1. Internally Displaced Persons and the Darfur Crisis

2. Definition of Refugee
Any person, who ... owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear or for reasons other than personal convenience, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence, is unable or, owing to such fear or for reasons other than personal convenience, is unwilling to return to it.

3. DEFINITION OF INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS (IDPs)
“Persons or groups of persons who have been forced or obliged to flee or to leave their homes or places of habitual residence, in particular as a result of or in order to avoid the effects of armed conflict, situations of generalized violence, violations of human rights or natural or human-made disasters, and who have not crossed an internationally recognized State border.” (1998)

4. International Law
From an international legal point of view, refugees and IDPs are two clearly distinct categories, both with regard to the normative frameworks as well as the institutional mechanisms for their protection. Refugees benefit from a specific international regime, the cornerstones of which are the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its supervisory agency the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). In contrast, there is no specific legal framework defining the rights of IDPs, nor is there a single agency dedicated to safeguarding their rights.
UNHCR’s involvement with IDPs continues to lack a legal basis. Most states and many experts, however, acquiesce to UNHCR’s IDP activities, thus confirming the validity of formal mandate extension.
r IDPs to UNHCR would be operationally, politically, and financially unfeasible as well as legally problematic.
Sceptics also pointed to potential financial problems insofar as the addition of 20 million IDPs would overburden UNHCR and jeopardize its core activities with refugees.

5. DISPLACEMENT IS NOT LEGAL, INCLUDING WHEN.…
It is aimed at, or resulting in, altering the racial, religious, ethnic composition of the population
In situations of armed conflict unless the security of civilians or imperative military reasons so demand
In cases of development projects not justified by compelling and overiding public interest
Cases of disasters unless safety or health requires evacuation
When used as collective punishment

6. ‘Cluster Approach’
UNHCR was assigned a lead role in providing protection, emergency shelter, and camp management and coordination This new arrangement spurred new hopes for an improved institutional response to crises of internal displacement.
The most important organization is UNHCR, which currently takes care of approximately 14.7 million internally displaced persons and returned IDPs
that the new coordination strategy will prompt UNHCR to make ‘a clear commitment to be a more predictable partner among humanitarian actors in its response to the protection, assistance and solutions needs of IDPs’.
A first tentative assessment suggests that the cluster approach is indeed making a difference. Since 2006 it has been implemented in a range of existing emergencies and as a result the number of IDPs assisted by UNHCR has grown by 93 per cent from 6.6 million in 2005 to 12.8 million in 2006

7. Debates in the Context of UNHCR’s Involvement with IDPs
‘there is no difference between being a refugee or an IDP. In terms of what happened to them, they are equally victims, but they are treated differently’ (US Ambassador to the UN, Richard Holbrooke 2000)
‘In a society of independent, sovereign nation states, international relevant juridical facts, such as crossborder movement, still retain their importance’ (Goodwin-Gil 2000)
Internal refugees
According to Goodwin-Gill, the calling into question of the distinctive quality enjoyed by refugees constitutes a slippery slope at the end of which ‘rights, duties, and responsibilities will be eradicated, and the refugee left, once more, unprotected in an era of uncontrolled and uncontrollable discretion’
‘UNHCR has no legal authority to ‘‘protect’’ persons within their own country; there is no treaty, no customary international law,

8. Brief History Of Darfur
Instability since 1980s’.
Turning point of the conflict in 2003.
IDPs began to be housed in large camps, mostly located just outside of the main regional cities, rather than integrating into urban areas.
In 2004 the conflict came to worlds attention.
Beginning in the 1980s, arms began flowing through Darfur to fuel the cross-border war between Libya and Chad. Tensions escalated through the late 1980s and early 90 s. The April 2003 attack by the Sudanese Liberation Army on el Fasher air base, however, marked a turning point in the conflict, At this time, significant numbers of IDPs began to be counted by the United Nations System Standing Committee on Nutrition.
The number of foreign workers rose quickly: OCHA reported less than 100 total humanitarian staff in Darfur in April By January of 2005, there were a total of 9,108 humanitarian workers in the state, 814 international and over 8,000 Sudanese.

9. Conflict in Sudan One of worlds worst humanitarian crises.
More than 2.3 million displaced, most living in squalid camps in Darfur and neighnouring Chad.
The conflict flared in 2003 when rebels in Darfur took up arms, accusing the government of neglecting the region.
Levels of violence fell after 2005, but have risen since the start of Nearly 400,000 people were displaced in the first half of 2014 alone.
The United Nations has described Sudan's western Darfur region as one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.
More than 2.3 million people have been displaced, most of them living in squalid camps in Darfur and neighbouring Chad. Peacekeepers and aid workers have restricted access to those in need.
The conflict flared in 2003 when rebels in Darfur took up arms, accusing the government of neglecting the region. The government responded with a counter-insurgency campaign.
Since then, civilians have come under attack from government troops, pro-government militia and rebel groups. Arab militias are also fighting each other, and there are frequent clashes between tribes.
Levels of violence fell after 2005, but have risen since the start of Nearly 400,000 people were displaced in the first half of 2014 alone.

10. Conflict In Sudan
Latest estimates suggest that by the end of 2015, there could be up to 460,000 refugees and asylum-seekers in the country.
Humanitarian access, particularly for international staff, remains restricted in some areas, hampering UNHCR's ability to fulfil its mission.

11. Responsibly to protect
The State carries the primary responsibility for the protection of populations from genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing.
The international community has a responsibility to assist States in fulfilling this responsibility.

12. Conclusion
The nature of armed conflict and patterns of forced migration have changed and made it impossible for the world’s foremost refugee agency to ignore internal displacement. Insisting on a neat distinction between refugees and IDPs ignores these realities.
UNHCR was founded with a Statute that allows flexibility as exemplified by the gradual extension of UNHCR’s mandate to include IDPs as well as its operational adaptability and adoption of the cluster approach.

13. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION
BY DANIELA TRETJAKA