IDRP

INTERNAL DISPLACEMENT RESEARCH PROGRAMME

Ukraine. Newly displaced people arrive on an evacuation train to Lviv 2023 © UNHCR/Andrew McConnell

The Internal Displacement Research Programme (IDRP) is hosted at the Refugee Law Initiative (RLI), School of Advanced Study, University of London.

The IDRP is a specialised programme that promotes research on internal displacement, including but not limited to policy-relevant research. The IDRP, as an independent research programme, has the following objectives:

Raise the profile of research on internal displacement in academic and practitioner circles
Support, disseminate and share current and ongoing work by researchers in this field
Connect research in this field with that in cognate areas, including refugee studies
Bring new researchers to the field and develop new cross- and inter-disciplinary work
Promote and support research capacity in countries affected by internal displacement

LATEST IDRP RESOURCES

Who are “IDPs” – and why does it matter?

By David Cantor | Sep 3, 2026

Internal displacement is a major societal challenge worldwide, with far-reaching consequences for the tens of millions of people displaced annually as well as for affected communities and society as a whole. As such, the low level of interest in this phenomenon among researchers and policymakers represents a puzzle. A new Handbook of Internal Displacement seeks to change this situation by raising the profile of the issue for researchers, teachers, policymakers, funders, humanitarian workers and development actors and addressing the wide range of dynamics, debates and challenges that internal displacement entails. This groundbreaking publication provides extensive regional analysis of displacement in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and the Middle East, and offers a distinctive global vision of “internal displacement” as an emerging field of research and practice.

The Impact of Funding Cuts on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons in Haiti and South Sudan

By Kadidjatou Sawadogo | Jun 30, 2026

The working paper examines the impact of humanitarian funding contractions on the realisation of economic and social rights of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Haiti and South Sudan. Drawing on a human rights-based framework, documentary analysis, and key informant interviews, it analyses how reductions in humanitarian assistance affected access to adequate food and healthcare in contexts of protracted displacement, institutional fragility, and humanitarian dependence. The findings show that funding cuts reduced food assistance, disrupted health services, suspended mobile clinics, and weakened nutrition coverage for displaced populations. Humanitarian actors adopted hyper-prioritisation approaches that focused on life‑saving interventions but left significant protection and socio‑economic needs unaddressed.

The IDRP is led by the RLI Director, Professor David Cantor. Its early career Research Affiliate and established Senior Research Associate networks bring together research specialists in this field.

The IDRP hosts the INDCaP project that created Researching Internal Displacement and works to support the regional networks GENIDA, LANID and MERNID.