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Section
War and displacement
Section on how armed conflict results in large-scale displacement of civilians, both within the frontiers of a country and, as refugees, across international borders; reference material on the problem and illustrations from the field.
Darfur / Sudan : Internally displaced persons©ICRC / Pierre Abensur, 06/04 / Réf. sd-n-00220-19

They are obliged to travel long distances, often on foot, to seek safe refuge away from the fighting. Families are dispersed, children lose contact with their parents in the chaos of flight, elderly relatives too weak to undertake such an arduous journey are left behind to fend for themselves.

When people are displaced within their country’s borders as a result of an armed conflict or internal disturbance, they form part of the affected civilian population . As such, internally displaced persons (IDPs) are protected by international humanitarian law and benefit from protection and assistance programmes offered by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) under the mandate assigned to it by States.

See also the section : Refugees, internally displaced persons and international humanitarian law

Links to other sites : Displacement

Key document
    31-7-2007
    The ICRC's activities in favour of the displaced: 2006 operational overview
    The year 2006 was marked by the intensification of a number of conflicts and widespread violence that resulted in untold suffering for countless children, women and men many of them being displaced by the violence.
    (Focus\War and displacement)

    8-3-2007
    Internally displaced people
    The displacement of people within their own countries owing to war or natural disasters is a matter of growing concern worldwide. This concern is amply justified: time and again, internally displaced people (IDPs) suffer extreme hardship that jeopardizes their very survival.
    (Focus\War and displacement)

    3-7-2006
    ICRC position on internally displaced persons (IDPs)
    The purpose of this document is to explain the ICRC's position on the issue of IDPs. It discusses the operational challenges of responding to the plight of IDPs, the best ways of protecting and assisting IDPs, and the ICRC's contribution to the policy debate on this issue.
    (Focus\War and displacement)
    Includes PDF

ICRC activities
    16-3-2007
    War and displacement: key points
    Respecting the rights of civilian populations in armed conflict and other situations of violence is the best prevention against displacement. No affected person should be left unattended and all should benefit from protection and assistance in accordance with their needs.
    (Focus\War and displacement)

    26-8-2003
    Internally-displaced facing bleak fate in Serbia and Montenegro
    An ICRC study shows that close to 90 per cent of the internally-displaced people in Serbia and Montenegro, who fled after the conflict in Kosovo in 1999, live below the official poverty line. In financial terms, some 202,000 people have less than two-and-a-half Euros a day on which to survive.
    (Focus\War and displacement)
    Includes PDF

    2-4-2003
    Internally displaced persons in Serbia and Montengro
    In summer 1999, tens of thousands of Serbs and Roma fled Kosovo to take refuge in Serbia and Montenegro. To date, less than 2% have returned to Kosovo and a large number of the remaining internally displaced people (IDPs) continue to face serious hardship.
    (Focus\War and displacement)
    Includes PDF

    30-8-2002
    ICRC action on behalf of internally displaced persons
    The ICRC seeks to guarantee, in all circumstances, that victims of armed conflict and internal violence receive protection and assistance. It acts on the basis of a specific mandate conferred upon it by the States party to the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols. In accordance with this mandate, protection and assistance intended to preserve victims’ physical integrity and human dignity are the two main goals of ICRC action. Protection is a prerequisite for the success of any assistance operation and vice versa.
    (Focus\War and displacement)

Feature
    17-8-2008
    Georgia: uncertainty about the future haunts the displaced
    Since the start of the conflict in South Ossetia on 8th August, tens of thousands of people have fled from towns and villages all across Georgia. Many of them have made for the capital, Tbilisi, where they have found shelter in makeshift collective centres in schools, kindergartens and abandoned buildings. Now they wait for help from others, a situation they could never have imagined only a fortnight ago.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Eastern Europe and Central Asia\Georgia)
    Feature Includes Photo

