Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement

Model Diplomat Research Team · Last reviewed June 22, 2026

TL;DR

A 1998 UN framework of 30 principles defining the rights of internally displaced persons and the responsibilities of states and humanitarian actors.
Are the Guiding Principles legally binding?
Who authored the Guiding Principles?
How do IDPs differ from refugees under this framework?

Updated June 22, 2026

A 1998 UN framework of 30 principles defining the rights of internally displaced persons and the responsibilities of states and humanitarian actors.

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In 2009, the African Union adopted the Kampala Convention, which translated the 1998 Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement into binding obligations for its member states.

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The Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement were presented to the UN Commission on Human Rights in 1998 by Francis M. Deng, then Representative of the UN Secretary-General on Internally Displaced Persons. Compiled with a team of international legal experts, the document distills existing obligations under international human rights law, international humanitarian law, and refugee law (by analogy) into a single coherent text addressing the specific situation of people displaced within their own country.

The Principles define an internally displaced person (IDP) as someone forced to flee their home due to armed conflict, generalized violence, human rights violations, or natural or human-made disasters, who has not crossed an internationally recognized state border. This last criterion is what distinguishes IDPs from refugees, who fall under the 1951 Refugee Convention.

The 30 principles are organized around four phases:

Protection from displacement (Principles 5–9), including a prohibition on arbitrary displacement.
Protection during displacement (Principles 10–23), covering rights to life, dignity, family unity, food, shelter, education, and freedom of movement.
Humanitarian assistance (Principles 24–27), affirming that assistance must be impartial and that consent to relief should not be arbitrarily withheld.
Return, resettlement, and reintegration (Principles 28–30), including voluntary, safe, and dignified return.

The Principles are not a treaty and are technically non-binding, but they have acquired significant authority. The 2005 World Summit Outcome Document recognized them as "an important international framework for the protection of internally displaced persons." They have been incorporated into domestic legislation in several states and into the African Union's 2009 Kampala Convention, the first binding regional instrument on internal displacement. UN agencies, the ICRC, and NGOs routinely use them as an operational standard, and the mandate is now carried by the UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of IDPs.

Frequently asked questions

Are the Guiding Principles legally binding?

No. They are a soft-law instrument that consolidates binding norms from human rights and humanitarian law, but the document itself is not a treaty. However, the Kampala Convention transforms many of these principles into binding regional law for AU member states.

Who authored the Guiding Principles?

They were developed under the leadership of Francis M. Deng, the UN Secretary-General's Representative on IDPs, together with a team of international legal experts, and presented to the UN Commission on Human Rights in 1998.

How do IDPs differ from refugees under this framework?

IDPs remain within their country of origin and so do not qualify under the 1951 Refugee Convention. The Guiding Principles fill that gap by clarifying that IDPs retain all rights available to other citizens, plus specific protections linked to their displacement.