Masses in Flight: The Global Crisis of Internal Displacement

Since the end of the Cold War, increasing numbers of people have been forced to leave their homes as a result of armed conflict, internal strife, and systematic violations of human rights. Whereas refugees crossing national borders benefit from an established system of international protection and assistance, those who are displaced internally suffer from an absence of legal or institutional bases for their protection and assistance from the international community.

This book analyzes the causes and consequences of displacement, including its devastating impact both within and beyond the borders of affected countries. It sets forth strategies for preventing displacement, a special legal framework tailored to the needs of the displaced, more effective institutional arrangements at the national, regional, and international levels, and increased capacities to address the protection, human rights, and reintegration and development needs of the displaced.

Author: Roberta Cohen, Francis M. Deng
Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
Published: 03/01/1998
Pages: 436
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.29lbs
Size: 9.01h x 6.10w x 1.15d
ISBN: 9780815715115

About the Author

Roberta Cohen is a guest scholar at the Brookings Institution and serves as codirector of its Project on Internal Displacement. Francis M. Deng is a nonresident senior fellow in the Foreign Policy Studies program at the Brookings Institution and co-director of the Brookings-SAIS Project on Internal Displacement. He has served as the Sudan's minister of state and foreign affairs; as its ambassador to Canada, the United States, and Scandinavia; and as special representative of the United Nations secretary-general for internally displaced persons.