INTERNAL DISPLACEMENT MONITORING CENTRE (IDMC)
http://www.internal-displacement.org/
Mission/Mandate:
IDMC was established in 1998 by the Norwegian Refugee Council and was formerly known as the "Global IDP Project". The Centre monitors internal displacement in some 50 countries and makes information and analysis available to decision-makers, humanitarian practitioners and the general public. Thus it aims at “raising awareness of the plight of internally displaced people”. The information made available is also intended as a tool to assist “humanitarian actors and governments” in identifying and addressing “gaps in the protection and assistance of IDPs” (cf IDMC: Appeal 2007 and Future Strategy, 2007, http://www.internal-displacement.org/8025708F004BE3B1/(httpInfoFiles)/9A619AEE37A6244CC12572AB00366912/$file/Appeal_2007.pdf, accessed on 22 May 2008).
Target group:
Governments, UN agencies with a mandate of protecting and assisting IDPs (eg the UN Representative on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)), other intergovernmental organisations, international, national and local NGOs, the media, academia, local authorities, security forces and representatives of displaced communities (IDMC Website, http://www.internal-displacement.org/8025708F004BD0DA/(httpPages)/3E2B69E882ED03D380257099005AED1B?OpenDocument&count=1000, accessed on 22 May 2008).
Objective:
- Monitoring and Advocacy: Raises awareness of the plight of internally displaced people, points to gaps in national and international responses and promotes solutions reflecting international standards and best practices.
- IDP database: Freely accessible IDP database containing information and analysis on conflict-induced internal displacement around the globe.
- Training and Protection: Capacity building for national and international actorsin the field if protection and assistance of internally displaced people.
Funding:
IDMC is dependent on external funds. More than 90 per cent of IDMC funds have been contributed by governmental aid organisations (United Kingdom DFID, Australia AusAID, Sweden Sida, United States USAID), private foundations (Netherlands Stichtung Vluechteling, the Oak Foundation), and the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Canada (DFAIT), Denmark, Italy, Luxemburg, Norway, Netherlands and Switzerland. A small percentage of funds derive from UN organisations (UNHCR, OCHA).
Scope of reporting:
Geographical focus: Africa (Algeria, Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Togo, Uganda, Zimbabwe); Asia-Pacific (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Russian Federation, Serbia, Turkey); Americas (Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru); Middle East (Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Occupied Palestinian Territory, Syria, Yemen). , Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan); Europe (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, Georgia, Macedonia, Moldova).
Thematic focus: Conflict-induced internal displacement, special focus on: Guiding principles on internal displacement, women and children, land, housing and property issues, nutrition and health.
Reporting methodology:
Each IDP country page is structured according to a standard thematic pattern:
An Overview describes “main characteristics of the displacement situations as well as key concerns”.
A detailed Internal Displacement Profile of the country gives information on the background and causes of internal displacement, and addresses a variety of issues such as security/freedom of movement, subsistence needs, education, family unity, culture, property, return and resettlement patterns and humanitarian access.
The Internal Displacement Profiles are based on written sources which are usually publicly available and included in the database. According to IDMC, they contain the “entirety of the information included in the database for a given country”. The respective sources used are listed at the end of each country profile. Sources include reports from government institutions, international organisations (predominantly UN structures), national and international NGOs, the media as well as academic writings. The vast majority of written sources used are in English, non-English sources are in Spanish, French or Russian.
Fact-finding missions normally result in more in-depth country reports which also include policy recommendations.
Publication cycle:
Each of the IDP profiles “is normally updated every four, six or 12 months, depending on the type of displacement situation.”
The Global Overview of major trends and developments in the field of internal displacement is published annually.
IDP news alerts are published every one to two weeks (on Thursdays).
Languages:
English; summaries of IDP country profiles are available in either French, Russian or Spanish, if one of them is an official language of the country in question.
Navigation of website:
The country pages (ie Internal Displacement Profiles) can be accessed through selecting the respective world region and the country on the upper menu bar on the homepage. The Countries item also provides access to the Global Overview as well as a link to the Key Documents search engine.
The Global Overview and Key Documents, as well as IDP Maps are directly accessible via Resources on the homepage.
News Alerts and Press Releases can be accessed via News on the homepage.
Additional references:
