The displacement of people within their own countries due to conflict or natural disaster is a matter of growing concern worldwide. This concern is wholly justified in that time and again, internally displaced people (IDPs) suffer extreme hardship that jeopardizes their very survival. In situations of conflict, the ICRC continually calls on national authorities and all parties involved in the fighting to make every effort to prevent displacement.

A host of dangers threaten IDPs, whether during their flight, while they are displaced or even upon their return home or their resettlement elsewhere. The death toll among IDPs – especially among children, the elderly and pregnant women – frequently reaches alarming proportions, and the difficulties experienced by those left behind and by host communities further compound the problem.

When civilians flee a conflict zone, this is a good indication that the warring parties are indifferent to their rights under international humanitarian law (IHL) or, worse, are deliberately targeting them. IHL expressly prohibits any party to an armed conflict from compelling civilians to leave their homes. It affords IDPs the same protection from the effects of hostilities and the same assistance as the rest of the civilian population. Indeed, respecting the rights of civilians caught in armed conflict and other situations of violence is the best prevention against displacement.