IDRP Launch: ‘Why Do We Need New Research on Internal Displacement?’ RSQ Special Issue

This event launches the Special Issue on ‘Improving Attention to Internal Displacement Globally’ – published by the Refugee Survey Quarterly (RSQ) journal

Published on January 21, 2021

IDRP | idrp

Bringing together over 20 original peer-reviewed articles by researchers, practitioners and policy-makers, the new Special Issue contributes to renewed debate on policy challenges and solutions for the protracted crisis of internal displacement that affects tens of millions of people worldwide. Two Secretariat members of the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Internal Displacement (HLP), Greta Zeender (Head of Research and Outcomes) and Mark Yarnell (Research and Outcomes Officer), served as its guest editors.

Hosted by the Internal Displacement Research Programme the event draws on the Special Issue to debate the state of research on internal displacement: why is there so little research on the topic? Why does that matter for academic debate and practical action on IDPs? The event speaks directly to IDP and related fields, including refugees, development and peacebuilding.

Details of event

Protected: New Publication: The Oxford Handbook of Internal Displacement

By RID | Apr 9, 2026 The displacement of people within their own countries due to crises such as conflicts, disasters, and the effects of climate change is a major contemporary challenge, eliciting global concern about how to protect the displaced. The vast scale of this 'internal displacement' poses far-reaching questions for key debates around humanitarian aid, development, migration, sovereignty, rights, citizenship, identity, and social change. Yet knowledge of the issue is fragmented and highly dispersed across a range of academic and policy domains. This groundbreaking new publication brings together 45 contributions by leading researchers and practitioners, providing an essential point of reference for advancing these debates and raising the profile of internal displacement as a vital concern for research and policy agendas.

Internal displacement in the context of organized criminal activity – Report of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons

By United Nations Human Rights | Jun 27, 2025 A new report by the Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons, Paula Gaviria Betancur, examines the phenomenon of internal displacement in the context of organised criminal activity. Experts at the Refugee Law Initiative's Internal Displacement Research Programme provided submissions to the report. Their submissions were subsequently published as a collection by Researching Internal Displacement.

The Global Report on Law and Policy on Internal Displacement: Implementing National Responsibility 2025

By UNHCR | Jun 21, 2025 UNHCR’s Global Report on Law and Policy on Internal Displacement: Implementing National Responsibility 2025 is now available in English, Spanish and French, with the Arabic version available soon. Coordinated, researched and drafted by Martina Caterina (UNHCR, Division of International Protection) and Prof. David Cantor (University of London, Director of the Refugee Law Initiative), the report presents an overview – global and by region - of key legal and policy instruments and developments related to prevention, protection and solutions for IDPs. The report assesses how the response to internal displacement is framed by domestic law and policy on internal displacement and examines the institutional response in selected countries.