What we do

The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), established in 1998 by the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), is the leading international body monitoring internal displacement worldwide.

Through its work, the Centre contributes to improving national and international capacities to protect and assist the millions of people around the globe who have been displaced within their own country as a result of conflicts or human rights violations.

At the request of the United Nations, the Geneva-based IDMC runs an online database providing comprehensive information and analysis on internal displacement in some 50 countries. Based on its monitoring and data collection activities, the Centre advocates for durable solutions to the plight of the internally displaced in line with international standards. The IDMC also carries out training activities to enhance the capacity of local actors to respond to the needs of internally displaced people (IDPs). In its work, the Centre cooperates with and provides support to local and national civil society initiatives.

Active advocacy for the rights of IDPs is an integral part of the IDMC’s work. Based on information included in the database and collected during fact-finding missions to priority countries, the Centre 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.

The Centre’s IDP database provides frequently updated information and analysis on conflict-induced internal displacement around the globe. It is unique in being the only provider of comprehensive information on all situations of conflict-induced internal displacement worldwide.

The database features some 50 internal displacement profiles, each providing a brief overview, as well as more in-depth information and analysis on the respective IDP situation and its background. Thus, the database enables users to quickly acquire an understanding of IDP situations and their context at whatever level of detail and depth is required.

By providing easy and free access to IDP-related information, the IDMC directly contributes to raising awareness of the plight of internally displaced people. At the same time, it is an important tool used by humanitarian actors and governments to identify and address gaps in the protection and assistance of IDPs. Prominent among the database’s users are governments, UN agencies, other intergovernmental organisations, international, national and local NGOs, as well as the media and academia.

In its structure, each country profile follows the sequence of issues covered by the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, the set of international standards concerning IDPs.

The IDMC organises training workshops to strengthen the capacity of relevant national and international actors to address the protection and assistance needs of internally displaced people in line with international standards.

The workshops typically bring together local authorities, security forces, humanitarian agencies, local NGOs and representatives of displaced communities. The IDMC also organises trainings for governments and national human rights institutions. The workshops are often co-organised with field-based partners, including NGOs, UN agencies and government institutions, in order to ensure follow-up to the workshop recommendations on the ground.

Cutting across the IDMC’s programme activities, the Civil Society Project is aimed at supporting civil society initiatives and strengthening the Centre’s link with IDP communities and NGOs in its ongoing monitoring, advocacy and training work. In addition, the Centre is in the process of establishing an Internet-based network of national NGOs working on IDP issues.

Among the Centre’s main partners are the UN’s inter-agency Internal Displacement Division and the UN Representative on the Human Rights of IDPs supported by the Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement.
The IDMC is focal point on internal displacement issues for the NGO network ICVA.