The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
As Geneva prepares to host its first ever high-level panel on Internal Displacement, the co-chair of the panel called the issue “a major humanitarian and political crisis of our times.”
To put internal displacement back on the agenda and shift global focus to the millions of people displaced within their own countries, the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres established the first high-level panel to address this issue in October 2019. Federica Mogherini, co-chair of this panel told journalists that even though “the issue of internal displacement tends to be forgotten”, she stressed that it is “one of the major, not only humanitarian, but also political, crisis that our times are seeing.”
Scheduled to hold its first meeting on 26 February 2020, the Secretary-General has tasked the panel with finding concrete long-term solutions and to raise global awareness of internal displacement by improving efforts to help all those affected, including both the displaced and their host communities. Ms. Mogherini, listed one of the panel’s tasks as addressing main drivers of displacement, and delving into the reasons why displacement occurs, of which she listed the three main causes as “climate change, disaster risk reduction, and peace action.” She told journalists that the panel has also been tasked with linking “the IDP issue and the 2030 agenda” so as to be able to understand how to “improve the collection of data and the analysis of the phenomenon” as she stressed that “the issue of recognition of the phenomenon is itself the first step to address it.” The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development also promises to “leave no one behind”. It incorporates internal displacement issues into its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically including IDPs as a vulnerable group that must not be left behind.
Ms. Mogherini worried that the numbers of internally displaced persons have been increasing every year, noting that “41 million people have been displaced by conflict only” in the last year, and millions more are become internally displaced every year “as a consequence of natural disasters or climate-related events.”
The high-level panel draws together expertise from government, international organizations, civil society and the private sector, as focusing only on short-term humanitarian assistance, and narrow goals, have proven to be inadequate, unsustainable, and unsuited to the protracted nature of many IDP crises, according to Donald Kaberuka who maintains that internal displacement is a global problem occurring in all continents, and therefore it requires a global solution. Mr. Kaberuka told journalists that it was not possible “to separate development, environment, and security” and that to be able to respond adequately to the problem, all three must be addressed together, as “we would be failing the Secretary-General if we did not address the issue of climate impact,” he said, stressing the need to make climate change a priority, as well as the urgent need to “bring the international community together to make sure that we resolve this.”
“Internally displaced persons are among the most vulnerable and face a variety of risks to their lives, health and well-being. And ever more people are displaced for longer periods of time, undermining the efforts of affected countries to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals,” said the Secretary-General in a statement on establishing the High-Level Panel on Internal Displacement. The Panel will convene at least four times in Geneva, New York and other locations, and will submit its final recommendations to the Secretary-General in one year.
- Wide shot: exterior, flag alley, Palais des Nations, United Nations Geneva.
- Wide shot, press briefing room
- Medium shot, panel
- SOUNDBITE (EN) Federica Mogherini, Co-Chair, UN High-Level Panel on Internal Displacement: “The issue of internal displacement tends to be forgotten while it is one of the major, not only humanitarian, but also I would say, political crisis that our times are seeing.”
- Close-up: journalists
- SOUNDBITE (EN) Federica Mogherini, Co-Chair, UN High-Level Panel on Internal Displacement: “The terms of reference indicate the need for us to address the link between internal displacement and climate change, disaster risk reduction, and peace action, as we see these three as the main drivers of displacement.”
- Close-up: journalists writing
- SOUNDBITE (EN) Federica Mogherini, Co-Chair, UN High-Level Panel on Internal Displacement: “We are talking about numbers that are increasing every year. Only for reasons of conflict, we are talking about 41 million people internally displaced, and to this you have to add the internally displaced people that are moving as a consequence of natural disasters or climate-related events.”
- Medium shot: journalists
- SOUNDBITE (EN) Federica Mogherini, Co-Chair, UN High-Level Panel on Internal Displacement: “We’ve been tasked to link and to study the link between the IDP issue and the 2030 agenda, so to understand how to include this work into the sustainable development agenda, obviously looking at how we can improve the collection of data and the analysis of the phenomenon; the issue of recognition of the phenomenon is itself the first step to address it.”
- Close-up: camera
- SOUNDBITE (EN) Donald Kaberuka, Co-Chair, UN High-Level Panel on Internal Displacement: “It is not really possible to separate development, environment, and security especially if you focus on where the big numbers are coming from, so we would be failing the Secretary-General if we did not address the issue of climate impact, and try to go beyond that to show this link and what the international community can do together to make sure that we resolve this.”
- Close-up shot: journalist writing
- Medium shot: journalists, panel
- Close-up: journalist
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM , OHCHR , UNFPA , UNOG , UNHCR , WHO
Yemen’s humanitarian crisis growing by the hour amid spike in displacement
Yemenis displaced by renewed fighting have described fleeing for their lives amid shelling and gunfire, aid agencies reported on Friday, while highlighting the dramatic increase in humanitarian needs in the country and in Djibouti, where thousands have sought shelter.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN Human Rights Office issued on Friday a report documenting a shocking pattern of sexual violence amid Russia’s full-scale armed attack on Ukraine.
2
1
2
Edited News , Press Conferences | WMO
As world’s water reserves change, countries must prepare for a new reality: WMO
New data showing that rivers were at their lowest level for decades last year provides further evidence that the climate crisis is real and countries must act immediately to protect themselves from the increasing threat to communities and livelihoods, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Thursday.
