Gómez, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section at the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the representatives and spokespersons of the World Meteorological Organization, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations Refugee Agency, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the World Health Organization, and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

UNEP Press conference: Minamata Convention on Mercury - COP6 - 27 October 2025

1

1

1

Press Conferences | UNEP

UNEP Press conference: Minamata Convention on Mercury - COP6 - 27 October 2025 ENG FRA

UNEP Press conference: Minamata Convention on Mercury COP6 

UN Geneva Press Briefing - 24 October 2025

1

1

1

Press Conferences | WHO , WMO

UN Geneva Press Briefing - 24 October 2025 ENG FRA

Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by spokespersons and representatives of the World Health Organization and the World Meteorological Organization.

UNCTAD Press conference: Launch of the Sevilla Forum on Debt - 22 October 2025

1

5

1

1

Press Conferences | UNCTAD

UNCTAD Press conference: Launch of the Sevilla Forum on Debt - 22 October 2025 ENG FRA

Press conference on the launch of the Sevilla Forum on Debt, on the margins of the sixteenth United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD16). 

UN Geneva Press Briefing - 21 October 2025

1

1

1

Press Conferences | UNFPA , WFP , WHO , OCHA , WMO

UN Geneva Press Briefing - 21 October 2025 ENG FRA

Alessandra Vellucci, Director, United Nations Information Service Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by spokespersons and representatives of the United Nations Populations Fund, the World Food Programme, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the World Health Organization and the World Meteorological Organization.

UNCTAD 16 Rebeca Grynspan Stake Out - 20 October 2025

1

1

1

Statements , Press Conferences | UNCTAD

UNCTAD 16 Rebeca Grynspan Stake Out - 20 October 2025 ENG FRA

Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General of UN trade and development (UNCTAD) briefs the media following the opening of the 16th Conference of the United Nations on Trade and Development (UNCTAD16) in Geneva.

UN Geneva Press Briefing - 17 October 2025

1

1

1

Press Conferences | UNCTAD , WMO , WFP , UN WOMEN , WHO , OCHA

UN Geneva Press Briefing - 17 October 2025 ENG FRA

Rolando Gómez, Chief of Section, Public Information, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by spokespersons and representatives of the World Food Programme, UN Women, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the World Meteorological Organization.

WMO Press Conference: Greenhouse Gas Bulletin - 15 October 2025

1

2

1

Press Conferences | WMO

WMO Press Conference: Greenhouse Gas Bulletin - 15 October 2025 ENG FRA

WMO Greenhouse Gas Bulletin

UN Geneva Press Briefing - 14 October 2025

1

1

1

Press Conferences | WMO , UNICEF , UNDP , ICRC , WHO , OCHA

UN Geneva Press Briefing - 14 October 2025 ENG FRA

Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the spokespersons and representatives of the United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Children’s Fund, the World Health Organization, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the World Meteorological Organization, and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

UNCTAD Press Conference: UNCTAD 16 - 13 October

2

5

1

2

Press Conferences | UNCTAD

UNCTAD Press Conference: UNCTAD 16 - 13 October ENG FRA

UNCTAD / 16TH CONFERENCE ON TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT

As the global economy undergoes tectonic shifts in trade, finance and technology, global economic and development leaders will gather in Geneva this month to chart a path through mounting uncertainty and fragmentation. Ahead of the 16th session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD16), Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan outlines how countries can navigate record debt, disrupted supply chains, volatile investment flows and accelerating digital transformation. UNCTAD / UNTV CH

UN Geneva Press Briefing - 10 October 2025

1

1

1

Press Conferences | IFRC , UN WOMEN , UNHCR , UNICEF , UNRWA , WHO

UN Geneva Press Briefing - 10 October 2025 ENG FRA

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 Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations Children's Fund, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the World Health Organization.