Conference on Internally Displaced People: Shifting Power and Advancing Protection

This event took place on April 14, 2025.

Commemorating the anniversary of the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, Refugees International, Georgetown University, UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced persons, ODI Global and IDP leaders hosted a series of panels and a keynote address on internal displacement, focusing on ongoing protection needs, challenges and opportunities, and the shifting landscape of solutions. 

Please scroll to see resources from the event.

Supplemental Materials from the Conference:

Agenda

9:00 to 9:15: Opening Remarks

Dr. Elizabeth Ferris, Director, Institute for the Study of International Migration, Georgetown University

Paula Gaviria Betancur, UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons

9:15 to 11:15: Panel I: Rethinking IDP Participation and Powershift

Moderator: Dr. Sarah Miller, Senior Fellow at Refugees International, and Adjunct Professor, Institute for the Study of International Migration, Georgetown University

The importance of IDP participation is increasingly recognized, but much more needs to be done to turn the concept into practice. How do IDPs see their own involvement? What does IDP participation mean for shifting power within the systems for IDP protection and assistance?

Speakers:

Megan Bradley, Professor and William Dawson Scholar in Political Science and International Development Studies at McGill University, Montreal

Yana Liubymova, Founder of the Congress of IDP Councils of Ukraine (Full remarks here)

Laura Marcelo Borrero, Youth IDP Leader from Colombia

Oumarou Cisse, Executive Director, A2N Nodde Nooto, Burkina Faso

Jean Marie Ishimwe, East Africa Regional Lead for Refugees Seeking Equal Access at the Table (R-SEAT)

11:15 to 11:30: Break

11:30 to 12:45: Panel II: Rethinking Protection: Urban IDPs and Climate Change

Moderator: Kerrie Holloway, Research Fellow, ODI Global

Most IDPs displaced by both conflict and disasters live in cities. In a context where overall humanitarian funding has been declining for years, and some of the world’s largest donors are rethinking or even withdrawing their commitments to assistance, it is more important than ever to focus on helping urban IDPs develop sustainable livelihoods and climate resilience, as people who have the capacity to be resilient are less likely to need humanitarian assistance in the future. 

Speakers:

Judy Baker, Senior Urban Advisor, Cities Alliance 

Farhad Shamo Roto, Fellow Alumni, Refugees International, Founder, Voice of Ezidis

Jocelyn Perry, Senior Advocate and Program Manager of the Climate Displacement Program at Refugees International

Isis Nunez Ferrera, Senior Advisor on Urban Displacement and Resilience

12:45 to 1:00: Closing Remarks

Paula Gaviria Betancur, UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of IDPs