The Manual for Law and Policymakers is meant to provide guidance to national authorities seeking to prepare and enact domestic legislation and policies addressing internal displacement in their country. In presenting advice on how to shape laws and policies addressing the protection and assistance needs of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and ensuring their rights, the manual draws on two key sources:

1. the rules of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, as reflected in the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement.
2. an increasing body of IDP-specific laws and policies already enacted and implemented by national authorities in countries of every region in the world.

This manual is addressed to national policymakers, competent ministries, legislators, and civil society groups concerned with internal displacement in the hope that it will be of direct and concrete assistance in crafting laws and policies that will prevent internal displacement wherever possible and mitigate its effects on the lives of IDPs worldwide. It will also be of use to the Representative of the Secretary General on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons (RSG) and his international partners in their ongoing efforts to promote effective national laws and policies to prevent, address, and resolve internal displacement.