Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement
The Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement issued by the Secretary General of the United Nations identify internationally recognized rights and guarantees of persons who have been forcibly displaced from their homes due to a number of factors, including natural disaster. Those who have been displaced from their homes but not crossed international borders are not refugees, but rather “internally displaced persons.”
National authorities are primarily responsible for ensuring the human rights of internally displaced persons; however, the guidelines are relevant to intergovernmental agencies, non-governmental agencies and local authorities as well.