The views expressed are not necessarily those of the CIS Conference Secretariat. With the exception of some of the ecological displacements, the earliest movements included date from 1989. The great majority of statistics date from 1991 or 1992. With one or two exceptions, only movements of more than 10,000 people are included in maps and tables. Some represent data from one or two years only.
Major gaps remain.
Some countries keep very precise statistics on the types of movement covered in this publication. For some other countries, little data has so far been available for a variety of reasons. In certain countries, statistics are gathered differently and do not fit the standard categories. It is one of the leading operational agencies with the capacity to respond to major emergencies. It is currently responsible for some 27 million refugees, IDPs, returnees and war-affected populations.