International Norms and IDP Protection

A recent special issue of the International Journal on Human Rights (vol. 15, no. 2, 2011) looks at "The Role of the Special Rapporteurs of the United Nations Human Rights Council in the Development and Promotion of International Human Rights Norms." Papers included in this collection came out of a workshop held in June 2010. For more information, here's the programme and the workshop report.

One article in particular considers "Special rapporteurs as law makers: the developments and evolution of the normative framework for protecting and assisting internally displaced persons."

Here's the abstract:

This article examines the development and evolution of the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement and other relevant supplementary soft-laws prepared within the mandate of the special rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons. By showcasing the increasing recognition and acceptance of the guiding principles as an authoritative framework governing the issue of internal displacement at the national, regional and international levels, the paper seeks to illustrate how the guiding principles exemplified the role of special procedures of the Human Rights Council in the development of international human rights law with respect to emerging and challenging human rights issues. Recent attempts by other special procedures of the Human Rights Council to develop relevant soft-laws within their mandate have partly been inspired by the success of these principles. The article specifically identifies how the mandate-holder has developed a successful and unique relationship with the United Nations and regional organisations to further augment the relevance and influence of the guiding principles. It discusses the ground-breaking codification of regional treaties on internal displacement in Africa as evidence of this unique collaboration and cooperation.

Other recent publications that address elements of this theme include:

• "Brings Norms Entrepreneurs Back into the Picture: Role of Individuals in the Case of Protecting and Assisting the Internally Displaced," Paper to be presented at International Studies Association Annual Conference, Montreal, March 2011 [info]
• "Implementing Protection: What Refugee Law Can Learn from IDP Law...and Vice Versa," Part I, Chapter 9 in Essays on Human Rights: In Honour of Professor Sir Nigel Rodley and Professor Kevin Boyle (Routledge, Oct. 2010) [info] [preview]
• "Internal Displacement, the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, the Principles Normative Status, and the Need for their Effective Domestic Implementation in Colombia," Anuario Colombiano de Derecho Internacional, vol 2 (2009) [full-text]
• "Law-Making Through the Operational Activities of International Organizations," The George Washington International Law Review, vol. 40, no. 1 (2008) [full-text]
• "Protection of internally displaced persons: soft law as a norm-generating mechanism," Review of International Studies, vol. 36, no. 2 (2010) [full-text]
• "Towards a 'soft law' framework for the protection of vulnerable irregular migrants," International Journal of Refugee Law, vol. 22, no. 2 (2010) [article abstract] [working paper]

For more background on the development of the Guiding Principles, revisit this blog post of mine from January 2006.

Tagged Publications.