NIPA+10: A Decade of Progress Towards Better Protection for People Displaced in the Context of Disasters and Climate Change

The NIPA+10 commemoration comes at a crucial time, as disaster displacement figures continue to rise due to the adverse impacts of climate change, natural hazards, and environmental degradation. This commemoration offers an opportunity for the Platform on Disaster Displacement (PDD) and its partners, States and non-governmental stakeholders, to reflect on progress made since NIPA’s endorsement, showcase the PDD’s work, seek renewed commitment for NIPA’s implementation, and chart the way forward for enhanced protection and solutions.

Understanding the NIPA and the Role of the PDD

The Nansen Initiative, launched in 2012 by Norway and Switzerland, was a bottom-up, State-led consultative process. Its aim was to identify effective practices and build consensus on key principles to address the protection and assistance needs of individuals displaced across borders in the context of disasters, including the adverse effects of climate change. This culminated in the endorsement of the Nansen Initiative Protection Agenda (NIPA) in 2015.

The NIPA provides a comprehensive “toolbox” to better prepare for displacement and to respond effectively when people are forced to seek protection, whether within their own country or across a border. It promotes policy coherence across diverse areas, including humanitarian assistance, human rights, migration, refugee protection, climate change action, disaster risk reduction (DRR), and sustainable development.

Following the NIPA’s endorsement, the PDD was launched in May 2016 to continue the momentum and implement the NIPA’s recommendations.

Progress and Impact Over the Last Decade

In the ten years since NIPA’s endorsement, significant progress has been made in various policy areas relevant to preventing and addressing disaster displacement. This has been a collective achievement of the international community, including UN Member States, international and regional organizations, and civil society across all regions. The State-led PDD has played a crucial role in these advancements at global, regional, and national levels:

• Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR): The Sendai Framework for Risk Reduction now includes references to displacement, and various tools have been developed to integrate displacement into DRR policy and practice.
• Human Mobility: The 2018 Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) and the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR) both acknowledge the challenges of disaster displacement. The GCM explicitly recognizes the work of the Nansen Initiative and the PDD.
• Internal Displacement: Efforts by a High-Level Panel on Internal Displacement and a Special Adviser on Solutions to Internal Displacement have brought increased attention to disaster displacement within this context.
• Climate Change: Under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage and its Task Force on Displacement have been actively addressing disaster displacement since 2016.

The PDD has successfully implemented its strategies from 2016-2019 and 2019-2023, and is currently pursuing its 2024-2030 Strategy. This current strategy maintains a focus on the protection of people at risk of or being displaced while expanding its scope to explicitly consider internal disaster displacement, planned relocation, and work related to loss and damage and climate finance.

Objectives of the NIPA+10 Commemoration

The NIPA+10 commemoration aims to achieve the following key objectives:

• Take Stock of Advances: Bring together policymakers and practitioners to assess progress in protecting persons displaced across borders in the context of disasters and the adverse effects of climate change since 2012.
• Assess NIPA Implementation: Evaluate the implementation of the NIPA’s recommendations.
• Raise Awareness and Advocate: Create greater awareness of the NIPA, highlight its continuing relevance, and advocate for its wider endorsement.
• Identify Priority Areas for Future Action: Formulate proposals to overcome remaining challenges and gaps in protecting persons displaced, both cross-border and internally, in the context of disasters and the adverse effects of climate change.

Throughout 2025, the PDD—including its Chair, Steering Group, Group of Friends, Envoy of the Chair, Secretariat, and Advisory Committee—will host a series of events and activities. These initiatives will highlight the recommendations of the NIPA and showcase their implementation, drawing attention to effective practices and leveraging new and existing partnerships. NIPA+10 also offers an opportunity to reflect on the evolving landscape for multilateral initiatives like the PDD since 2015 and to appreciate the significant strides made.

Planned Activities and Events for 2025

The PDD and its partners have identified and begun planning the following activities and events for the NIPA+10 commemoration. Please note that most of these activities are tentative and subject to confirmation, dependent on ongoing funding situations for the PDD and its partners.

Film Screening and Panel Discussion: “You Never Know One Day You Too Might Become A Refugee”

• By Lena Dobrowolska and Teo Ormond-Skeaping
• 30 June 2025

Virtual Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue on Challenges and Prospects for Planned Relocation in the Asia-Pacific Region

• Organized by the PDD Advisory Committee
• August 2025 (TBC)

Side Event on NIPA+10 at the 76th Plenary Session of the UNHCR Executive Committee

• October 2025

Policy Dialogue on NIPA+10

• Organized by Switzerland and Norway
• October 2025 (TBC)

Event in cooperation with Robert Bosch Stiftung on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Nansen Initiative Protection Agenda

• Location: Berlin, Germany
• Second half of 2025 (TBC)

NIPA+10 Podcast with the Envoy of the Chair

• In collaboration with the Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law

Drafting of Chapter in upcoming revised Edition of Routledge book

• Commemorating the Nansen Initiative Protection Agenda and reflecting on 10 Years of efforts for better protection of people displaced in the context of disasters and climate change.

Cover Illustration: Josh Knowles