Abstract
The paper argues that there is a shift towards a general right to reparation for internally displaced persons (IDPs) gradually materializing under international law. A general right is a right which is addressed specifi cally to IDPs as holders of a particular legal status, pertains to any violations of international law or any harm suff ered by IDPs, and has its source in customary law.
To illustrate the shift,reparation regimes to which IDPs have been traditionally subject under human rights law, international humanitarian law, and international criminal law, are exposed. This regulation is compared and contrasted with the rules on reparation which are contained in several more recently adopted legal instruments focussing specifi cally on IDPs, such as the 1998 Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, or the 2009 Kampala Convention.
In its second part, the paper discusses two questions relating to the emerging general right of IDPs to reparation. One pertains to the forum in which the right could be claimed, the other has to do with the concrete parameters of this right (the type of acts that would trigger the right, the identity of relevant duty holder(s) etc.).
The two substantive sections are preceded by a terminological remark elucidating the main terms used in the text (IDPs and reparation)