    8-8-2008
    Central African Republic: the road home is paved with fear and poverty
    Several thousand people fled the Central African Republic (CAR) in 2002 and 2003 for the refugee camps of Yoroungou, Chad. Now, they have begun the journey home to their villages in the north-west of the CAR.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Africa\Central African Republic)
    Feature Includes Photo

    25-4-2008
    Sri Lanka: fisheries project gives life to returnees in the East
    As part of its attempts to promote economic security for the returnee population in the Batticaloa district, the ICRC has initiated an inland fisheries project aimed at restoring the livelihoods of more than 480 fishermen who earn a living from fresh water and lagoon fishing.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Asia and the Pacific\Sri Lanka)
    Feature Includes Photo

    13-2-2008
    Chad: with the displaced from N'Djamena
    Thousands of people have fled the fighting in the capital. Teams from the ICRC and the Red Cross of Chad went to find them. Report by Inah Kaloga of the ICRC.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Africa\Chad)
    Feature

    28-1-2008
    Kenya: a makeshift school, and porridge, for displaced children
    Eldoret showground, in the Rift Valley, is one of many public spaces that have been opened up to receive thousands of people displaced from their homes in Kenya’s post-election violence. The ICRC’s Anne Mucheke reports on what is being done for the children.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Africa\Kenya)
    Feature Includes Photo

    23-1-2008
    Kenya: Red Cross counsellors provide needed help for displaced
    About 1,500 people remain at the police station camp for the displaced in Kakamega. Many of them own small businesses in the town and are reluctant to abandon their property. Red Cross counsellors are providing much-needed support to those who are at a loss as to where to go from here. Bernard Barrett reports.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Africa\Kenya)
    Feature Includes Photo

    17-1-2008
    Kenya: a long-term effort needed for victims of violence
    With the political situation in Kenya still tense, the humanitarian consequences of the post-election violence persist and the people affected remain in need of ongoing support. The Kenya Red Cross and the ICRC are preparing to help for the long term.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Africa\Kenya)
    Feature Includes Photo

    15-1-2008
    Kenya: ensuring proper water supply for the displaced
    Thousands of people who fled their homes following the violence in Kenya are now at risk of not having sufficient access to clean water. The ICRC and Kenya Red Cross (KRCS) are teaming up to rectify the situation in central Rift Valley. Bernard Barrett reports.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Africa\Kenya)
    Feature Includes Photo

    14-1-2008
    Kenya: displaced families rely on aid after homes are destroyed
    The violence in Kenya has killed hundreds of people and forced an estimated quarter of a million from their homes in the Rift Valley region. Many have gathered at public sites where they are surviving on hand-outs. The ICRC's Anne Mucheke reports.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Africa\Kenya)
    Feature Includes Photo

    8-1-2008
    Displaced Kenyans face uncertain future
    Thousands of displaced people are on the move in Kenya, leaving Nairobi and the surrounding region for centres further south and east. The Kenya Red Cross, with the support of the ICRC, is providing food and material support. Bernard Barrett reports.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Africa\Kenya)
    Feature Includes Photo

    1-10-2007
    Uganda: promoting community health in Gulu
    Labworomor health centre in Gulu district has made a remarkable difference in the lives of thousands of local residents and internally displaced people. However, the small four-roomed building that houses the clinic has not been spared by the 20-year conflict that has ravaged northern Uganda. Journalist Denis Ocwich reports on the ICRC's comprehensive effort to rehabilitate 13 dilapidated health centres in the region.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Africa\Uganda)
    Feature Includes Photo

    28-9-2007
    Uganda: water and sanitation project restores hope in IDP camps
    With a population of 46,000, Pabbo is the largest internally displaced persons (IDP) camp in the Gulu district, filled with rural folk who fled the countryside in the early 1990s due to armed conflict. Ugandan journalist Denis Ocwich reports on an ICRC water and sanitation project that has given rise to new hope by improving health in the camps.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Africa\Uganda)
    Feature Includes Photo

    7-9-2007
    “Her daughter and grandson were spared, but her husband was killed”
    “Less than a month after they arrived in the area, these people started coming into the village. They would gather us together and warn us not to give anything to any other armed men who came to the village. They threatened us constantly. Wives and mothers cried for their husbands and sons who had gone missing”. This is how Amalia de la Concepción Navarro describes the situation that she faced when living in a village in the Montes de María area (Sucre).
    (The ICRC worldwide\The Americas\Colombia)
    Feature Includes Photo

    28-8-2007
    “In four months we lost what took us over eight years to build”
    Essentially, Aurora Ávila is a leader. The problems she faced in her life confirmed her calling to do community work.
    (The ICRC worldwide\The Americas\Colombia)
    Feature Includes Photo

    27-8-2007
    Colombia: the ICRC assistance programme for the displaced
    To be displaced is not just to have to flee. To be displaced is to lose everything. Every year, hundreds of thousands of Colombians are forced to abandon their homes to save their lives. Ten years ago, the ICRC launched an emergency humanitarian assistance programme for Colombia's displaced. Since then, it has helped more than a million displacement victims.
    (The ICRC worldwide\The Americas\Colombia)
    Feature

    31-7-2007
    Central African Republic: hoes help the displaced survive in the bush
    Following numerous attacks in north western C.A.R., whole villages were emptied as families fled to the forest. In an effort to assist the most vulnerable, the ICRC has distributed a number of key household items to over 13,000 families, not least of which hoes to work their fields.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Africa\Central African Republic)
    Feature Includes Photo

    19-7-2007
    Lebanon: refugees again
    In Lebanon, it's not enough that Abu Hisham was made a refugee in the 1940s when he had to leave his native Nazareth. In 2007, he's been forced to flee again with the outbreak of fighting in a refugee camp in northern Lebanon.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Middle East and North Africa\Lebanon)
    Feature

    20-6-2007
    Darfur: how a young woman escaped the violence
    Sousan is one of hundreds of thousands of people forced to flee their homes by the violence in Sudan’s Darfur region. Displaced twice in order to survive, she told her story to the ICRC’s David Ito.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Africa\Sudan)
    Feature Includes Photo

    18-6-2007
    Family reunion brings tears of joy to beleaguered West Darfur
    Howeyda Abdullah Awadh is a shy fifteen-year-old girl with a gorgeous smile. She had plenty to smile about at a recent family reunion in West Darfur. The ICRC's Ayman Alshehabi reports from Al Geneina.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Africa\Sudan)
    Feature Includes Photo

    27-2-2007
    Uganda: a lesson in courage given by women
    In northern Uganda, almost 1.5 million people, most of whom are Acholis, have had to abandon their villages and their fields and seek refuge in camps for internally displaced persons. Some of them have been living in these camps for ten years. They have tried to recreate a community there. But it has been difficult.
    (Focus\Women and war)
    Feature Includes Photo

    27-2-2007
    Women in Iraq: “Like being inside a big prison”
    The plight of women in Iraq is of growing concern, with increasing reports of murders, rapes and kidnappings, as well as general intimidation and oppression. Three Iraqi women give their views on living under the threat of violence.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Middle East and North Africa\Iraq)
    Feature Includes Photo

    31-1-2007
    Sierra Leone: shelter-for-war-widows brings hope to a woman
    The war in Sierra Leone displaced hundreds of thousands of victims, the majority of whom fled to neighbouring Guinea and Liberia. They left behind a plethora of humanitarian problems, including wanton destruction of life and property.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Africa\Sierra Leone)
    Feature

    30-1-2007
    Darfur: weighing up the situation as community spirit thrives in Gereida camp
    At this time of year, the flimsy grass and tarpaulin shelters that are home to over 120,000 people in Gereida camp provide little protection from the whipping wind. At the moment however, it is not so much the weather that is troubling people in this vast sea of displaced humanity, but concern about food. The ICRC's Jessica Barry reports from the heart of the camp where kinship values are alive and well.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Africa\Sudan)
    Feature Includes Photo

