The Advanced Draft: UN-Habitat Framework for Urban Solutions to Internal Displacement is a comprehensive guide for policymakers and program managers, designed to aid in creating responses that are sustainable, scalable, and transformative across short-, medium-, and longer-term scenarios. To foster meaningful and effective responses, the document advocates for three critical ‘shifts in mindset’ to transform current approaches, complemented by five operational principles rooted in these new perspectives.
It also outlines six essential programmatic elements that are fundamental to any comprehensive urban displacement response. Sector by sector, this Framework provides actionable examples to illustrate the substantive shifts required by actors across the humanitarian, development, and peace nexus to address urban displacement effectively. These examples serve as a guide for those looking to implement this change in a practical, measurable way – from the start of an internal dispalcement crisis .
This Framework builds on the momentum of the UN Secretary General’s Action Agenda on Internal Displacement, urging global stakeholders to view internal displacement not merely as a humanitarian concern but also as a priority for development, peace, and climate action. It also draws on previous research and advocacy done jointly by UN-Habitat, the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), and JIPS, to raise awareness on the conditions, challenges, and opportunities of internal displacement in urban areas (available here).
