displaced due to armed conflict, situations of generalized violence and violations of human rights.<sup>28</sup> Data on IDPs monitored by IDMC are disaggregated and currently published separately for conflict-induced displacement and disaster-induced displacement.<sup>29</sup> At the country level the IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM)<sup>30</sup> provides data on IDPs in both conflict and natural disaster settings (activated in all major natural disaster contexts in recent years).

Global data on conflict-induced internal displacement reflect variations in how IDPs are defined across situations. There is no consensus on how far a person must flee in order to be considered internally displaced. The definition of internal displacement for nomadic populations, which account for a significant share of IDPs in the Horn of Africa and increasingly in the Sahel, is open to controversy.<sup>31</sup> Moreover, while some countries register IDP children born in displacement (e.g. Azerbaijan, Cyprus and Georgia), other countries do not (IDMC 2015). The crafting of a definition for IDPs and its application in a particular context may be heavily influenced by local and national politics in conflict and post-conflict countries, as well as the direct link between estimates of displaced populations and humanitarian assistance, which can lead to both over- and under-reporting. Consequently, comparing or aggregating data across displacement situations may be misleading.<sup>32</sup> Additionally, there is no consensus on when internal displacement ends. There are likely to be IDPs in protracted displacement who have no interest in returning to their original locations, are well integrated and no longer have specific vulnerabilities linked to their displacement. In particular, large numbers of IDPs have moved from rural to urban settings and their displacement is part of an urbanization process that in many parts of the world is a mega-trend that is rarely reversed. The definition of an end to internal displacement is hence complex, as it typically requires return (which may be unlikely, for example where IDPs have moved from rural to urban settings or in situations where they have spent extended time in the same place), integration (which is difficult to define) or settlement elsewhere in the country. IDPs can also become refugees if they cross an international border. In countries such as Colombia, IDP status is not attached to an individual but to a family, and is hence transmitted across generations (to facilitate the provision of reparations and other entitlements), and there is an imperfect system for removing IDPs from the register if they have achieved a durable solution or when they die. In other contexts, deregistration signifies not the achievement of a durable solution but rather the end of state or international support (IDMC 2015).<sup>33</sup> The absence of a clear and operational approach to defining the ‘end’ of internal displacement may be one of the factors behind the continued overall increase in the global numbers of IDPs. Lack of clarity around when displacement ends also leaves room for political manipulation. Governments may find it politically expedient to artificially prolong IDP status by deterring returns or local integration, for example in Azerbaijan and Georgia to promote claims over territory (Beau 2003). In other contexts, national 28 UNHCR’s IDP data focus only on internally displaced populations to which it extends protection or assistance. IDMC coverage of IDP data is more expansive and in 2015 included additional data on: (a) 26 countries accounting for 4.5 million IDPs including some significant IDP hosting countries (Turkey, India, Ethiopia, Bangladesh and Kenya); and (b) IDPs in countries where UNHCR is active who are not protected or assisted by the agency. In 2015, IDMC’s aggregate figure for conflict-induced internal displacement was 3.3 million higher than UNHCR’s aggregate figure for IDPs protected or assisted by the agency.

> 29 IDMC’s 2016 report presents both data sets alongside each other. In certain contexts, there can be significant overlaps in these two groups; however data systems may be maintained separately for conflict-induced displacement and natural disasters (e.g. in Afghanistan) leading to possible gaps or double counting if these categories are combined.

30 The IOM Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) is a system to track and monitor displacement and population mobility. It is designed to regularly and systematically capture, process and disseminate information to provide a better understanding of the movements and evolving needs of displaced populations, whether on site or en route. It has been active in over 40 countries since its inception in 2004. See http://www.globaldtm.info/.

31 This is typically defined as nomads not having access to their traditional routes, but routes can vary.

32 IDMC has recently adjusted their methodology to facilitate greater comparability across situations and improvements are reflected in IDMC’s end-2015 data.

33 This is not necessarily a problem if the purpose of the registration system is to delineate entitlements to assistance rather than to determine status.