Internally Displaced People
There are 62.5 million internally displaced people worldwide.
They are among the most vulnerable displaced people, often living in or near conflict zones and cut off from aid.
IDPs make up the majority of the global forcibly displaced population, accounting for 58% at the end of 2022.
At the end of 2022, 71.1 million people were internally displaced as a result of conflict, violence, and disasters, according to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC).
UNHCR exists to protect and assist everyone who has been affected by forced displacement, including IDPs. We assume a coordination and operational delivery role in IDP situations to ensure protection is central to our work in order to prevent further displacement. We also provide life-saving assistance and work to identify solutions for displaced communities.
Coordination and working with partners
We work with other humanitarian agencies to make sure we reach everyone in need, but we are all guided by the same set of policies which are set out in the principle working document, UNHCR’s Strategic Directions 2017-2021.
To coordinate assistance to IDPs, we use a cluster approach. A cluster is when a group of agencies work together to set up and deliver an area of assistance, such as shelter, health care, camp management or protection.
UNHCR leads the Global Protection Cluster, co-leads the Global Shelter Cluster with International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the Global Camp Coordination Camp Management Cluster (CCCM) with International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
More information on UNHCR’s coordination of the clusters at global and field level can be found in our Emergency Handbook.
UNHCR also co-leads the IDP Protection Expert Group with the Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons and the GPC to offer coordinated and collaborative senior-level support.
Global report on law and policy on internal displacement
This report documents three decades of experience in domestic law and policymaking on internal displacement in line with international standards and expert recommendations.
Read the global report in English (Also available in French, Spanish and Arabic)
Cross-Regional Forum on Implementing Laws and Policies on Internal Displacement
UNHCR and the Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons, in collaboration with the IDP Protection Expert Group, partnered with the International Institute of Humanitarian Law to convene a peer-to-peer exchange among government officials on implementing laws and policies on internal displacement.
- UNHCR Institutional Plan on Solutions to Internal Displacement
- Handbook on Internal Displacement for National Human Rights Institutions / French version / Spanish version
- Handbook for the Protection of Internally Displaced Persons
- Durable Solutions Preliminary Operational Guide
- IASC Principals Centrality of Protection in Humanitarian Action
- IASC Policy on Protection in Humanitarian Action
- IASC Framework for Durable Solutions for Internally Displaced Persons
- Handbook on Internal Displacement for Parliamentarians
