Protection of IDPs in armed conflict in 2014

Abstract This chapter looks in detail into the protection of internally displaced persons (IDPs), defined as people who are forced to leave their homes due to armed conflict but still remains inside their nation's borders. The first part of this chapter analyzes the legal provisions of existing international law regulating the phenomenon of internal displacement and their adequacy to address the specific needs of IDPs today. The chapter then turns the analysis to look at the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, the first non-binding universal instrument exclusively addressed to IDPs, the impact they have had in the assistance to and protection of IDPs worldwide and their implementation at the regional as well as domestic level. A further section looks at the operational response put in place by the international community to face the growing needs of IDPs and examine its strengths and weaknesses. Towards the end, the chapter briefly identifies what are the current new challenges related to the protection of IDPs.