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

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.

Published on June 30, 2026

Kadidjatou Sawadogo | idrp, IDPs, Protracted displacement, Disaster, Conflict, Development, Humanitarian, Law/Policy, Africa, Americas (inc Caribbean), Special Rapporteur, United Nations

Flooded Condemned Buildings in Bentiu, South Sudan | Credit: © International Organization for Migration

Bentiu, South Sudan. Flooded Condemned Buildings. © International Organization for Migration

The paper argues that where humanitarian assistance constitutes the principal mechanism through which minimum core obligations are fulfilled, abrupt aid reductions constitute prima facie retrogressive measures incompatible with obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. Displaced households responded with harmful coping strategies, which deepened structural vulnerability.

This report concludes that the protection of IDPs must remain grounded in binding legal obligations and sustained through rights-consistent financing as a shared responsibility of States and the international community.

The research and analysis undertaken for this working paper provided the foundation for a short policy paper published by Researching Internal Displacement on 14 April 2026, Cutting Aid Means Cutting Rights: Who Decides Which Rights Matter for Internally Displaced Persons? by Kadidjatou Sawadogo. The conceptualization, substantive framing and messaging were shaped under the guidance of Paula Gaviria Betancur, UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of IDPs, and Davina Saïd, Head of Forced Displacement at ICVA.

Kadidjatou Sawadogo is a human rights advocate and researcher with interests in transitional justice, internal displacement, and endogenous mechanisms of conflict prevention and resolution. She is committed to advancing inclusive peacebuilding and strengthening women’s meaningful participation in peace processes. She is currently completing a Master’s Degree in Gender, Peace and Security at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre, Accra-Ghana.

KEYWORDS: Internally displaced persons (IDPs), human rights, humanitarian finance, Haiti, South Sudan, funding cuts

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