It is my pleasure to welcome you to the launch of this new report, Towards Development Solutions to Internal Displacement: A Political Economy Approach, organized together with the Secretariat of the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Internal Displacement and the School of African and Oriental Studies (SOAS), University of London.

UNDP would like to acknowledge the key role that the High-Level Panel plays in promoting sustainable solutions to internal displacement. We see this as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to ‘’reframe and reset’’ our collective approach to internal displacement, placing much more emphasis on developmental approaches and national accountability, elevating prevention, and promoting a more effective collaboration between humanitarian, development and peace actors under common principles. We are pleased to see the movement of the Panel in this direction.

The launch of this report could not be more timely. According to the latest Report by the Internal Displaced Monitoring Center (IDMC), there are 55 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the world today, the highest number ever. IDPs make up about 62% of those forcibly displaced and the average length of displacement is 17 years. While 48 million people have been internally displaced as a result of conflict and violence, most new internal displacements in 2020 were caused by natural disasters and climate change.

IDPs often lack protection, shelter, education, healthcare and livelihoods. They are exposed to discrimination, exploitation and gender-based violence. Yet, with the right support and policies, IDPs can improve their own wellbeing, while making vital contributions to host communities’ development. As citizens in their own countries, IDP’s protection and solution are first and foremost a State responsibility, which entails addressing internal displacement as a government-owned developmental priority.

Doing so requires a mindset change on the part of national and international actors to move from the traditional “durable solutions” approach, mostly coordinated and led by humanitarian actors, towards nationally owned development solutions, supported by development actors. This implies a shift from viewing IDPs as simple beneficiaries to full-fledged citizens, with full access to constitutional, social and economic rights. This is very much in line with the spirit and content of the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement developed by Francis Deng more than 20 years ago, and still relevant today.

Building development solutions rooted in the political economic context opens opportunities to enable displacement-affected individuals and communities as agents of change. By being actively engaged in the development processes that shape their lives, they become part of the solution.

Establishing a more developmentally focused and inclusive approach to displacement requires an understanding of the political economy conditions that touch upon human mobility dynamics. A political economy analysis considers the complex distribution of power and wealth between different groups and individuals within a society. Applied to internal displacement, such approach features the ways that arrangements of power and the pursuit of particular economic and political interests by different private and public actors influence the ability of IDPs and displacement-affected communities to exercise their rights as citizens and to live safely and securely.

Through this approach, we want to showcase a broader developmental lens on the adverse drivers of forced displacement as well as the dynamics of solutions.

• First, by determining why and how displacement happens.
• Second, by identifying who are those displaced and how displacement affects them, but also those who host as well as those who are left behind.
• Third, by better understanding what are the potential solutions to internal displacement given the political economic situation.

This research  illuminates the potential enablers and accelerators of development solutions, as well as possible spoilers. We hope it can serve to inform governments, UN Country Teams and other partners in designing policies and programmes that contribute to building social capital, delivering inclusive services and opening civic space to lay the foundations for a better future. The ultimate goal is to promote a new social contract fully reflective of displaced people’s agency, that builds trust in institutions and closes the gap between citizens and the State.

In close partnership with the broader UN family, UNDP has taken leading roles in contexts of large-scale internal displacement. We work on rebuilding the lives of IDPs in dignity and on strengthening host communities, by expanding services, creating decent jobs and promoting social cohesion – working hand in hand with national governments and humanitarian partners.

In Sudan, for example, UNDP strengthened the capacity of government institutions to enhance local economic development, governance and rule of law institutions as well as the formulation of the Durable Solutions Strategy. Only in 2020, our interventions benefited more than 1.7 million people, including IDPs and vulnerable host communities.

In Iraq, UNDP set up the Stabilization Facility as a platform to bring all partners together in supporting the Government to facilitate the return of displaced Iraqis, lay the groundwork for reconstruction and recovery, and safeguard communities against the resurgence of violence. The Facility has mobilized more than one billion dollars and contributed to the return of 4.8 million IDPs to their areas of origin.

Another key element of development solutions is ensuring that displaced populations are well factored into development plans and budgets, through “whole-of-government” and “whole-of-society” approaches. In Somalia, the current National Development Plan (2020-2024) prioritizes development solutions for displaced communities across most of its pillars, including security, justice, employment and service delivery. UNDP also supported the adoption of a five-year Urban Durable Solutions Strategy to provide better access to services, housing and job opportunities for IDPs in Mogadishu.

We trust that the HLP recommendations will push our collective response towards greater enhanced synergies and coherence, leveraging our respective mandates and strengths for greater impact. And we hope that today’s discussion will contribute to this objective. 

Before I give the floor to our eminent speakers, I want to thank the lead author of this report, Laura Hammond, who will present her analysis and recommendations, and the many colleagues in UNDP, partner UN agencies and beyond who have contributed to the thinking that made this publication possible. And a special thanks to each of the panellists that join us today. I wish you a very fruitful discussion and look forward to continued collaboration.

Thank you