Responses to Displacement in the Middle East
Project Conference, 30 November 2017
Internal displacement is a major humanitarian, human rights and security issue globally. The concept of ‘internally displaced persons’ (IDPs) distinguishes between refugees and the persons uprooted from their habitual residence due to conflict, human rights violations, natural disasters or development projects, and those who remain and/or are contained within the national boundaries of their home country (Deng 1999; Cohen 2006). Contrary to popular belief, there are far more IDPs than refugees in the world today (Ferris, Mooney and Stark 2011). According to figures released by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), by the end of 2016, 40.3 million people were internally displaced by conflict and violence across the world and an unknown number remain displaced as a result of disasters that occurred in and prior to 2016. The scale of the problem is challenging the capacity of humanitarian organisations and governments to respond to the needs of IDPs.
Conflict and violence are the main triggers of internal displacement in the world today, and a significant proportion of conflict-related internal displacement takes place in the Middle East, especially in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Libya and Turkey.
Call for Proposals
This conference welcomes papers focused on internal displacement in the Middle East (plus Afghanistan), with a country or regional focus, on any of the following questions:
What is the relationship between conflict, violence and displacement?
Are the challenges experienced by IDPs and refugees different? Are policy responses by national and international actors to IDPs and refugees different; in what way?
What are the complexities involved in short-term humanitarian responses to internal displacement; and what are the drawbacks in short-termism in responding to internal displacement?
What are the limitations of national and international responses to internal displacement today and how should governments and international actors respond to the long-term challenges of internal displacement in relation to settlement, resettlement and return?
What is the relationship between resilience and displacement? Is the international policy framework on resilience problematic when it comes to displaced people (both IDPs and refugees)?
What are the impacts of internal displacement on state sovereignty?
What is the relationship between gendered vulnerabilities and internal displacement?
Why is conflict-related internal and external displacement neglected in the Women, Peace and Security agenda of the states the Middle East, and of those countries that receive refugees from conflict areas?
How and why does the experience of internal displacement in camps, urban and rural areas differ; are there any similar themes or experiences? How do gender, ethnic or religious identity, age and levels of educational attainment etc. intersect to affect the experiences of IDPs?
To apply:
Proposals for 20-minute papers should comprise of a paper title, an abstract (250 words), a short biographical statement, contact details and affiliation. Please use the proposal form provided. The deadline for proposals is 22 Septemeber 2017
Travel Grant:
Unfortunately we do not have funds to help participants travel to London for the conference. Registration is free.
Key Dates:
Deadline for paper proposals: 22 September 2017
Notification of successful papers: 2 October 2017
Deadline for submitting papers: 16 November 2017
More information:
For more information, please visit the project webpage or contact Chelsea Milsom at [log in to unmask]
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