UNHCR Standing Committee: 96th Session, 16 - 18 June 2026.
Item 3: Engagement of UNHCR with internally displaced persons
Statement delivered by Ms Azra NUMANOVIC Intern, Humanitarian Issues Permanent Mission of Norway.
17.06.2026 Check against delivery
Chair,
Thank you for the update.
Protection of IDPs is a key priority in Norway’s humanitarian policy.
We therefore welcome UNHCR’s continued engagement with internal displacement, including as a Solutions Champion in the follow-up to the Secretary-General’s Action Agenda, and as lead of the global protection cluster.
We commend UNHCR’s efforts to strengthen protection coordination, advance area-based approaches, and support the development of national laws and policies on internal displacement.
At the same time, lasting progress and durable solutions depend on strong national ownership. Governments must lead in setting priorities, coordinating across sectors, and integrating internally displaced persons into national development plans. International actors should support – not substitute – this leadership.
We encourage UN country teams, under the leadership of Resident Coordinators, to systematically embed durable solutions in cooperation frameworks and national planning processes.
Chair,
Accelerating the transition from humanitarian assistance to development-oriented responses is a key priority. While humanitarian actors remain essential, particularly in acute crises, they cannot alone deliver durable solutions.
Greater engagement from development actors, including international financial institutions, is critical to address the structural drivers of displacement and to support sustainable reintegration.
We encourage UNHCR to continue playing an active role in facilitating this transition.
Efforts must be placed on prioritizing solutions early on and thereby laying the groundwork for safe return, local integration or sustainable relocation. Strenghtening and boosting host government’s capacity forms and important part of this endevour.
Moreover, to inform planning, target interventions, and mobilize financing, strengthening the evidence base is essential. We therefore encourage UNHCR to continue ensuring that displacement-related data and analysis are accessible for development partners, and to support national statistical systems.
Chair,
The scale and persistence of internal displacement require sustained political attention, practical coordination, and predictable support beyond the immediate emergency phase.
Continued efforts to clarify responsibilities, strengthen evidence, and connect protection with longer-term planning will be essential to move from repeated response towards durable outcomes.
On this note Norway underscores the importance of continued work on operational clarity around when internal displacement ends. Clearer definitions are important to strengthen accountability, guide programming, and enable access to development financing.
We see value in ongoing efforts to advance common methodologies and improve coherence between data, policy and financing frameworks.
Norway remains committed to supporting these efforts.
Thank you.