Legal Aspects of Conflict-Induced Migration by Women

Abstract

This paper surveys the international legal frameworks, including the many guidelines, handbooks, resolutions, toolkits, conclusions and manuals produced by various United Nations bodies, that confirm an awareness of the protection issues specific to women and girls displaced by conflict. It explores the extent to which these documents address the gendered impacts of conflict-induced migration, and the role of United Nations bodies as international governmental organisations in implementing these norms. The main focus is upon internally displaced women and women refugees. In addition to problems of enforcing compliance with existing guidelines, the paper concludes that two areas - developing strategies to accommodate the realities of long-term, even permanent displacement and enhancing women's literal and legal literacy - require much greater attention on the part of governmental and non-governmental international organisations.

Keywords: internally displaced persons, gender issues, refugees, conflict and crisis settings, international law, United Nations