In June 2022, in follow-up to the report by the High-Level Panel on Internal Displacement, the UN Secretary-General launched his Action Agenda on Internal Displacement. The Action Agenda calls for the UN family to step up its efforts to advance solutions at scale to internal displacement.
For the first time, the Action Agenda recognizes the linkages between displacement and urbanization, highlighting the core role of local governments and the importance of urban planning. In an urbanizing world, displacement is becoming an urban phenomenon, with most of the IDPs seeking refuge in cities, hoping for better access to services and livelihoods. However, massive influxes of people in cities, especially when caused by crises, come with challenges for local governments, increasing pressure on basic services, infrastructure, and housing supply. Resulting strains can exacerbate the vulnerabilities of both IDPs and host communities, forcing more people to live in informal settlements or inadequate housing, with associated environmental consequences and social tensions.
Solutions require a full integration of displacement challenges into urban development, management, and financing strategies. This can help to support stabilisation and provide peace dividends in conflict situations and create co-benefits for both host communities and IDPs, promoting an inclusive and green urban future, hence meaningfully contributing to the achievement of SDG 11 and the the New Urban Agenda.
UN-Habitat’s Institutional Plan intends to ensure that UN-Habitat can maximize its contribution to UN efforts to scale sustainable solutions, by strengthening and contributing its expertise in solutions to internal displacement in urban settings. UN-Habitat will promote territorial and integrated multisectoral approaches across multilevel governance systems and across the humanitarian-development-peace nexus.
UN-Habitat aims to improve knowledge on urban displacement through high-quality and trusted data and spatial analysis, to support the development of normative frameworks and tools on solutions to address displacement in urban areas. This work, in close collaboration with the Resident Coordinators and the UN Country Teams, and where possible IFIs, will ensure the integration of sustainable, integrated and people-centered pathways to solutions in urban areas in the national strategies.
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