This is the fifth volume in our series on ‘Internal Displacement in a Changing World Order’. In it, the author draws on his long experience within the United Nations to reflect on the approach to internal displacement. The piece argues that historical and current efforts on localisation have been primarily driven from a humanitarian and external perspective. Rather than considering it as an exit strategy, by engaging development and peace actors - and somewhat of an afterthought - localisation should be pursued as a pre-emptive and adaptive objective, anchored in full national ownership and principled ‘sovereignty as responsibility’.

This is the fourth volume in our series on ‘Internal Displacement in a Changing World Order’. It examines how state policies addressing internal displacement have evolved since the Cold War, analysing 588 policies across 86 countries adopted between 1989 and 2022. The authors find that policy adoption surged during the peak of the liberal international order, particularly in the 2000s and 2010s, driven by major displacement crises, international advocacy, and normative frameworks like the 1998 UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, the 2006 Kampala Convention, and the IASC Durable Solutions Framework. While most countries address displacement through broader vulnerable population frameworks, the content of IDP-specific policies has shifted over time. Provisions establishing camps and granting formal IDP status have declined since 2018, whereas service provision guarantees expanded dramatically between 2003 and 2018, likely reflecting state-building efforts in conflict-affected nations. As the liberal international order weakens, the authors question whether policy adoption will slow without international pressure and normative consensus, while suggesting that existing policies may serve as valuable tools for domestic advocates to hold governments accountable.

This is the third volume in our series on ‘Internal Displacement in a Changing World Order’. It argues that in the face of escalating pressures on international cooperation, resources and norms – which in turn aggravate the situation of IDPs and their societies – it is crucial to keep consolidating the internal displacement legal regime, as well as strengthening and building on it further to address the growing and evolving challenges of internal displacement situations. The first part outlines some features of the internal displacement legal regime which may be leveraged to safeguard existing progress. These include its foundations in international human rights law and international humanitarian law; its multi-level anchoring; and its broad contextual relevance. The second part indicates some ways in which this legal regime can be reinforced and developed in the longer term: in particular, by consolidating existing protections at different levels; clarifying and further elaborating norms where needed; and gathering and analysing relevant legal data to track evolution and application of the internal displacement legal regime, as well as how this may still need to develop.

This second volume in our series on ‘Internal Displacement in a Changing World Order’ considers whether the global policy framework of the 2018 Global Compact on Refugees (GCR) adequately addresses the situation of internally displaced persons (IDPs). The GCR was designed by states participating in the Formal Consultations hosted by UNHCR to be limited to 1951 Convention refugees. Nevertheless, there are some express references in the GCR to internally displaced persons and forced internal displacement. Furthermore, the nature of acute crises globally is that in many instances there is both cross-border and internal displacement within one state with mixed populations, such that the GCR’s explicit inclusion of ‘host communities’ incorporates IDPs in the GCR. This means that both expressly and implicitly, IDPs need also to be factored into GCR work ‘to operationalize the principles of burden- and responsibility-sharing to better protect and assist refugees and support host countries and communities’.

The drastic funding cuts undertaken by the major donors in 2025 have forced the humanitarian sector into ‘hyper prioritisation’, resulting into its retreat from all activities deemed as non-essential to ensuring immediate survival. This first volume in our series on ‘Internal Displacement in a Changing World Order’ considers the far-reaching consequences that such ‘hyper prioritisation’ carries for the lives of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in humanitarian crises. The analysis shows that, besides already costing lives, hyper prioritisation risks pushing more people into starvation, disease, missed educational opportunities, and shattered livelihoods, thus eroding IDPs’ prospects to embark on the path towards self-reliance and solutions. It concludes by suggesting the need for humanitarian action to be guided, not by the dehumanising exercise of hyper prioritisation, but by the existing clear evidence showing the powerful potential of community-led responses.

This article explores how Market-Based Approaches can support internally displaced people by providing essential goods and food security, as well as strengthening social networks, relationships, and trust in their places of displacement. Focused on Sudan, which currently has the world's largest internal displacement crisis, this article provides evidence that Market-Based Programming (MBP) is suitable in adverse contexts. Markets often recover and resume operations before humanitarian agencies can reach affected communities. This resilience enables interventions such as supporting key businesses, using financial service providers for cash assistance, and supporting community-based mutual aid and agricultural markets. When well-managed and intentional, MBP dispels the stereotype that displaced populations are a burden on local economies. MBP not only meets the immediate needs of IDPs with speed and dignity but also supports local economies, fosters social integration, and lays the groundwork for long-term resilience and recovery amid profound uncertainty.

This short article spotlights the dire healthcare access challenges faced by internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Colombia, home to the world's second-largest population of IDPs. Widespread violence among armed groups has forced people in many parts of the country to flee their homes, either preemptively or in the midst of ongoing conflicts. The injustices faced by IDPs, however, don't end there. Due to continuing violence, controls on communities instigated by armed groups, and discrimination against IDPs in urban and other locations of resettlement, IDPs face severe challenges accessing healthcare. While humanitarian organizations can provide limited health services in some regions of the country, many IDPs in Colombia remain without access to healthcare. The article argues that the government must do much more to intervene in the conflicts to provide access to health and other services and end widespread discrimination against IDPs.

This timely article by one of the world's leading experts on internal displacement highlights the growing crisis of climate-related internal displacement, which is unfolding against the backdrop of drastic funding cuts and humanity's apparent failure to adequately mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. Arguing that the world is ill-prepared to address the crisis, including the severe challenges faced by populations living in protracted displacement, the author outlines a bold strategy for change. The blog calls on all stakeholders to acknowledge the severity of loss and damage related to displacement and prioritise durable solutions programming. It also highlights the systemic and financial changes required, including the need to make the still-elusive 'humanitarian-development nexus' a reality. Ultimately, the author makes separate but related recommendations to the United Nations, country donors and affected countries on how, through collaborative multi-year programming, the process of loss associated with displacement can be reversed and deliver sustainable improvements for affected populations.