Internally displaced persons often face a far more insecure future. They may be trapped in an ongoing internal conflict, without a place of safety to stay. The domestic government, which may view the uprooted people as enemies of the state retains ultimate control over their fate. There are no specific international instruments covering the internally displaced, and general agreements such as the Geneva Conventions are often difficult to apply. Until now, donors have been reluctant to intervene in internal conflicts and help this group.
Exact figures are impossible to calculate.
The international spotlight recently shifted to the IDP crisis. In the wake of World War Two, the international community focused its attention principally on helping the most obvious victims of the conflict refugees. As the cold war ended, the nature of conflict began to change, from superpower confrontation to smaller, internal struggles. These wars have helped produce far larger numbers of internally displaced victims. The International Committee of the Red Cross, as the guardian of the Geneva Conventions, has been active in this field for many decades.