Liechtenstein has been committed to the rights and protection of internally displaced persons for many years and is therefore once again supporting the work of IDMC with CHF 100,000 this year.
Internally displaced persons are often equated with refugees. However, there is a crucial difference between these two groups. According to international law, only people who are forced to flee to another country due to persecution are considered refugees. The Geneva Convention on Refugees guarantees refugees a number of rights in the host countries. There is also the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which is responsible for the registration and protection of refugees. However, the situation is different for internally displaced persons: They also have to flee from conflicts or natural disasters, but remain in their home country. Unlike refugees, their rights are not regulated in any specific convention. The UNHCR also only has a limited mandate when it comes to protecting them.
The non-governmental organisation ‘Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre’ (IDMC) is the only organisation that systematically records the worldwide movements of internally displaced persons (IDPs). IDMC also produces comprehensive analyses of the causes and specific needs of IDPs. The aim is to inform the international community about the causes of displacement and the specific needs of IDPs. Sensitising the international community to the concerns of IDPs is particularly important, as they often do not receive enough attention. IDMC's advocacy for the situation and rights of IDPs is therefore particularly important.
IDMC's current figures emphasise the global scope of the problem: there are currently around 75.9 million IDPs worldwide, which is a new record.