United Nations human rights operations have an essential role to fill in monitoring and protecting the human rights of returnees and internally displaced persons. People displaced within their own country can be particularly vulnerable to violations of their human rights and may need a specific form of human rights protection. Human rights officers can address the human rights protection needs of returnees and IDPS at several levels: during the period of displacement itself; in preparation for a return home; during a return process; and after a return, during a period of re-integration. At all stages, it is essential that human rights officers be familiar with the specific threats with which returnees and IDPs may be confronted, and with the relevant international law which provide protection against those threats.