The Property Rights of Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons: Beyond Restitution pursues a rigorous examination of the various ways in which the protection of housing and property rights can contribute to durable solutions to displacement.

The breadth of the restitution standards found within this volume, combined with selected examples of case law and other materials, is a clear indication that a right to housing, land, and property restitution for refugees and displaced persons has emerged within the global legal domain.

The Property Rights of Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons: Beyond Restitution pursues a rigorous examination of the various ways in which the protection of housing and property rights can contribute to durable solutions to displacement.

This volume is a unique effort to cover the topic of the restitution of housing and property in light of lessons learned in the Balkans, South Africa, East Timor, and in a range of other countries that have made the shift from conflict to peace. Individual chapters by authors with direct experience dealing with housing and property restitution in particular contexts will bring into focus the legal and human rights aspects of this question. All parties involved in human rights, refugee assistance, post-conflict reconstruction and reconciliation, and property rights will find this volume to be an indispensable resource now that housing and property restitution is viewed as an essential element of post-conflict reconstruction and a primary means of reversing "ethnic cleansing.".

Despite the fact that there are up to 25 million internally displaced persons around the world, their plight is still little known. Like refugees, internally displaced persons have been forced to leave their homes because of war and human rights abuses, but they have not left their country. This has major consequences in terms of the protection available to them. This 2005 book aims to offer a clear and easily accessible overview of this important humanitarian and human rights challenge. In contrast with other books on the topic, it provides an objective evaluation of UN efforts to protect the internally displaced. It will be of interest to all those involved with the internally displaced, as well as anyone seeking to gain an overall understanding of this complex issue.

In the first Commentary on the United Nations Principles on Housing and Property Restitution for Refugees and Displaced Persons – known colloquially as the Pinheiro Principles – Khaled Hassine and Scott Leckie outline the restitution rights of persons who have faced forced displacement and the loss of their homes, lands and properties. The Commentary compiles and analyzes in considerable detail the legal contents of the Pinheiro Principles - a consolidated international instrument generated by the United Nations in 2005 to provide a solid normative framework on these questions and which legal duties exist for states and the international community to secure them. The book will be of vital interest for all actors concerned with applying restitution rights in practice.