    18-1-2007
    Darfur field surgical team: saving lives in the classroom
    The ICRC undertook to address the needs of weapon-wounded people in Darfur with the establishment in April 2005 of a fast-response, mobile field surgical team (FST). The ICRC's Jessica Barry recounts the story of a teaching nurse who recently had the opportunity to experience the daily travails of the FST firsthand.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Africa\Sudan)
    Feature Includes Photo

ICRC film
    18-1-2008
    Central African Republic: stranded in the bush
    Film showing the impact of violence in northern parts of the Central African Republic, that has left villages torched, people attacked and killed, children kidnapped. Tens of thousands have fled, scattering deeper into the equatorial forest and setting up makeshift camps, where they rely on aid to survive.
    (Info resources\ICRC publications and films\Films\From the field)
    ICRC film Includes Video

    27-2-2007
    Colombia: searching for safety
    Colombia has been ravaged by over four decades of armed conflict. An estimated three million people have fled violence in the countryside. In this film, we meet Carmen, Maria and Anna who have moved to Bogota in search of safety. They survive, despite their minimal income and the constant fear of further violence, receiving some help from the ICRC's emergency assistance programme.
    (Info resources\ICRC publications and films\Films\From the field)
    ICRC film Includes Video

    26-2-2007
    Liberia: homecoming in Gorlu
    After 14 years of war, the villagers of Gorlu in Lofa County are finally starting to come home. But life is hard, especially for the women. Lofo, grandmother of seven, was forced out of the village 10 years ago and she's lost everything. But with tolerance and humour, she is determined to put down her roots again. With some assistance from the ICRC, her new house gradually takes shape.
    (Info resources\ICRC publications and films\Films\From the field)
    ICRC film Includes Video

    26-2-2007
    Women fleeing war
    Armed conflict displaces people from their homes and livelihoods. Women often have to cope with the loss of close relatives and find new way to support themselves and their families. The ICRC works to understand the specific needs of women displaced by war, in order to better help them. This film tells the story of five women displaced by conflict in Colombia, Liberia and Sudan. Although the contexts are different, the challenges these women face bear striking similarities.
    (Info resources\ICRC publications and films\Films\Protection)
    ICRC film Includes Video

    30-4-2005
    Forgotten victims: ICRC in Northern Uganda
    We meet the children who have taken shelter in camps for the displaced in Northern Uganda, fleeing attacks by the Lord’s Resistance Army. Kenneth and his friends tell of their daily struggle for survival. The film shows how the ICRC works in the camps alongside the Uganda Red Cross Society to help people who have been displaced by conflict.
    (Info resources\ICRC publications and films\Films\From the field)
    ICRC film Includes Video

    31-12-2002
    War and displacement
    As a supplement to the War and Displacement information kit, there are three short films which can be used to support War and Displacement presentations. The first film focuses on victims and highlights the challenges facing the Movement in its work on behalf of internally displaced persons and refugees. The other two films are taken from the Women facing War series.
    (Info resources\ICRC publications and films\Films\Protection)
    ICRC film

ICRC Publication
    23-2-2007
    Internally displaced people
    The displacement of people within their own countries owing to war or natural disasters is a matter of growing concern worldwide. This concern is amply justified: time and again, internally displaced people (IDPs) suffer extreme hardship that jeopardizes their very survival.
    (Info resources\ICRC publications and films\Publications\Protection)
    ICRC Publication Includes PDF

International Review of the Red Cross
Interview
    15-8-2008
    Georgia/Russian Federation: civilians in need in conflict affected areas
    The humanitarian situation of thousands of civilians affected by the conflict in Georgia remains extremely serious. As far as the security situation allows, the ICRC is responding to the crisis by providing medical supplies and emergency assistance items, as well as providing water and improving living conditions in shelters for the displaced. The head of the ICRC's Eastern Europe department, Pascale Meige Wagner, explains.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Eastern Europe and Central Asia\Georgia)
    Interview Includes Photo

