Developments and gaps in international law concerning internal displacement

The legal framework dealing with internal displacement brings together a myriad of norms from discrete fields of international law. Thus, it is imperative to examine the relevance of key developments, particularly in international human rights and humanitarian law. Treatment of IDPs had for long been considered a matter of state sovereignty. Considerable international developments have occurred since the 1990s. The formulation of the Guiding Principles in 1998 is an important milestone in international standard setting.1 The Guiding Principles is the first authoritative framework that recognises the rights and freedoms of IDPs.