Dr Bríd Ní Ghráinne provides expertise to UN Secretary-General’s High Level Panel on Internal Displacement

Dr Bríd Ní Ghráinne
Thursday, November 12, 2020 - 12:15

The Department of Law’s Dr Bríd Ní Ghráinne recently provided research expertise to the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Internal Displacement. Dr Ní Ghráinne is Senior Affiliate of the Internal Displacement Research Programme at the Refugee Law Initiative, University of London, which recently entered into a research partnership with the UN Secretary-General's High-Level Panel on Internal Displacement. The aim of the High-Level Panel is to identify innovative and concrete solutions to the plight of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) – persons who are forced or obliged to leave their homes for reasons such as war, conflict, and natural disaster but have not crossed an international border. Internal displacement due to conflict and violence has reached an all-time high with over 41 million people currently internally displaced, and an estimated further 20-25 million people become internally displaced every year due to disasters.
 
Dr Ní Ghráinne was invited to co-author a briefing paper for the Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel with Dr Ben Hudson, University of Exeter. Their paper explores the potential of existing global fora as sites or models for inter-State dialogue on internal displacement and assesses the need for a dedicated global forum on internal displacement. According to the High-Level Panel’s website, Dr Ní Ghráinne and Dr Hudson’s paper – along with the other inputs of the Internal Displacement Research Programme – will be 'crucial to shaping the Panel's final report and ultimately its recommendations.' You can read Dr Ní Ghráinne and Dr Hudson’s paper on the High-Level Panel’s website and an expanded version of the paper will also be published next month in the Refugee Survey Quarterly.