The Government shall uphold the right to freedom of movement and residence for internally displaced persons (IDPs)—women, men, boys, and girls—in accordance with the Constitution and applicable international human rights and humanitarian law. Accordingly, IDPs shall have the right to:

Be protected against forced return or relocation to any area where their life, liberty, safety, or health is at risk;

Leave the country;

Move freely within and beyond IDP settlements;

Seek asylum abroad; and

Seek safety in other parts of the country.

The Government shall facilitate legal access and protection for internally displaced persons (IDPs) by:

Upholding the rule of law to ensure victims of rights violations have access to legal assistance and related services;

Ensuring protection actors possess the capacity to respond to and refer protection cases appropriately;

Establishing community-based mechanisms to support protection responses;

Guaranteeing access to the issuance and replacement of personal documentation;

Ensuring prompt and impartial investigations into all security-related incidents;

Protecting IDPs from arbitrary arrest and detention based on their displacement status; and

Establishing referral pathways and raising awareness—particularly in the Somali language—on available legal services and procedures, including for children.

The Government, in collaboration with stakeholders, shall ensure inclusive and equitable access to education for internally displaced persons (IDPs) by:

Deploying additional teaching staff to accommodate increased enrolment;

Preventing discrimination based on clan, gender, social status, or other grounds;

Expanding school sanitation facilities;

Facilitating access to education for economically and socially marginalized groups;

Providing free or subsidized education for displacement-affected children;

Establishing non-formal and vocational education centers for youth and adults;

Promoting IDP participation in education committees;

Training teachers on positive discipline and child-centered approaches, and addressing psychosocial needs;

Equipping service providers with child protection competencies;

Integrating IDP children into local schools;

Supporting vocational, life skills, and youth education programs;

Promoting child-friendly school environments;

Referring unaccompanied and separated children to appropriate social and family-based care;

Removing barriers to education such as lack of materials, documentation, or accessibility challenges;

Incorporating peacebuilding, disaster risk reduction, environmental awareness, HIV/AIDS, and human rights into the curriculum;

Establishing referral systems to reintegrate out-of-school children;

Prioritizing vulnerable groups, including girls and children with disabilities; and

Ensuring women’s access to formal and vocational education.

The Government reaffirms the right of internally displaced persons (IDPs) to family life and shall take measures to preserve and protect family unity. Through the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, relevant line ministries, law enforcement, NGOs, and aid agencies, the Government shall:

Allocate adequate resources;

Establish a coordinated system for tracing, locating, and reuniting separated family members, including community-based methods;

Maintain an updated database with relevant information; and

Ensure stakeholder participation, including IDPs and affected communities.

Alternative Care for Children

In accordance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and the UN Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children, the Government shall ensure that displaced children remain with or are reunited with their families, and where not possible, have access to appropriate alternative care. Measures shall:

Address care and protection needs of vulnerable children and families;

Prevent and respond to family separation;

Prioritize tracing and reunification of separated and unaccompanied children;

Promote community-based, stable care arrangements;

Allocate sufficient resources to meet the needs of children and caregivers;

Ensure care institutions meet minimum registration and monitoring standards, and expand alternative care where needed;

Conduct comprehensive assessments of children’s needs prior to placement; and

Prevent discrimination in service delivery to unaccompanied children, child-headed households, and others in need of care and protection.

The Government shall uphold the right to health of internally displaced persons (IDPs)—women, men, boys, and girls—in accordance with the Constitution, international human rights, and humanitarian law. It shall ensure, at minimum, access to essential health services, including reproductive health care, female health providers, and psychosocial support for survivors of gender-based violence.

Through the Ministry of Health and in collaboration with stakeholders, the Government shall:

Disseminate health-related information, education, and communication (IEC) materials;

Strengthen the capacity of health workers serving IDP and host communities;

Ensure access to HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, and care services;

Allocate sufficient resources for health interventions throughout displacement;

Provide sanitary products to women and girls to promote hygiene, dignity, and school retention;

Improve lighting in IDP camps to mitigate gender-based violence risks;

Equip health providers to address child protection concerns;

Integrate maternal, reproductive, child, and mental health care—including immunization and psychosocial services—into primary health services;

Expand access to care through mobile health units; and

Prevent communicable disease outbreaks in IDP camps.

To reduce disease transmission caused by overcrowding and inadequate sanitation, the Government shall:

Construct and rehabilitate water infrastructure, including boreholes;

Establish water and sanitation committees to promote community-led waste management;

Prioritize reduction of child and maternal mortality;

Promote hygiene practices, including handwashing, in schools and communities;

Ensure adequate sanitation facilities and waste disposal systems; and

Distribute hygiene kits to displaced populations.

The Government shall respect and protect the property rights of internally displaced persons (IDPs), ensuring no one is arbitrarily deprived of land, possessions, or other property.

IDPs shall have the right to:

Own property, including land, homes, businesses, and livestock;

Be deprived of property only in accordance with the law;

Have abandoned property protected by the State;

Receive government assistance in reclaiming lost property as part of restitution;

Obtain replacement of lost documentation;

Be allocated land and shelter where necessary;

Access a property registration system for claims and dispute resolution; and

Utilize traditional dispute resolution mechanisms.

The Government shall respect and protect the economic rights of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in accordance with the Constitution, international human rights, and humanitarian law. It shall recognize IDPs’ right to work and to social protection, ensure non-discrimination in the labor market, and support the inclusion of IDPs—women and men—in livelihood opportunities, skills development, and peacebuilding processes.

Recognizing the unique challenges faced by IDP pastoral communities, including loss of grazing land, livestock, and weak market returns, and the heightened vulnerability of displaced women, the Government, in collaboration with stakeholders, shall:

Address root causes of livelihood loss, including conflict;

Build community capacity through training, including disaster risk reduction;

Provide targeted livelihood support to adolescents out of school, child-headed households, and young mothers;

Establish social protection and safety nets for IDPs;

Conduct livelihood and market impact assessments to inform policy;

Develop Sharia-compliant credit schemes to improve access to finance;

Facilitate vocational and life skills training, especially for youth, to promote economic independence and reduce vulnerability to exploitation and abuse;

Promote sustainable livelihoods to reduce dependency, with safeguards in high-risk livelihood environments;

Support women’s participation in livelihood programming, conflict resolution, and aid distribution;

Mainstream gender and child protection in all livelihood initiatives;

Provide livelihood support through cash- and food-for-work programs;

Strengthen pastoralist livelihoods by revitalizing livestock markets, promoting arid land farming, enhancing market access, and building storage infrastructure;

Support restocking and adaptation to climate change, including alternative income sources;

Promote environmental conservation as part of disaster preparedness;

Construct and rehabilitate water points;

Improve livestock care, grazing land management, and peaceful coexistence with host communities; and

Identify and strengthen markets for livestock and related products.