Internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Council of Europe states are entitled to human rights protection under instruments such as the European Convention on Human Rights (1950). The Council of Europe has endorsed the UN Guiding Principles on Internal displacement. The Ad Hoc Committee of Legal Experts on Legal Aspects of Territorial Asylum, Refugees and Statelessness (CAHAR) published the Principles on its website in March 2003.[1] A number of recommendations have also been adopted on specific situations of displacement in Europe, including: Recommendation 1424 (1999), an Evaluation of the humanitarian situation in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, particularly in Kosovo and Montenegro which urges that IDPs are treated in compliance with the ECHR. Paragraph 2 of the recommendation reiterates that IDPs should be treated in compliance with the ECHR and called for a major change in existing perceptions of internally displaced persons such as Serbs, Albanians, Turks, Roma and other minority groups at all political levels. Under paragraph 10, Council of Europe member states are urged to apply the principles of the ECHR to IDPs.

Recommendation 1499 (2001) on the Humanitarian situation of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Chechnya makes various recommendations on the treatment of Chechen displaced persons in the Russian Federation. Recommendations cover issues such as the efficiency of humanitarian assistance; the accommodation of IDPs; and food and healthcare for Chechen IDPs. Recommendations are also made to the international community to increase humanitarian aid to IDPs in Chechnya.

[1] See CAHAR Report: Guidelines Principles on Internal Displacement