Prior to 2003 most displaced Iraqis were forced out of their homes by the policies of successive Iraqi governments which used expulsion as a weapon to punish and subdue recalcitrant populations, secure valuable agricultural land and oil and water resources…
Between 1948 and 1950 World War II army barracks in the town of Neirab, 13 kilometres east of Aleppo, became home to refugees fleeing northern Palestine. For the past 56 years refugees have modified their shelters in the barracks as…
IDPs, unlike refugees, are not represented by a single UN agency. The option of creating an agency solely dedicated to the protection, assistance and recovery needs of IDPs has often been debated. However, given the sheer magnitude, scope and nature…
Among the barriers to education that IDP children frequently face are[1]: · Lack of infrastructure: In situations of conflict-induced displacement, schools have often been destroyed or damaged and school premises (and teachers) singled out for attack. In IDP camps and…
Internal displacement is not a new phenomenon, although the recent spate of activity and analysis of the issue might have you believe so. When the UN Charter and Refugee Conventions were being drafted in the middle of this century the…
In China, the context of forced displacement in its broadest sense centres on four issues: (1) coercive, immiserating displacement for development; (2) political persecution resulting in controlled displacement; (3) massive labour dislocations; and (4) disaster-induced displacement. This article looks at…
This is, at least partly, because countries experiencing crises of internal displacement are unlikely to possess national institutions capable of effectively providing their displaced citizens with the necessary support. Strengthening national capacity for response is essential in order that governments…
For decades the southern African region has been plagued by political crises which have generated huge populations of IDPs. The great majority of these populations remain, even today, undeclared and unassisted. But over the last few years, and led largely…
The first of these 'communities of peace' was San José de Apartado in the war-torn region of Uraba in the north-west of the country. Most of the 300 or so residents of this community (subsequently swollen to 800) were people…
The number of refugees worldwide has grown from 8 to 15 million in the last decade. In this context the much publicised rise in the number of asylum seekers coming to Ireland, from 424 people in 1995 to 3,883 people…