Abstract
In this chapter, McDermott et al. provide both a descriptive and normative overview of the protection accorded to displaced persons and the associated rights-based approach to the protection of such persons. In line with the definition of protection as prescribed by the UN Inter-Agency Standing Committee, displacement is addressed within each of three bodies of international law—human rights law, humanitarian law, and refugee law. McDermott et al. conclude that, despite scepticism as to how the lofty rhetoric of the rights-based approach is implemented in practice, in its ideal form, it is a critical factor in supporting the agency of displaced persons and draws attention to the obligations of duty bearers to promote their protection.
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Notes
- 1.
Inter-Agency Standing Committee definition, Protection of Internally Displaced Persons (IASC 1999, p. 4).
- 2.
Geneva Convention IV, Arts 49 and 147; AP I Art. 85(4)(a); AP II Art. 17; Customary IHL Rule 129. See also Additional Protocol I Arts 51(7) and 78(1) and Additional Protocol II Art. 4(3)(e).
- 3.
Geneva Convention IV Art. 49 and Customary IHL Rule 132.
- 4.
For example, see Paragraph 11, UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Concluding observations of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: Honduras, 21 May 2001, E/C.12/1/Add.57.
- 5.
UN Commission on Human Rights, Resolution 1997/39 on Internally Displaced Persons, 11 April 1997, E/CN.4/RES/1997/39.
- 6.
UN Commission on Human Rights, Report of the Representative of the Secretary-General, Mr. Francis M. Deng, submitted pursuant to Commission resolution 1997/39. Addendum: Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, 11 February 1998, E/CN.4/1998/53/Add.2.
- 7.
See UNHCR’s Global Report for 2018: http://reporting.unhcr.org/sites/default/files/gr2018/pdf/GR2018_English_Full_lowres.pdf Accessed on 25 February 2020.
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Acknowledgements
This chapter has been written as part of the Preparedness and Resilience to address Urban Vulnerabilities (PRUV) project. The project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement no. 691060.
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McDermott, R., Gibbons, P., McGrath, S. (2020). Protection of Displaced Persons and the Rights-Based Approach. In: Adey, P., et al. The Handbook of Displacement. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-47178-1_8
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