The key findings from WMO’s State of Global Water Resources 2025 report covering the hydrological cycle and extreme events in the five-year period to last year:
- 2025 was one of driest years for river discharge in 35 years
- Past seven years have seen abnorfmal river flows
- Water storage on Earth’s land surface has decreased in past decade
- Widespread glacier loss across all regions for fourth consecutive year
- Asia and Africa are regions most affected by water-related disasters
- Water data availability has improved, but gaps remain in hard-hit areas
Highlighting the long-term decline in the Earth’s freshwater storage and glacier melt, WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo explained that the planet’s water reserves used to act as a planetary “savings account” that absorbed the occasional dry season, avoiding a water crisis. “One of the central stories of the 2025 report is what is happening to that savings account? And the simple answer is that we are depleting it,” she told journalists in Geneva.
Groundwater reserves are equally stretched and have been in decline since 2014, WMO’s report states, with nearly two-thirds of monitored wells worldwide showing levels lower than the historical norm and indicating a shift “further toward deficit…not recovery”.
“At the same time, we are seeing more water-related disasters,” Ms. Saulo said, while also stressing that the currently strengthening El Niño “will increase the risk of drought in some areas, and flooding in others”.
Glaciers disappearing
In 2025, for the fourth consecutive year, every major glaciated region on Earth lost ice mass, leading to short-term hazards including floods and long-term water insecurity, according to WMO.
Responding to a question about whether the changing global water cycle might have contributed to the deadly Nepal-China flooding disaster, Ms. Saulo explained that melting ice and rock was just one factor in the chain of events that ultimately sent a massive and deadly wall of water and debris downstream on 26 August, killing at least 1,367 people.
“You asked if it could happen again? Absolutely; the problem in this region is that there’s 63,700 glaciers at the last count,” she told a Press Conference in Geneva. “Even if you’re looking with remote sensing with satellites at these glaciers, you might see some faults, you might see some slight shifting, that does not mean necessarily catastrophic collapse. So, in order to plan for this, it’s very, very difficult. But the international community is looking very hard at ways in which we can bring people together to solve some of these monitoring issues.”
Data indicates that glaciers shrank between 2023 and 2025 with cumulative losses of 1,400 gigatonnes of water – or about one third of annual fresh water needs.
Every major glacier region on Earth lost ice for the fourth consecutive year.
“All 19 glacier regions around the globe lost ice; in Central Asia, Iceland, the Russian Arctic and western Canada and the United States, it was among the three worst years on record,” said Wayne Jenkinson, WMO’s Director of Hydrology and Cryosphere.
Some regions with smaller glaciers such as Central Europe, the Caucasus, the western Canada and the United States may already have reached “peak water”, Mr. Jenkinson warned.
“After this point, the glacier gives less meltwater each year simply because there is less ice left to melt. That matters for every community downstream that relies on water during hot, dry summers,” he explained.
Narelle van der Wel, WMO’s Head of Cryosphere Monitoring, Predictions and Services, stressed that while some further glacier loss is unavoidable, the eventual scale of the decline is not predetermined.
“Some glacier loss is inevitable, but total loss of glaciers is not yet inevitable,” she said, pointing to emissions reductions as central to limiting future losses.
Preparing for moving baselines
The report does not attribute every observed change to climate change alone. WMO says pressure on water resources and natural variability also contribute.
Mr. Jenkinson said governments need to prepare for “moving baselines” as historical patterns become less reliable.
“The situation 30 years ago is not where we are today,” he said. Countries, he added, need to prepare “for those changes that have really already arrived”.
ends
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , WHO
The deadly Ebola virus outbreak in DR Congo continues to spread across the vast country despite some success in containing it, aid officials said on Tuesday, in a renewed call for international support to help responders on the ground.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | WFP
‘Super El Niño’ and converging crises worsen hunger in South Sudan and across the region - WFP
South Sudan’s hunger crisis is becoming increasingly catastrophic as violence, extreme weather and dwindling aid leave millions without enough food, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UN WOMEN
In war-torn Gaza, a growing number of women-headed households face “impossible decisions” every day, amid ongoing Israeli airstrikes and still-scarce resources, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk made the following remarks to the Enhanced Interactive Dialogue on the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar at the 63rd Human Rights Council.
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk today delivered an update on the global human rights situation to the 63rdsession of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
Repeated attacks on humanitarian warehouses put vital medical aid at risk in Ukraine - WHO
A new airstrike overnight damaged one of the main warehouses used by the UN health agency to store humanitarian medical supplies in the Kyiv region, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday. This is the third attack to affect a WHO-used storage in the last three months.
2
2
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | WMO
Powerful El Niño heightens extreme-weather risks through 2027, as countries brace for impact - WMO
Fuelled by extraordinarily warm waters across the tropical Pacific Ocean, the El Niño climate pattern is expected to intensify in the coming months. Forecasters are almost certain that it will persist through February next year, with unusually warm conditions expected across the globe.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , IFRC , UN WOMEN , WHO
Nepal flood deaths near 1,000 as those spared struggle to survive – UN humanitarians
With the death toll in Nepal’s catastrophic flash floods inching towards 1,000, rescue workers are facing harsh conditions while survivors lack access to food, safe water and health care, humanitarians said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNDRR , IFRC , WHO
Nepal: Flooding disaster “not over” as humanitarians work around the clock
While search and rescue efforts continued Friday following flash floods and mudslides in northern Nepal, UN humanitarians are taking stock of the devastation amid concerns over more flooding to come.