IDP Protection Expert Group
IDP Protection Expert Group

The IDP Protection Expert Group – IPEG – is co-led by the Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced PersonsLink is external, UNHCR and the Global Protection ClusterLink is external.
The IPEG engages at a senior level with UN leadership and government officials on key protection challenges through country visits, as well as globally through advocacy and communications. Since its establishment in 2021, IPEG delegations have conducted multiple support missions, including to Burkina Faso, South Sudan and Honduras, and facilitated dialogue and knowledge-sharing among States on implementing laws and policies on internal displacement.
Find previous IPEG updates here:
Our mission
Over the past two decades, internal displacement has risen at an alarming rate due to conflict, violence and disasters, including those related to the aggravating effects of climate change. At the end of 2023, there were 75.9 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) worldwide. Not only is this the highest number of IDPs ever recorded, but it is also more than double the number recorded just a decade ago.
The vision of the IPEG is a world where the rights of internally displaced persons are safeguarded and upheld. Its mission is to work towards this vision by providing expert advice, bridging gaps between theory and practice, and fostering innovative approaches to addressing internal displacement issues. The group aims to enhance the effectiveness of responses to internal displacement through collaborative engagement and ensuring the voices and perspectives of displaced persons themselves, as citizens with agency, are heard and incorporated into decision-making processes.
IPEG’s means of engagement
Protection support missions
Through constructive dialogue and mutual learning, IPEG helps build strategic responses to internal displacement.
Post-mission targeted follow-up
IPEG conducts targeted briefings to inform and mobilize coordinated international support on key protection issues.
Global level advocacy
IPEG advocates for improved policies and measures. It uses its platform to shed light on critical issues and promote best practices.
Members of the IDP Protection Expert Group
Under the guidance of the Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of IDPs, IPEG’s members include the former mandate holders and other senior experts on internal displacement across a range of specialities, such as IDP law and policy, peace and security, and disaster displacement. The members are: Paula Gaviria Betancur, Cecilia Jimenez Damary, Chaloka Beyani, Walter Kälin, Peter de Clercq, Jennifer Welsh, Atle Solberg, Nina Birkeland, Maya Sahli-Fadel, Elizabeth Ferris and Erin Mooney.
Events, dialogues and expert commentary
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Workshop on strengthening the participation of internally displaced persons
This workshop was co-hosted by the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of IDPs, the IPEG, UNHCR and McGill University. It gathered 40 participants, including 10 IDP leaders, to share their experiences and recommendations regarding participation in the response and solutions for their displacement.
Read about the workshop here (external link)Link is external
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Cross-regional forum on implementing laws and policies on internal displacement in Africa
The forum brought together government officials from 13 African countries for peer-to-peer exchange in Dakar, convened by the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of IDPs, UNHCR, and facilitated by IPEG members.
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Co-authored by the Special Rapporteur, Paula Gaviria Betancur, and IPEG Members, Walter Kaelin and Erin Mooney, this piece identifies the specific needs of IDPs as a result of being forced to flee and answers the question of why internal displacement warrants – and urgently needs – continued focus and specific attention.
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The peer-to-peer exchange among nine States from around the world was convened by the Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons and UNHCR in collaboration with expert facilitators from IPEG and hosted by the International Institute of Humanitarian Law in Sanremo.
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25th Anniversary of the guiding principles on internal displacement: Global online commemoration
The event included a keynote address by the Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons and a panel discussion featuring her two predecessors, Cecilia Jimenez-Damary and Chaloka Beyani, as well as Ambassador Francis Deng, under whose leadership the Guiding Principles were drafted.
Past events
October 2022 - IPEG roundtable: Key challenges in IDP protection