A decade of displacement in the Middle East and North Africa

IDMC presented the key insights from its report Internal Displacement in Africa: An overview of trends and developments (2009-2023) to the Group of African Ambassadors in Geneva.

Insufficient commitments on climate finance and major deadlocks in negotiations made this year’s climate summit one of the least efficient to date, but there was some progress when it comes to addressing displacement through this lens. Looking at this year’s key outcomes, successful climate action for displaced people will require breakthroughs in 2025.  

As 2024 draws to a close, one thing is clear: it has been another extremely challenging year for millions of internally displaced people (IDPs), and solutions to displacement are as challenging as ever. This year, our work revealed alarming trends but also offered a foundation for progress. Here are seven key insights from 2024, from understanding.

Climate change is making weather-related events that trigger human displacement more frequent and more intense. It is also making communities more vulnerable and addressing the underlying drivers of displacement more urgent. In the Horn of Africa, countries are facing a future where extreme weather events, especially floods and droughts, are likely to occur more often. Without policy changes and investments today, these events could trigger millions of displacements in the region, from floods and droughts alone. Knowing where displacement might take place, and how many people are likely to be affected, can help policymakers minimise its negative impacts.

An overview of trends and developments (2009-2023)

Fifteen years ago, Africa was at the forefront of progress towards comprehensive responses to internal displacement. The African Union adopted the Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa, known as the Kampala Convention, in 2009. It was the first – and is still the only – legally binding regional instrument that addresses all causes and phases of displacement. It reflected the determination of African countries to address the phenomenon and set international standards for its management.

• Africa hosts 35 million internally displaced people (IDPs), nearly half of the global total 

• 32.5 million of these IDPs were displaced by conflict and violence, and 80% are concentrated in only five countries 

• Disaster displacement has increased nearly sixfold, mostly due to floods and droughts

Side-event at COP29

Displacement is one of the most significant forms of loss and damage, but it is underreported and overlooked in loss and damage assessments. It is necessary to account for displacement and its impacts in comprehensive loss and damage assessments to create better policies and responses for displaced people and to unlock adequate resources from climate finance. Action and support to avert, minimise and address loss and damage must be informed by data on displacement. Existing tools and methodologies are available to support countries in their efforts. At COP29, displacement must be a priority in decisions related to efforts to avert, minimise and address loss and damage.

• Displacement is one of the most significant forms of loss and damage, but it is underreported and overlooked in loss and damage assessments.

• It is necessary to account for displacement and its impacts in comprehensive loss and damage assessments to create better policies and responses for displaced people and to unlock adequate resources from climate finance.

• Action and support to avert, minimise and address loss and damage must be informed by data on displacement. Existing tools and methodologies are available to support countries in their efforts.  

• At COP29, displacement must be a priority in decisions related to efforts to avert, minimise and address loss and damage.

This publication is a combination of two reports that describe new models for estimating potential disaster displacement risk. The first section introduces a novel flood displacement risk model, and the second a new model for drought displacement risk. Both were developed under the HABITABLE project in partnership with the International Center for Environmental Monitoring (CIMA Research Foundation) and the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam for drought. The models focus in 3 countries in the Horn of Africa, specifically Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan, where there has been significant flood and drought displacement.  

Seven years into the conflict in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique’s northernmost province, internally displaced people, host communities and those who have returned home continue to struggle due to limited access to healthcare, livelihoods, and education.

In the first half of this year, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) experienced 2,741,000 internal displacements due to conflict and violence, the highest figure recorded for a six-month period since IDMC started its monitoring of the country in 2009. A new analysis of our data reveals that the conflict involving the March 23 non-state armed group caused more than 2 million, 73 per cent, of those displacements.

The trends that led to record levels of internally displaced people (IDPs) at the end of 2023 continued into the first half of 2024, in some cases, already setting new records. In this update, we highlight ten of the most notable situations from the first six months of the year.

We cannot afford to ignore an alarming trend: the number of disaster-induced displacements is on the rise, hitting hardest in regions already grappling with economic and social challenges.

Although Indigenous peoples only represent 5 per cent (1.8 million people) of Canada’s population, over 16 per cent of the people internally displaced in Canada in 2023 were Indigenous peoples living on reserves.

