From Responsibility to Response: Assessing National - Brookings

Benchmark 5
Ensure a Legal Framework
for Upholding IDPs’ Rights
Does national legislation address the
specific needs arising in situations of
internal displacement and support IDPs to
realize their rights?
Experience shows that an effective response to displacement
almost always requires legislative action, typically
because current laws pose unintended obstacles
to the ability of IDPs to realize their rights or because
they do not, on their own, provide a sufficient basis for
addressing the needs of IDPs. Existing laws may unintentionally
discriminate against IDPs. For example,
a requirement that children present their educational
records in order to register for school may discriminate
against IDP children who have lost their documents in
the course of displacement or who, because they are displaced,
are unable to return home, even temporarily, to
obtain them. In some cases, such shortcomings can be
addressed through an executive order or policy; in other
cases, legislation may be required.
As the Framework for National Responsibility emphasizes,
there are different ways of addressing internal displacement
and protecting the rights of IDPs through national
legislation. In some instances, governments have adopted
legislation to address a specific phase of displacement,
such as return and resettlement; in other cases, governments
have adopted comprehensive laws. In addition, it
is important to review and analyze existing national legislation
in terms of its compatibility with international
standards, including the Guiding Principles on Internal
Displacement (the Guiding Principles), and to introduce
any amendments required. Protecting Internally Displaced
Persons: A Guide for Law and Policy Makers, developed
by the Representative of the UN Secretary-General on
the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons (RSG
on IDPs) and the Brookings-Bern Project on Internal
Displacement, recommends that the legal framework for
addressing displacement include at least two elements:
Benchmark 4 Training on the Rights of IDPs
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—a review and analysis of existing national
legislation to identify and change provisions
that are incompatible with international human
rights law and the Guiding Principles;
—national laws regulating the response to internal
displacement specifically, including the
prevention of arbitrary displacement. 1
As a former legal adviser to the Brookings-Bern project
observed, “the process of developing a comprehensive
law or policy presents an opportunity for all relevant
stakeholders to share perspectives on the best practices
for addressing internal displacement.” Such laws should
take into account the particular conditions of displacement,
national legal frameworks and particular vulnerabilities
of the displaced. 2
To date, fourteen countries have developed laws on or
pertaining to internal displacement, many of them based
on the Guiding Principles. 3 A few other countries have
drafted legislation on internal displacement (Nigeria
and the Philippines) or are currently drafting legislation
(Central African Republic). These developments reflect
the growing realization that internal displacement must
be addressed at the national level, as a matter of both legal
obligation and national interest. Based on analysis of information
available online and the work of the Office of
the Representative of the UN Secretary-General on the
Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons, several of
1 Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement,
Protecting Internally Displaced Persons: A Manual for Law
and Policymakers, October 2008 (www.brookings.edu/
papers/2008/1016_internal_displacement.aspx).
2 Jessica Wyndham, “A Developing Trend: Laws and Policies
on Internal Displacement,” Human Rights Brief, 2006, p. 8
(www.brookings.edu/articles/2006/winter_humanrights_
wyndham.aspx).
3 Angola, Liberia, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Colombia, Peru,
United States, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia-Herzegovina,
Georgia, Russia, Turkey, and Iraq. See the Brookings
Project on Internal Displacement laws and policies
database for a summary and the full text of IDP-related
laws and policies (www.brookings.edu/projects/idp/Lawsand-Policies/idp_policies_index.aspx).