From the early 1990s, hundreds of thousands of Burundians fled their homes to escape fighting between the government and Hutu rebel groups seeking to put an end to the political dominance of the Tutsi minority. Many others, predominantly Hutus, were…
When communities are displaced, women, young people, the elderly and minorities are often marginalised. They seldom get a chance to participate in decisions that directly affect their lives, which can put them at greater risk of harm. Three evaluations of…
Since the 1970s, successive High Commissioners have recognised IDPs as a group with similar needs to those of refugees. In Sri Lanka in the early 1990s, Thorvald Stoltenberg extended UNHCR’s assistance and protection to IDPs who were on the fringe…
The plan to submerge large areas of the states of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra by the Sardar Sarovar Dam has been controversial ever since it was proposed by the Narmada Valley Development Authority.[1] In 1979 the Narmada Water Disputes Tribunal…
West Africa has been heavily affected by displacement. Internal conflicts based on ethnic tensions and rivalries, political instability, disputes over the control of natural resources, natural disasters, poverty, food insecurity and the imperatives of development have all resulted in significant…
More than three million Colombians – in a country with a population of 40 million – have been forced from their homes during the last two decades of conflict.[1] In recent years illegal armed groups have increasingly resorted to displacement…
Some 1,110 people in Lebanon, mostly civilians, and 156 Israelis, including 116 soldiers, have been killed in the conflict that flared up after Hizbollah captured two Israeli soldiers on 12 July. Approximately 900,000 Lebanese – out of a total population…
“By far the most protracted and largest of all refugee problems in the world today is that of the Palestine refugees, whose plight dates back 57 years. The UN General Assembly’s Resolution 181 of November 1947 recommending the partition…
One of the main objectives of the Zionist scheme in Palestine was eradication of Palestine from the map, both as a political entity and a basis of nationality. Today more than half of the eight million or so Palestinians are…
UNRWA began operations on 1 May 1950. Its first priority was to secure a reasonable standard of living for refugees by providing basic food rations, shelter and social welfare facilities. UNRWA’s first decade of work established the blueprint for its…