Background Paper on Experiences in Supporting Resilience and Durable Solutions to internal Displacement in the IGAD Region. 12th IGAD Regional Consultative Process (RCP).

In order to mark the 50th anniversary of the OAU Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa and the 10th anniversary of the Kampala Convention, the African Union declared 2019 the “Year of Refugees, Returnees and Internally Displaced Persons: Towards Durable Solutions to Forced Displacement in Africa”. 2018 was also the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement (hereafter “Guiding Principles”), which the Kampala Convention is based on.

Durable solutions to internal displacement are of particular significance in the IGAD region,x where there were an estimated 8,920,000 IDPs displaced by conflict and violence – mostly in Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan and South Sudan – at the end of 2018. In addition, an estimated 1,480,000 people have been displaced by disasters between January and December 2018,xi mostly in Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia.

The drivers of displacement in the IGAD region include armed conflict, inter-community conflict, land and border disputes but also disasters and the effects of climate change. In some cases, displacement was caused by a combination of these factors. Regardless of the trigger, internal displacement only ends when durable solutions have been achieved.

Durable solutions are essential to long-term stability and recovery, in particular in instances of internal displacement associated with conflict. Their promotion from the onset of a crisis is therefore a key element in the response to internal displacement and contributes to its prevention.