Under the radar: internally displaced persons in non-camp settings
This report addresses the case of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) currently living “outside camps” in small towns and villages near their homes but also increasingly in urban areas, where those who have been forced to leave their homes because of conflict, human rights abuses and disasters live side-by-side with the non-displaced poor and economic migrants. It considers the complex web of risks and vulnerabilities faced by those moving to urban areas environment, which increase their risk of being affected by disasters, and calls for more equitable and systemized displacement prevention and response systems for IDPs in urban areas, as well as disaster risk reduction approaches to urban planning.
The overall report focuses on three specific issues: IDPs who live in urban contexts; IDPs and host communities; and the role of local authorities in responding to IDPs outside camps. It was based on the report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons and co-director of the Brookings-LSE Project on Internal Displacement, Dr. Chaloka Beyani, to the Human Rights Council, and is intended for a broader audience of government, humanitarian and development actors as well as the general public.