OUR BLOG
Ukraine. Support for displaced children 2023 © UNHCR/Andrew McConnell
Researching Internal Displacement offers a platform for publishing short pieces of writing, artistic productions and other research outputs, policy briefings and think pieces on internal displacement from our networks and others in a conversational and informal setting. We hope that the posts will be engaging and insightful, and welcome comments on the pieces.
HOW TO CONTRIBUTE
Researching Internal Displacement publishes engaging and insightful short pieces of writing, artistic and research outputs, policy briefings and think pieces on internal displacement.
We welcome contributions from academics, practitioners, researchers, officials, artists, poets, writers, musicians, dancers, postgraduate students and people affected by internal displacement.
We welcome contributions from academics, practitioners, researchers, officials, artists, poets, writers, musicians, dancers, postgraduate students and people affected by internal displacement.
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By Rachel Stromsta | Nov 6, 2025
This article calls attention to the escalating displacement crisis in South Sudan, where the overlapping impacts of conflict and climate change are deepening insecurity for IDPs and others in displacement affected communities. Highlighting the links between climate events, localized violence and displacement, the article calls on government and civil society stakeholders to acknowledge the worsening 'dual crisis' and do more to embed climate risk management strategies, including disaster risk reduction and climate adaption programming, into civilian protection and conflict resolution policies. Such measures should also support community-based adaptation practices that address IDP needs, empower community leaders and contribute to long-term stability in communities where IDPs reside.
By Jane McAdam, Regina Jefferies, Thomas Mulder | Nov 4, 2025
For many of those displaced by Hurricane Melissa, the real disaster is only just beginning. While close to a million people have been evacuated, undoubtedly saving lives, this will likely be the start of a much longer period of displacement for some individuals and communities. Viewed within the broader existing hazard-scape of violence, conflict, resource scarcity and funding challenges in the region, the dangers compound and grow.
This short piece, which discusses the long-term risks to people displaced by Melissa, also spotlights the chronic and worsening underinvestment in people and communities required to reduce the risk of disaster displacement and the devastating long-term effects on those affected. The blog underscores why parties negotiating the text of the forthcoming global treaty on the Protection of Persons in the Event of Disasters must ensure that displacement, evacuation and planned relocations are reflected in the provisions and that commitments to international cooperation are backed by the financial resources necessary to make them real.
By Elizabeth Ferris, Erica Bower, Sanjula Weerasinghe | Oct 30, 2025
This article looks back at the development and continued relevance of the 2015 Guidance on Protecting People from Disasters and Environmental Change through Planned Relocations, which established an essential set of principles intended to clarify and uphold the rights of people undertaking or considering planned relocations. The article traces how the Guidelines and subsequent Toolkit have helped broaden the conversation to include not only the rights of relocating persons but also those of host communities, those who remain behind in sites of origin, and all those whose lives are affected by planned relocation. It further discusses how the core principles have remained relevant, even as the Guidelines have been adopted across diverse regional, national and community-level contexts. Finally, the author team, which includes the expert who led the development of the Guidance and Toolkit, suggests a brief research agenda, including areas where further direction is needed regarding issues that have become more salient since the 2015 Guidance was published.
By Emily Channell-Justice | Oct 16, 2025
The 2022 Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine not only shocked the world and made millions of Ukrainians either refugees or internally displaced persons. It also overshadowed the invasion of Eastern Ukraine in 2014, which resulted in an intense armed conflict, forcing people living in Donbas to flee further from the frontlines. Based on numerous interviews with IDPs, the author explores the 2014 internal displacement from Eastern Ukraine and the challenges faced by IDPs, including integration and reconciliation. Highlighting one of the interviews in particular, this brief article provides the firsthand experience of a displaced person who was forced to leave her hometown, Donetsk, which, before 2014, was the second-wealthiest city in Ukraine, had an international airport that welcomed millions of passengers annually, and hosted concerts of world-renowned musicians and the 2012 UEFA European Football Championship. Her story not only sheds light on how challenging these problems were before the full-scale invasion but also reminds us of what is at stake—the lives of millions of Ukrainians who may never be able to return home.
By Stefan Surlić and Natalija Perišić | Oct 9, 2025
This brief article highlights the protracted and often overshadowed forced displacement of Serbs from Kosovo, triggered by the conflict in 1999 and the subsequent NATO intervention. More than two decades later, Serbian IDPs continue to face numerous challenges, from complex administrative procedures of obtaining and renewing their residency status to being stigmatised within local communities. The situation of IDPs remains one of the key Serbian arguments in rejection of the unilateral declaration of independence of Kosovo in 2008. The authors explore not only everyday issues faced by Serbian IDPs but also their perspectives on ending the displacement, situated within the broader political contradictions between Belgrade and Pristina.
By Manoug Antaby | Oct 2, 2025
The Arab region has faced decades of wars, uprisings, and disasters, displacing millions and straining fragile protection systems. While humanitarian actors often step in during crises, human rights organizations have struggled to play an effective role in safeguarding IDPs. This article examines these institutional shortcomings and proposes a more context-sensitive, community-based approach to protecting IDPs’ rights beyond emergency relief. Ultimately, the author argues for foregrounding a ‘communalised human rights approach’ to displacement, one that integrates the strong Arab cultural traditions of kinship, communal solidarity and mutual aid into protections for displaced people.
By Walter Kälin and Peter de Clercq | Sep 30, 2025
This provocative think piece argues that the current "humanitarian reset", intended under the UN 80 New Humanitarian Compact, may not constitute a reset at all, to the detriment of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and their host communities. Lacking sufficient "blue sky thinking", the compartmentalised processes undertaken by UN agencies focus primarily on "doing the same – or less – with less money" rather than enabling more productive country-level action, including addressing durable solutions for people displaced in the context of disasters and climate change. Whilst cost savings are surely needed, without a fresh and inclusive vision of how the UN can use its limited resources to help States achieve the goals and purposes of the UN Charter in a radically changing world, the UN80 initiative risks failure. The authors warn that IDPs, who already suffer from funding and programming gaps, may not see the improvements that they and their communities truly need.
By Gyanu Maskey, Sanjaya Khatri, Dil Khatri and Andrea Nightingale | Sep 25, 2025
This insightful short article from Nepal highlights a promising case study of voluntary 'migration as adaptation' to socio-environmental changes that has allowed rural villages to maintain their vitality in the face of slow-onset climatic hazards, staving off the displacement of entire village populations. Despite the loss of human resources in the villages, voluntary out-migration has helped reshape and revitalise previously faltering rural livelihoods, helping villages remain culturally vibrant and economically viable communities for older people and others who are unwilling or unable to migrate. Notably, in turn, the cultural vibrance of some rural villages compels many migrants to maintain strong ties to their home villages, creating translocal bonds that help support resilience in the face of environmental change.
By McAdam, Jane | Jul 24, 2025
The International Court of Justice’s long-awaited Advisory Opinion on the Obligations of States in respect of Climate Change embeds important principles of international human rights law. It confirms that people may be entitled to international protection – that is, as refugees or beneficiaries of complementary protection – where the effects of climate change expose them to life-threatening risks. It also affirms that even if a State’s population and territory were to decline on account of sea-level rise, the State would continue to exist. Finally, by affirming the binding obligations of climate change treaties and the obligation of States to cooperate in the context of climate change, the Advisory Opinion potentially strengthens the case for more climate adaptation and loss and damage funding, including to support people to stay in place or to move elsewhere in a safe and dignified manner.