    14-8-2008
    Georgia/Russian Federation: assistance through rapid deployment makes the difference
    As Georgia continues to reel from the violence of the past week, the ICRC's emergency response is in full swing. So far, almost 100 tonnes of relief supplies have been flown to the affected region. The organization has also sent over 40 additional staff to Georgia and the Russian Federation to support efforts in helping people who were forced to flee their homes. The ICRC's rapid deployment adviser, Samuel Bon, describes the role of the Rapid Deployment Unit, and how it is helping to bring assistance to thousands of people in Georgia and North Ossetia.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Eastern Europe and Central Asia\Georgia)
    Interview Includes Photo

    13-8-2008
    Economic support for thousands of families in Congo-Kinshasa - A major challenge at a time of global food crisis
    To cope with the tragic situation in North and South Kivu, the ICRC has nearly doubled its assistance to people affected by the internal armed conflict. Ian Byram, who heads the ICRC’s economic security unit in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, explains the action being taken by the ICRC to meet people’s needs.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Africa\Congo-Kinshasa)
    Interview Includes Photo

    12-8-2008
    Georgia/Russian Federation: ICRC delivers assistance to civilians in conflict affected areas
    The ICRC is flying 15 tonnes of medicine and medical supplies to Georgia on Tuesday to help treat those injured in the armed conflict involving Georgian, South Ossetian and Russian troops. Large numbers of civilians have been hurt in the conflict and thousands have been forced to flee their homes. Sangeeta Koenig, the ICRC's deputy head of operations for Eastern Europe, talks about the organization's response to the crisis.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Eastern Europe and Central Asia\Georgia)
    Interview Includes Photo

    30-6-2008
    Somalia: humanitarian crisis deepens amid growing insecurity
    Somalia is facing its worst crisis in a decade, with drought, fighting and spiralling food prices having a devastating effect on the population. Pascal Hundt, the ICRC's outgoing head of delegation in Somalia, describes the complexities of the enduring conflict, and the ICRC's role in helping the Somali people cope with a multitude of hardships.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Africa\Somalia)
    Interview Includes Photo

    23-4-2008
    Somalia: 'delivering the goods' despite increasingly volatile climate
    The situation in Somalia is growing steadily worse, with increasing violence having caused a mass exodus from Mogadishu. Daniel Gagnon, the ICRC's economic security delegate in Somalia, describes the plight of the beleaguered Somali people, and what the ICRC is doing to help.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Africa\Somalia)
    Interview Includes Photo

    8-4-2008
    Chad: adapting assistance to specific needs of the displaced in the east
    Following the failed offensive on the Chadian capital, N'Djamena in early February, increasingly frequent confrontations between armed opposition groups and the army continue in Chad, along with regular, localized inter-community violence in the East. Upon return from a visit to Chad, the ICRC's deputy director of operations, Dominik Stillhart, describes the current humanitarian situation and in particular ICRC's specific approach to assistance in Eastern Chad.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Africa\Chad)
    Interview Includes Photo

    18-2-2008
    Humanitarian situation worsens as Afghan hostilities spread
    The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is deeply concerned about the worsening humanitarian situation in Afghanistan. As armed hostilities spread and insecurity grows, more and more people are being forced to flee their homes. It is also becoming increasingly difficult for the ICRC to access displaced people throughout the country. In addition, freezing temperatures and blizzards have affected several areas, killing hundreds. Interview with Franz Rauchenstein, ICRC deputy head of delegation in Afghanistan.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Asia and the Pacific\Afghanistan)
    Interview Includes Photo

