Ten years of guiding principles on internal displacement. Achievements and future challenges

Dear participant,

As hosts, it is our honour and pleasure to welcome you to this important conference.

We sincerely thank you for accepting our invitation to participate and for your interest and dedication to this issue.

We wish and expect that the conference will contribute to the continued support of the Guiding Principles – and all those internally displaced whose protection they seek to address.

We hope that the conference will present a good stock-taking of the relevance of the Guiding Principles, as well as lessons learned and practical examples of their applicability during these ten years since they were presented by Francis Deng to the Commission on Human Rights.

We also hope that the conference can build on our commitment and extensive joint experiences to provide recommendations on how states, the international humanitarian community and the IDPs themselves may apply these principles for improved polices and practices in the years ahead.

There are presently an estimated 26 million persons internally displaced by conflict alone.

Ultimately, the yardstick for measuring our progress will be improved protection in each country of displacement – and that more internally displaced persons will obtain a satisfactory and durable solution.

We look forward to a frank and constructive dialogue.

Sincerely,

Jonas Gahr Støre, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Elisabeth Rasmusson, Norwegian Refugee Council
Walter Kälin, UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons