Who are internally displaced people?
Internally displaced people (referred to as IDPs) are those who have been forced to leave their homes, due to conflict, violence, persecution or disasters, within the borders of their country. The number of IDPs worldwide is at a record high of 75.9 million – numbers have doubled in the past decade and are set to double again by 2030.
IDPs are among the world’s most vulnerable people facing immense challenges relating to lack of shelter, food, education and health services. They are also at high risk of abuse, sexual exploitation and violence – particularly women and children. Sadly, internal displacement often becomes a protracted situation with many people living in limbo for years in IDP formal and informal camps or urban slums. Despite this IDPs are widely neglected in policies compared to other displaced populations like refugees.
Bringing evidence to bear on UNHCR strategies to protect IDPs
UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency, exists to protect and assist everyone who has been affected by forced displacement, including internally displaced people. Since 2019, The UN Refugee Agency has significantly scaled up its operations in IDP settings, including expanding its protection interventions, improving access to essential services, and enhancing advocacy efforts for durable solutions. In 2022 the UN Agency assisted more than 16 million* IDPs. Keen to learn lessons from its experience and strengthen its strategic positioning and operational approach, UNHCR commissioned an evaluation of its engagement in internal displacement situations. Itad was selected to conduct the evaluation.
The evaluation
The evaluation sought to provide evidence and insights on the strategic relevance, effectiveness, coherence, and connectedness of UNHCR’s engagement in situations of internal displacement from 2019-22. In doing so it aimed to highlight good practices and document progress and challenges in delivering protection, assistance, and solutions to IDPs within a range of different operating contexts (for example, emergency, protracted, mixed, and displacement caused by climate-induced disasters and conflict).
During the evaluation we conducted nine country case studies and collected evidence from 723 people through interviews and focus group discussions (with IDPs, returnees, host communities and local stakeholders) and a survey.
The evaluation took place from May 2023 to February 2024 and coincided with the Inter-Agency Steering Committee’s (IASC) Independent Review of Humanitarian Responses to Internal Displacement. This provided a significant opportunity for the evaluation to inform and capitalize on the IASC review and to add value within the broader international response architecture for internal displacement.
A new blueprint to protect IDPs
The evaluation made eight recommendations included addressing weaknesses in inconsistent policy implementation, capacity gaps in longer-term programming, and tracking of outcomes for IDPs in critical areas such as advocacy and capacity building. Further, the evaluation urged UNHCR to prioritize its core expertise in protection as a central element of its strategic positioning.
In its management response to the evaluation UNHRC said:
“The evaluation report stands out for its valuable insights, rigorous analysis, and commitment to stakeholder consultations.”
UNHCR subsequently developed a new five-year strategic plan (2024-30) and implementation note. The plan directly addresses the evaluation’s recommendations and lays out the foundation for UNHCR’s future work in IDP settings globally. It includes: a new prioritization blueprint to help guide operations in their decision-making; a new monitoring framework to enable contextualization and predictability; and programming principles to accelerate national ownership, community-led action, and sustainable programming.
Lori Bell from the UNHCR Head of Evaluation said:
“Making decisions based on evidence is key to saving, protecting and improving the lives of people who are forced to flee. The evaluation presented clear findings based on robust evidence. We are therefore very pleased to see alignment between the evaluation recommendations and the future UNHCR Strategy for IDPs.”
Benefits beyond the UN Refugee Agency
The evaluation is directly benefitting the UNHCR IDP teams and UNHCR as a whole by helping the organisation to clarify its strategic and operational focus in IDP settings and therefore make the best use of its resources.
By shining a light on potential improvements in coordination and leadership, the evaluation provides the necessary evidence to influence policy change, advocacy and resource mobilisation efforts to support IDPs.
At the humanitarian system level, the evaluation findings chimed with those of the IASC review. Together they strengthen the case for pushing protection up the IDP agenda, and clarifying roles and responsibilities to improve cross-sector coordination between IASC members, national governments and other humanitarian organisations.
Ultimately we hope the evaluation contributes to better lives for the millions of IDPs globally.
*Source: UNHCR Global Trends Report 2022, addendum to annex – assisted figures (unpublished). Addendum anticipated to be available on UNHCR Data Insights page by end of 2025.
