UN Expert Warns Organised Crime Driving Surging Global Crisis in Displacement

In a sobering address to the 59th session of the UN Human Rights Council, Paula Gaviria Betancur, the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons (IDPs), sounded the alarm over the mounting threat of organised criminal activity as a primary cause of internal displacement across the globe. Citing a dramatic increase in displacement driven by criminal violence—doubling from 2023 to 2024—Gaviria Betancur described this trend as an urgent but overlooked crisis that demands targeted global attention.

Organised Crime’s Expanding Reach and Impact

The Special Rapporteur emphasized that organised criminal actors have evolved beyond their traditional roles, increasingly functioning as de facto authorities in areas where state presence is weak or absent. These groups forcibly displace individuals and entire communities through intimidation, extortion, violent land takeovers, forced recruitment, and other coercive tactics. Victims often find themselves subjected to ongoing abuses even after fleeing, including forced labor, sexual violence, trafficking, and exploitation.

“Criminal actors not only drive people from their homes but continue to violate their rights long after displacement,” Gaviria Betancur said. “These patterns of abuse often occur with total impunity, corroding the legitimacy of the State and weakening social cohesion.”

The Special Rapporteur’s report details how the pervasive threat of violence and instability from criminal groups fractures communities and fosters cycles of displacement that are difficult to break. Such dynamics also complicate efforts to implement durable solutions like return, resettlement, or local integration for displaced populations.

Legal and Policy Challenges: A Fragmented Response

The report underscores the complexity of addressing internal displacement driven by criminality. Unlike armed conflict or natural disasters, displacement in these contexts falls between legal and policy cracks. Organised criminality engages multiple legal regimes—criminal law, human rights law, and in some cases, international humanitarian law—yet does not align neatly with any single one.

Criminal groups are not homogenous, nor are their motivations—ranging from territorial control and drug trafficking to political destabilization and profit generation. This diversity of aims further complicates attempts to design effective, rights-based responses.

Despite the magnitude of the crisis, most States have yet to develop or adopt integrated frameworks capable of addressing internal displacement in the context of criminal violence. The few that do respond often rely heavily on militarised interventions, which the Special Rapporteur warns may backfire.

Militarised Approaches May Do More Harm Than Good

Gaviria Betancur expressed particular concern about the tendency of governments to use emergency powers and military force as default tools to counter criminal networks. These approaches frequently end up victimizing the very populations they claim to protect.

“States of emergency and military crackdowns might aim to disrupt organised crime, but too often they result in arbitrary detentions, excessive use of force, movement restrictions, and renewed displacement,” she said. “This is not just ineffective—it is a violation of fundamental human rights.”

The Special Rapporteur emphasized the urgent need for responses grounded in protection, not punishment. She cautioned against measures that prioritize control over compassion, warning that such tactics risk criminalizing displaced persons and entrenching cycles of violence.

Recommendations for Addressing Root Causes and Ensuring Protection

Instead of militarisation, the report advocates for a rights-based approach that places the protection of IDPs and other vulnerable populations at its core. Key recommendations include:

• Tackling Root Causes: States should invest in long-term strategies to address poverty, inequality, corruption, and weak governance, all of which create fertile ground for criminal networks to thrive.

• Strengthening Legal Protections: Legal frameworks must be adapted to ensure that victims of displacement by organised crime have the same rights and protections as those displaced by conflict or disaster.

• Ensuring Accountability: Effective investigation and prosecution of criminal groups and their enablers is essential. So too is the provision of remedies and reparations for victims.

• Facilitating Durable Solutions: States should support the return, relocation, or integration of IDPs in safety and dignity, ensuring access to livelihoods, housing, education, and health services.

• Promoting Inclusion and Participation: Displaced persons and affected communities must have a voice in shaping the policies that affect them.

Country Visit to the Marshall Islands

In addition to presenting her thematic report, Gaviria Betancur shared findings from her October 2024 country visit to the Marshall Islands. While her full report on this visit is forthcoming, she noted that the visit provided valuable insights into how climate change and rising sea levels intersect with broader displacement dynamics, including governance challenges and international support gaps.

A Call for Coordinated Global Action

Gaviria Betancur concluded her presentation with a strong call to the international community to recognize internal displacement caused by organised crime as a distinct and growing crisis. She urged governments, humanitarian agencies, and human rights bodies to work collaboratively to close the protection gap and ensure that victims are no longer ignored or treated as collateral damage in the fight against crime.

“This is a human rights emergency in plain sight,” she declared. “The world must act before more lives are lost, more families are uprooted, and more communities are destroyed.”