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Migration and displacement governance

Migration and displacement governance is a chapter of Diplomacy Nexus: a specialist sub-community with its own group, editor and research agenda. Migration and displacement within humanitarian cooperation.

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01Contents

Migration and displacement governance in four parts.

In this dossier4 parts
  1. 01The chapterWhat Migration and displacement governance covers
  2. 02FrameworksThe instruments for people on the move
  3. 03JoinTake part
  4. 04SourcesWhere this page's references lead
02The chapter

What Migration and displacement governance covers.

  1. 01

    Members

    Specialists who work on the chapter's questions.

  2. 02

    Group

    A moderated group, opened when its hosting and terms are in place.

  3. 03

    Editor

    A named editor responsible for the chapter's pages.

  4. 04

    Research agenda

    Questions the chapter works on, starting from its cornerstone topic.

03Geography

People and hazards in the Tigris and Euphrates Basin.

Population density, night lights and flood water over the Tigris and Euphrates Basin, from NASA GIBS. Each layer carries its own date.

The interactive map needs JavaScript; the layer list and sources are below.

Layers 3

People and hazards, for this page

Latest available

NASA GIBS / EOSDIS · ASTER GDEM (METI, NASA) · Blue Marble (NASA) · © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) · Natural Earth

Loading the latest NASA imagery.

Drag to move. Ctrl or ⌘ and scroll, pinch or the buttons to zoom; hover for the values under the pointer; reset returns to the region.

People and hazards, framed on the Tigris and Euphrates Basin.Satellite and model products as NASA publishes them, each with its own date. They are indicators, not assessments of any place.

Data: NASA GIBS · ASTER GDEM · Blue Marble · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Natural Earth · NASA EONET · CIESIN/Columbia, NASA SEDAC HBASE · U.S. Geological SurveySources and licences

  • We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), Columbia University. 2018. Gridded Population of the World, Version 4 (GPWv4): Population Density, Revision 11. NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC). Licensed under CC BY 4.0. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). doi:10.7927/H49C6VHW. CC BY 4.0
  • VIIRS Black Marble night-time lights, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center; distributed by the NASA Level-1 and Atmosphere Archive and Distribution System (LAADS DAAC); imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • VIIRS near-real-time products (flood, land surface temperature, snow cover, corrected reflectance), NASA LANCE; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • NASA Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS), VIIRS 375 m active fire product, NASA LANCE; vector tiles via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • GPM IMERG precipitation, NASA Precipitation Processing System; distributed by the NASA Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC); imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • ASTER GDEM is a product of METI and NASA (ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model V003, NASA LP DAAC); imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). Cite as: NASA/METI/AIST/Japan Spacesystems and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team (2019). ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model V003. doi:10.5067/ASTER/ASTGTM.003. NASA open data
  • Made with Natural Earth. Free vector and raster map data @ naturalearthdata.com. Public domain
  • © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), via NASA GIBS (coastlines, boundaries, roads and place names). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). ODbL
  • Blue Marble, NASA Earth Observatory; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • Context on the globe and flat map: coastlines, boundaries, roads and place names from NASA GIBS reference layers (OpenStreetMap data, ODbL, © OpenStreetMap contributors); Blue Marble imagery as an optional base; 3D terrain and the elevation read-out from the ASTER GDEM elevation colour index (5 m to 200 m classes, exaggerated for legibility). Boundaries are drawn as published and imply no position on any territory.
  • Live events: NASA Earth Observatory Natural Event Tracker (EONET); events are indicative and keep their original source links.
  • Live: NASA EONET Events are indicative, not authority warnings.
  • Context: CIESIN/Columbia, NASA SEDAC HBASE. Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), Columbia University, and NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC): Global Human Built-up And Settlement Extent (HBASE) 2010; Seto, Guneralp and Hutyra 2012, Global Grid of Probabilities of Urban Expansion to 2030; Global Urban Heat Island (UHI) Data Set, 2013.
  • Live: U.S. Geological Survey Events are indicative, not authority warnings.
  • NASA GIBS: We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS).
  • Optional layers (5 sources in the layer list: live, forecast, observed and context) print their provider credit on the map and here when switched on; forecasts are model output and derived indices are estimates.

Layers and dates

  • Population density, 2020: Population: CIESIN, Columbia University, Gridded Population of the World v4.11 (2018), NASA SEDAC, CC BY 4.0 · static
  • Night-time lights, daily: VIIRS Black Marble (VNP46A2), NASA LAADS DAAC · 12 Oct 2026
  • Flood water, 3-day composite: VIIRS Global Flood Product, NASA LANCE · 14 Oct 2026
  • Active fires and thermal anomalies: VIIRS NOAA-20 375 m (FIRMS), NASA LANCE FIRMS · 13 Oct 2026
  • Land surface temperature, day, 8-day composite: VIIRS NOAA-20 Level 3, 8-day, NASA LANCE · 14 Sep 2026
  • Precipitation rate, daily mean: GPM IMERG, NASA GES DISC · 12 Oct 2026

04Frameworks

The instruments for people on the move.

InstrumentScope
1951 Refugee Convention and 1967 ProtocolRefugee protection
Global Compact on RefugeesResponsibility sharing
Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular MigrationMigration cooperation, including disaster and climate drivers
Kampala ConventionInternal displacement in Africa
Guiding Principles on Internal DisplacementIDP protection

Disaster displacement is followed through the Platform on Disaster Displacement.

05Process

How the process runs.

Process

Migration and displacement governance: Working group, charter to sunset

A working group is chartered by record for a fixed timebox, delivers bounded assignments, drafts and recommends, then dissolves unless renewed; it does not adopt.

  1. 01 Form

    1. 01NLC proposes the groupDecision · National Leadership CouncilThe NLC proposes working groups and nominates chairs, editors and experts from its leadership pools. It does not charter.
    2. 02Charter by recordDecision · National Standards CouncilA working group is chartered by record for a timebox of at most twenty-four months. The charter sets its scope, roles and decision rule.
    3. 03Members join by competenceStep · MembersExperts, practitioners, students and volunteers join by competence. Members declare interests and recuse on conflict.

  2. 02 Work

    1. 04Workplan from the national agendaStepAssignments come from the national agenda and the year's missions. Each states the competence it needs and how the work will be reviewed.
    2. 05Drafts and deliverables, delivered monthlyRecordGroups deliver monthly. For standards they draft the national profile and deviation register and run national public comment and pilots.

  3. 03 Review

    1. 06Contribution record and reviewGateEach contribution is recorded and reviewed. A working group drafts and recommends; it does not adopt.
    2. 07Recognition follows the recordRecordContribution records are kept, so that recognition follows the record.
    3. 08National adoption is decided elsewhereDecision · National Standards CouncilThe National Standards Council decides the adoption mode and the national profile. The working group proposes and never decides.

  4. 04 Close

    1. 09Dissolved by default, or renewed by recordDecision · National Standards CouncilA group is dissolved by default at the end of the timebox. The National Standards Council renews or closes it, on the NLC's proposal.

National Working Groups · National Standards Council · Decision rightsDesigned programme process, not a record of operation. No cycle has run and every programme is at service level R0. A gate is a programme decision, never a public-authority approval, certification or deployment authorisation. No working group is constituted. The charter rules belong to the proposed Nexus Standards working model.

06Join

Take part.

Write to the contact form. The acknowledgement gives a reference and names the next step.

07Sources

Where this page's references lead.

The bodies and documents this page is read against. Status and editions change; each link goes to the issuing body.

08Questions

Questions and answers.

Can a chapter become its own platform?
Yes, by meeting the ten-point graduation rule.
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