Le Rapport mondial sur le déplacement interne 2024 (GRID) présente les données et les analyses à propos des 75,9 millions de personnes vivant en situation de déplacement interne à la fin de 2023. Il s'agit de la neuvième édition du GRID et comprend des aperçus mondiaux et régionaux sur le risque, l'ampleur et les impacts du déplacement interne.

El Informe Global sobre Desplazamiento Interno (GRID) 2024 presenta los datos y el análisis detrás de los 75,9 millones de personas que vivían en situación de desplazamiento interno a finales de 2023. Es la novena edición del GRID y provee panoramas mundiales y regionales sobre el riesgo, la magnitud y las repercusiones del desplazamiento interno.

The 2024 Global Report on Internal Displacement (GRID) report presents the data and analysis behind the 75.9 million people living in internal displacement as of the end of 2023. It is the ninth edition of the GRID and includes global and regional insights into the risk, scale and impacts of internal displacement.

• Number of internally displaced people (IDPs) has grown 50% in last five years 

• Conflicts in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Palestine accounted for nearly two-thirds of new conflict movements in 2023 

• 3.4 million new movements in the Gaza Strip in the last quarter of 2023, leaving 1.7 million internally displaced by the end of the year 

We've launched our flagship report, the Global Report on Internal Displacement 2024, on Tuesday 14 May 2024.

IDMC made high-level and detailed contributions to the 14th Summit of the Global Forum on Migration & Development in Geneva, 23-25 January 2024.

As we near the end of 2023, I hope this message finds you well and healthy, with plans to wind down and relax with your loved ones.

The relation between climate change and human mobility has been discussed for more than a decade in global climate negotiations, but it is striking to see how much this topic has gained attention and visibility recently.  

To address the impacts of internal displacement, it is essential to understand how it affects the lives and resources of internally displaced people, the communities that host them and the governments responsible for them. Sadly, this information is rarely available to support decision makers in designing effective remedies. 

Representatives of Pacific and other countries convened on 24 November 2023 in Geneva for a ‘Dialogue on Human Mobility in the Context of Disasters and Climate Change in the Pacific Region’ with UN agencies and other partners. The Dialogue was co-organized by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), the Platform on Disaster Displacement (PDD) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

This year’s 25th anniversary of the Guiding Principles and IDMC’s founding provides an opportunity to assess the progress made in preventing, addressing and resolving internal displacement.

Conflict and disasters continued to force millions of people to flee their homes in the first half of 2023. Major earthquakes and storms led to record displacements in various countries, while new and ongoing conflict and violence triggered significant new movements in a number of hot spots. Some countries faced a combination of conflict and disaster displacement, further complicating the ability of internally displaced people (IDPs) to achieve solutions.

Unprecedented disaster internal displacements from the earthquake this February caused overall displacements in Syria to rise for the first time since 2019. The vast majority of people displaced by the earthquake in Syria were previously displaced by conflict, compounding their challenges.  

For over a year, around 350,000 individuals have been trapped in Djibo, a city located in Burkina Faso's Sahel region. Among them, three-quarters are internally displaced people seeking refuge from the storms of conflict. Since February 2022, non-state armed groups have blockaded the city, planting explosives on roads and destroying critical infrastructure including bridges, water points and phone installations.

IDMC's Global Report on Internal Displacement (GRID) is the world’s most trusted source of data and analysis on the risk, scale and impacts of internal displacement. The 2023 report is its eighth edition and includes a special focus on the complex relationships between disasters, conflict and violence, food security and internal displacement.

11 May 2023, Geneva - The number of internally displaced people (IDPs) around the world reached 71.1 million as of the end of 2022, an increase of 20 per cent from the previous year, according to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre’s flagship annual report.

In 2021, disasters triggered 13.7 million internal displacements in East Asia and the Pacific. As in previous years, the region accounted for the majority of disaster displacements recorded worldwide.

Indonesia is heavily affected by disaster displacement, with 6.5 million displacements recorded during 2012–2021.

Every year, monsoon rains cause floods and landslides that displace thousands of people across Nepal. Given its location between the Indian and the Eurasian tectonic plates, the country is also exposed to earthquake risk.

