What makes a home - Reflections from internally displaced people who have lost their homes and settled in cities

Caitlin Sturridge

Moderator

November 7, 2024 | 15:00 - 16:30

Multipurpose room 04

Overseas Development Institute

United Kingdom

English

Reference:

NE 04-08

WUF12

Networking Events

Summary

ODI’s Humanitarian Policy Group (HPG) and the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) will explore what home - and the loss thereof - means for those who have been internally displaced. Drawing on qualitative and quantitative research from Colombia, Iraq, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Yemen, Mali and Niger, the event will explore how both material/'hard' aspects and abstract/'soft' aspects are essential for IDPs to feel at home. It will also consider the effect of rural to urban displacement on IDPs' access to housing and livelihoods, as well as their overall sense of wellbeing.

Feelings of acceptance and belonging affect IDPs' ability to integrate into the community, and this ultimately has implications for aid actors and city authorities in the investments they make to support IDPs. A better understanding of the preferences and perceptions of IDPs, and those of the host community in which they reside, is critical to support the immediate needs and longer-term development goals of displacement-affected communities.

The event will bring together a range of panellists working at the cross-section of internal displacement and urbanisation. For example, the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of IDPs, Paula Gaviria, will be on hand to discuss the issue of internal displacement in urban areas from a global perspective. Drawing on her vast experience of engaging with IDPs in different urban contexts, she is well-versed in the challenges and lessons that IDPs face in accessing human rights and protection in cities. Following the event, she will be reporting to the UN General Assembly in 2025 on the topic of (re)integration in urban areas, drawing on the material presented during this session, among other sources.

Also included among our panellists is Abdullahi Halakhe who is Refugee International’s Senior Advocate for East, Horn and Southern Africa. An African security and policy expert, Abdullahi has appeared on various media outlets, including Al Jazeera, Reuters, BBC World Service, CNN International, France 24, among others.

Another panellist, Mehreteab Ghebremeskel Gebregergs, is the Country Representative for the Regional Durable Solutions Secretariat (ReDSS) in Ethiopia – an organisation that translates evidence and knowledge into better aid responses that promote durable solutions for displacement-affected communities. Prior to this, Mehreteab was the Director of Department for the Rights of Refugees, IDPs and Migrants at the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission.

Alesia O’Connor is a researcher from IDMC who brings a wealth of knowledge around preventing and responding to internal displacement, and the gendered dimensions of displacement. We are also in discussions with other potential panellists including Abeer Alabasi, an independent IDP researcher in Yemen, and Josiah Kaplan, a Child Protection Specialist with UNICEF’s Global Office of Research and Foresight.

Objectives

The issue of internal displacement in urban areas remains a major blindspot for humanitarian and development actors working on displacement. Most policy, practice and research has focused on refugee communities in rural communities and camps, rather than IDPs in cities, who increasingly make up the majority of the forcibly displaced. These contemporary displacement trends are pushing the usual boundaries and comfort zones of aid actors. Too often, assistance remains stuck in emergency mode contributing to IDPs being caught in limbo, with their agency overlooked and capacities untapped.

Against this backdrop, this event has two main objectives. The first is to shine a light on the experiences of IDPs in urban settings, and the second is to make a case for greater investment in supporting their lives, livelihoods and well-being. With this in mind, the event will be an opportunity for participants to reflect on the factors that influence IDPs' perceptions of acceptance and belonging, share best practice, and consider how these can be applied to policy and practice.

We will draw on the high-level networks with whom we have already engaged during our work at the 2023 Global Refugee Forum, and as our role as lead partner in the Independent Review of the Humanitarian Response to Internal Displacement commissioned by IASC in 2024. This work has helped to build and grow our reputation for informative and collaborative events with an engaged and active group of decision-makers.