The UN Secretary-General’s Action Agenda on Internal Displacement
The Action Agenda on Internal Displacement has three overarching goals:
Help IDPs find a durable solution to their displacement
Better prevent new displacement crises from emerging
Ensure those facing displacement receive effective protection and assistance
These three goals are inextricably linked. No solution is sustainable if another crisis is looming. No assistance will be sufficient if underlying drivers of displacement remain unresolved. And prevention cannot succeed if past crises have not been addressed.
Goal 1: DURABLE SOLUTIONS
There is a collective obligation to help people of all genders, ages and diversities find a durable solution to their displacement by supporting them to sustainably reintegrate into their places of origin, local communities, or other areas of the country. States bear the primary responsibility to facilitate durable solutions to internal displacement. Sovereignty comes with responsibility and displacement-affected States must recognize action on internal displacement as a national, whole-of-government priority with the rights of IDPs as citizens and residents at the centre.
Goal 2: BETTER PREVENTION
We must do far more to prevent the drivers of displacement from occurring in the first place, both by addressing root causes and by mitigating immediate risks and their impacts. Taking action now to address these drivers constitutes the best form of protection and contributes to ensuring that solutions are sustainable.
Goal 3: EFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE AND PROTECTION
The world must work to close the gap between humanitarian needs and the protection and assistance provided. After having already been torn from their homes, livelihoods, and support networks, IDPs should not have to endure further fear for their safety and well-being. We must strengthen the quality of assistance and protection, an effort that should be shaped and guided by a central focus on human rights.