As in many small island developing states (SIDSs), exposure to flood hazards in Fiji and Vanuatu is driven by the growing concentration of people and assets in low-lying urban coastal areas. Disasters affect ever more people in these areas, causing increasing harm to employment, housing and basic services such as education and healthcare.

There have never been as many internally displaced people (IDPs) in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger as there are today. Over 2.2 million people were living in internal displacement across the three countries at the end of 2021, as a result of conflict, violence, and sudden onset disasters. 

Nevertheless, there have also never been as many initiatives, projects, and programmes in the region to address the impacts of internal displacement and prevent the risk of future displacement.

Papua New Guinea (PNG) is one of the most at-risk countries in the world for natural hazards. Weather-related and geophysical events—including floods, storms, landslides, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions—cause thousands of displacements each year. Most of the displacement goes unreported.

World Children’s Day is on 20 November and the occasion this year focuses on ensuring inclusion for every child, yet internally displaced children are often excluded from quality  education. Internally displaced people (IDPs) of all ages are largely unaccounted for compared with refugees and migrants, and little data of any kind is disaggregated by age, making internally displaced children twice invisible. To help fill this knowledge gap, IDMC has started collecting disaggregated data on education in eight countries, with more planned. Here, we outline some of the main findings from this research.

Internally displaced people (IDPs) account for more than half of the world’s forcibly displaced population, but there is relatively little information on the conditions they face. 

Producing accurate estimates of the scope, scale and impacts of disaster displacement and predicting future movements is difficult in many countries, given a lack of adequate reporting, differing concepts and metrics, and insufficient geographical coverage. Indonesia, however, is an exception.

A business case for investment in prevention and solutions

The island nation of Vanuatu has the highest disaster risk worldwide from natural hazards ranging from cyclones to volcanoes. Human activities, including rapid urbanisation, increase people vulnerability to displacement. Vanuatu's efforts to prevent and respond to the issue, however, are an example of good practise.

Conflict, violence, and displacement have been an inevitable feature of life for millions of Afghans for decades. A year ago, on 15 August 2021, the Taliban retook control of Afghanistan, ushering in an end to the worst of the fighting, but not the country’s displacement crisis. Its patterns may have changed, but people being forced from their homes and unable to return continues to be a critical issue.  

A four month nationwide truce in Yemen has provided much needed relief to people across the country and opened a rare window of opportunity for millions of internally displaced people (IDPs) and those at risk of displacement. It has reduced the number of people fleeing the conflict and improved the humanitarian situation. It is, however, a fragile truce. Prospects for further extensions and sustainable peace are uncertain. Violations have been recorded and humanitarian needs remain alarmingly high. Policymakers and humanitarian organisations should push for another extension beyond early August and, more importantly, intensify efforts to bring about a permanent resolution to Yemen’s conflict and displacement crisis. 

IDMC's Global Report on Internal Displacement (GRID) is the world’s leading source of data and analysis on internal displacement. This year's edition includes a special focus on internally displaced children and youth.

Since Russia launched a military offensive against Ukraine on 24th February, civilians have been caught in the crossfire. Residential areas, hospitals and schools are under attack. The ongoing conflict has triggered Europe's largest forced displacement crisis in decades. As the fighting intensifies and civilians face dwindling supplies of water, food and medicine, the number of refugees seeking protection across borders rises daily. The situation for internally displaced people (IDPs) is becoming clearer, but reaching those in need remains a major challenge.

June is Pride month in many countries worldwide, celebrated with public events and stories of LGBTIQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender/ transsexual, intersex and queer/questioning) history and contemporary life. For many internally displaced people (IDPs) in LGBTIQ communities, the month will be less celebratory. Some may have been displaced due to their LGBTIQ identity, and life in displacement has unique challenges for them. In this blog we bring attention to this often-ignored group and discuss ways to improve data related to LGBTIQ IDPs. 

The worsening humanitarian crisis in Tigray and ongoing drought, floods and conflict across Ethiopia are driving displacement and exacerbating the needs of internally displaced people (IDPs). With more than 1.2 million new displacements recorded in the country so far this year, Humanity & Inclusion and IDMC have partnered to explore why people with disabilities face compounding challenges during displacement and how to address them. 

