During the past decade, awareness of the situation of persons who are forced to leave their places of usual residence for a variety of reasons has been rising. Because there is no single definition of internally displaced persons, estimates of their number vary, as do the causes of their migration. However, it is generally accepted that these causes range from environmental degradation to natural disasters and internal conflicts that destroy human settlements and force people to flee from one area of the country to another. Indigenous people, in particular, are in many cases subject to displacement. Given the forced nature of their movement, internally displaced persons often find themselves in particularly vulnerable situations, especially women, who may be subjected to rape and sexual assault in situations of armed conflict.
Internal displacement is often a precursor of outflows of refugees and externally displaced persons.
Returning refugees may also be internally displaced. Countries should address the causes of internal displacement, including environmental degradation, natural disasters, armed conflict and forced resettlement, and establish the necessary mechanisms to protect and assist displaced persons, including, where possible, compensation for damages, especially those who are not able to return to their normal place of residence in the short term. Adequate capacities for disaster preparedness should be developed. Measures should be taken to ensure that internally displaced persons receive basic education, employment opportunities, vocational training and basic health-care services, including reproductive health services and family planning. In order to reverse declining environmental quality and minimize conflict over access to grazing land, the modernization of the pastoralist economic system should be pursued, with assistance provided as necessary through bilateral and multilateral arrangements.