The responsibility of assisting and protecting IDP populations rests with governments, and the engagement of national and local authorities is of paramount importance. When the participation of the United Nations in these efforts is required, it is done with the consent of the national authorities concerned. Problems can emerge in addressing IDP concerns in areas of conflict not under government control, where the international community would have to gain clearance from armed rebel groups. (See also Humanitarian Access.)

Within the UN system, UNHCR is mandated to lead international action for the protection and assistance of refugees. There is, however, no single agency charged with responding to IDP emergencies.

	The world's internally displaced population is larger now than at any time in the past five years.

In 1992, in response to the mounting internal displacement crisis, the UN Secretary-General appointed Mr. Francis Deng as his Representative of the Secretary-General on Internally Displaced Persons. The Representative, together with a team of international legal experts, produced a useful tool for practitioners, the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement which contains 30 pointers for governments and humanitarian organizations.

In 1997, the Secretary-General's reform programme drew special attention to the operational gaps in the international system in responding to the protection and assistance needs of the internally displaced. It gave the Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC) the responsibility for ensuring that these needs were adequately addressed within the inter-agency framework.

To reinforce these arrangements, in July 2000, an Inter-Agency Senior Network on IDPs, headed by Special Coordinator Dennis McNamara, embarked on a series of country missions to critically assess the international response to the IDP crisis on the ground.  The Network will shortly provide the ERC and the Secretary-General with recommendations as to how to improve this response.

The international community's response is upon consent of the government, supporting and complementing national efforts. The nature of this international response is inevitably is influenced by the level of access to the internally displaced. Other problems encountered in the provision of assistance to the displaced include protection and security.

Consistent lack of funding remains a major constraint to international efforts on IDPs. The funding pattern of past humanitarian operations shows particularly chronic under-funding for IDP-related assistance. The UN Emergency Relief Coordinator intends to work closely with donors to address this concern, and is considering the possible establishment of an emergency funding facility to allow quick release of money toward IDP needs in under-funded crises.