This article appears in the following Refugee Survey Quarterly issue: Displacement, Peace Processes and Post-Conflict Peacebuildiing [View the issue table of contents]
Peace Processes and IDP Solutions
* Patricia Weiss Fagen has a doctorate and is Senior Associate at the Institute for the Study of International Migration, Georgetown University. This article is derived from an unpublished report prepared for the Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement.
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Abstract |
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The forcible uprooting of people is an inevitable consequence of armed conflict. The processes by which peace agreements are negotiated and implemented will determine whether and under what conditions internally displaced persons (IDPs) will return home or whether other solutions will be necessary or possible. If countries newly emerging from conflict are able to find durable solutions for IDPs and other war-affected populations, it is a significant bellwether for the success of the overall peace process. IDP concerns arise most visibly in the humanitarian practices of government and insurgent parties prior to the conclusion of an overall peace agreement. Subsequently, the language in peace agreements about procedures for refugee returns also encompasses IDP questions. Over the long term, the integration of IDPs depends on the local, regional, and national implementation of agreed principles. International monitoring of local implementation is weak at best.