Social protection encompasses the policies and programmes that prevent and reduce poverty, vulnerability, and social exclusion throughout the life cycle. It includes social insurance, social assistance, and social services, each designed to help individuals maintain an adequate standard of living, especially during periods of crisis or heightened risk. For forcibly displaced and stateless persons, access to social protection is essential to ensure dignity, reduce vulnerability to exploitation, and support recovery and long‑term inclusion. 

International human rights law recognizes the right to social protection without discrimination. Refugees and stateless persons lawfully staying in a country must receive treatment equal to nationals with respect to public relief, assistance, and social security under the 1951 Refugee Convention and 1954 Statelessness Convention. As nationals, internally displaced persons (IDPs) are entitled to the same social protection as other citizens, and the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement underscore their right to adequate living conditions and access to essential services during displacement and upon return or resettlement. 

Displacement often disrupts access to benefits due to documentation barriers, restrictive eligibility criteria, discrimination, or administrative challenges. Domestic frameworks therefore play a critical role in determining whether forcibly displaced and stateless persons can access contributory schemes (such as pensions or health insurance), non‑contributory assistance (such as cash transfers or food support), and specialized services (such as disability support, child protection, or GBV survivor services). 

This category also examines governance, financing, and remedy mechanisms to ensure that social protection systems are inclusive, adequately funded, and accessible, with meaningful avenues for redress when rights are denied.