Duration: 4 years (January 2026 - December 2029)

Short summary: 

This project will investigate the scope of (emerging) obligations in international human rights law on actors beyond the territorial state in realising durable solutions to internal displacement. Over 80 million people in the world have been internally displaced within their country of nationality or residence by conflicts, other situations of violence or disasters, and have yet to find a durable solution to their situation (e.g. return to their homes or resettlement/integration elsewhere in the state). While the state where internal displacement occurs (the territorial state) holds the primary responsibility for facilitating durable solutions, actors beyond the territorial state (e.g. third states, international organisations, businesses, NGOs, de facto authorities, or armed groups) have significant roles and impacts in these processes which may be beyond the reach of domestic law. However, the potential corresponding obligations of such actors in this particular context have not yet been explored. This is the gap which will be addressed by the project, with the aim of contributing to further developing the normative bases for human rights-based approaches to resolving internal displacement.