With increasing disaster and displacement risk associated with our changing climate, now is the time to learn from countries who are experiencing it first hand. Viet Nam’s approach should inspire policy and decision makers. However, there is still progress to be made, including improving mitigation and adaptation measures and collecting richer displacement data.

The Global Report on Internal Displacement (GRID) is the definitive source of data and analysis on the risk, scale and impacts of internal displacement worldwide.

Toluwalola Kasali advocates for displaced people to achieve self-reliance in order to rebuild their lives with dignity and end their protracted displacement. In this guest blog, she shares the results of her work with IDPs in Nigeria and lessons learned to close the transition gap from aid-dependence to self-reliance. 

The Middle East and North Africa report on internal displacement, the first of its kind, delves into the scale, drivers, patterns and impacts of internal displacement in MENA. 

A year ago, we started assessing the severity of internal displacement around the world. Our severity assessment calls attention to situations of particular concern, highlights key threats to IDPs’ safety and wellbeing, and enables us to better measure progress towards durable solutions. Following a difficult year marked by the Covid-19 pandemic, we updated our severity assessment. Here is what we found.  

Governments, first-responders and humanitarian organisations responding to displacement triggered by disasters during the COVID-19 pandemic are faced with a complex challenge: to evacuate people safely into shelters and camps, while maintaining social distancing measures in settings which are usually overcrowded and where the risk of contagion is far higher. 

Here is our list of 10 opportunities to help overcome common challenges for dealing with disaster and climate displacement over the next 10 years. As we enter a new decade, it is time to realise the urgency of the issue and use this opportunity as a catalyst for new and innovative solutions.

Between 2016 and 2019, IDMC's Pablo Cortés Ferrández spent time in Colombia meeting some of the people affected by rural-to-urban displacement. This multimedia story is rich in the original art, recordings, and photos collected along the way.

Sudden-Onset Disasters and Displacement Risk

Drought caused at least 250,000 new displacements in 2019. We carried out original research in four countries to find out more.

The Global Report on Internal Displacement (GRID) is the authoritative source of data and analysis on the risk, scale and impacts of internal displacement worldwide.

It is the story of a severe humanitarian and developmental crisis. Of bursting IDP camps, malnourished children, unemployed women, dead or absent fathers.

Although forced displacement is a global phenomenon, it is more pronounced in Africa. Africa hosts over one-third of the global forced displacement population.

IDMC published its first estimates of the economic impact of internal displacement in eight countries in February 2019, using secondary data analysis to measure the cost of meeting the needs of internally displaced people (IDPs) in terms of health, education, security, housing and livelihoods. Country-specific data was mostly found in Humanitarian Response Plans and other reports, which limited the analysis to countries where such reports are available.

This report looks at the patterns, trends and impacts of internal displacement eight months after the passage of Cyclone Idai in Mozambique between the 4th and the 15th of March, from the initial emergency response phase to a longer-term recovery phase.

Internally displaced children are twice invisible in global and national data. First, because internally displaced people of all ages are often unaccounted for. Second, because age-disaggregation of any kind of data is limited, and even more so for IDPs.

Following decades of civil war, a comprehensive peace agreement and the subsequent independence of South Sudan in 2011 prompted as many as two million refugees to return to the world’s youngest country.

Internal displacement in the Northern Triangle of Central America (NTCA) is a serious and growing issue. However, the complex drivers and triggers of displacement in the region, many of which overlap or are interlinked, make it difficult to capture reliable data with which to fully gauge its magnitude.

War and displacement in Yemen are not primarily urban in nature. Despite the amount of media attention given to key urban battles such as the siege of Taiz and the battle for Hodeidah, nearly 70 per cent of conflict and displacement takes place in rural areas. 

The Global Report on Internal Displacement (GRID) is the authoritative source of data and analysis on the risk, scale and impacts of internal displacement worldwide.

The number of people reported to have been internally displaced and the complexity of internal displacement crises across the world have increased substantially in the last decade.

Sub title for Dev Test Good Practice