Internal Displacement and International Protection

Abstract

Abstract There are gaps in the existing protection regime for internally displaced persons (IDPs). This chapter argues that the IDP protection regime should be reformed to minimize these gaps, and defends a three-level protection framework structured around Francis M. Deng’s notion of ‘sovereignty as responsibility’. On this model, the international community would have an obligation to assist national authorities with IDP protection when needed, and a duty to act as surrogate protectors when national authorities manifestly fail to protect IDPs within their borders and refuse offers of international assistance. This latter obligation includes a duty to undertake limited forms of intervention in order to promote the protection of IDPs, as well as a duty to extend the right to refuge to IDPs with no recourse to their home government.