    11-1-2008
    Displaced in Kenya: reaching those in need
    Over 250,000 people are on the move in Kenya as a result of post-election violence. Pascal Cuttat, the ICRC's head of delegation in Nairobi, says that the main focus and challenge at the moment is to meet the needs of the displaced in the Rift Valley and Western Kenya, a challenge that is being amply met in collaboration with the Kenya Red Cross.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Africa\Kenya)
    Interview Includes Photo

    13-12-2007
    Colombia: improving displaced people's access to education, work and housing
    Interview with Christina Oberli, economic security project coordinator for the ICRC's delegation in Colombia.
    (The ICRC worldwide\The Americas\Colombia)
    Interview Includes Photo

    17-9-2007
    North Kivu: fighting blocks aid workers’ access to victims
    Yann Bonzon, head of the ICRC’s Goma sub-delegation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, talks about the situation in North Kivu province since fighting resumed between government forces and certain armed opposition groups.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Africa\Congo-Kinshasa)
    Interview

    7-6-2007
    Central African Republic: remaining close to the victims
    The combined effects of poverty and internal conflict have caused tremendous suffering in the Central African Republic, especially among displaced groups in the north of the country. Jean-Nicolas Marti, head of the ICRC's delegation in Bangui, explains how the organization intends to improve the situation in 2007.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Africa\Central African Republic)
    Interview Includes Photo

    22-5-2007
    Sri Lanka: bringing relief despite intense fighting
    The ICRC is helping more than 12,000 internally displaced people now living on the coastline after they fled clashes inland between governmental forces and the Tamil Tigers. Toon Vandenhove, ICRC head of delegation in Sri Lanka, insists that access to victims should be provided at all times.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Asia and the Pacific\Sri Lanka)
    Interview Includes Photo

    26-2-2007
    Women displaced by war
    On the occasion of International Women's Day (8 March), Florence Tercier, ICRC's women and war adviser, explains why the plight of displaced women is a particularly difficult one.
    (Focus\Women and war)
    Interview Includes Photo

Official Statement
Photo Collection
    26-8-2008
    Georgia/Russian Federation conflict: a selection of photos - 2
    The following selection of photographs can be downloaded at high resolution.
    (Info resources\Photos\Eastern Europe and Central Asia)
    Photo Collection Includes Photo

    19-8-2008
    Georgia/Russian Federation conflict: a selection of photos - 1
    The following selection of photographs can be downloaded at high resolution.
    (Info resources\Photos\Eastern Europe and Central Asia)
    Photo Collection Includes Photo

    20-5-2008
    The many faces of displacement in Africa
    They are forced to travel huge distances, often on foot, to seek safe refuge from the fighting – these are the displaced populations of Africa. The following collection provides a glimpse of the many places in Africa where people are forced to leave their homes.
    (Info resources\Photos\Africa)
    Photo Collection Includes Photo

    8-3-2007
    Sri Lanka: fleeing for their lives
    The armed conflict in Sri Lanka has once again caused massive population displacements. Tens of thousands of men, women and children have been driven from their homes and forced to seek shelter in camps. Most of them were unable to take anything with them and lack even the most basic necessities.
    (Info resources\Photos\Asia and the Pacific)
    Photo Collection Includes Photo

    26-2-2007
    Women and displacement: bearing the burden
    Women bear the brunt of the burden of displacement, having to strike a delicate balance between the risks they run in often hostile environments and the imperative to provide for the immediate needs of the family. This gallery provides a glimpse of contexts from around the world in which the ICRC is active and in which courageous women come together in their struggle to survive in sometimes impossibly difficult environments.
    (Info resources\Photos)
    Photo Collection Includes Photo

    30-1-2007
    Protecting and assisting internally displaced people
    A series of images that illustrates the ICRC's work in support of internally displaced persons (IDPs), portraying the great diversity of contexts in which people are forced to leave their homes.
    (Info resources\Photos)
    Photo Collection Includes Photo

Press article
    2-1-2008
    Unrest in the Central African Republic
    Larger than France, with a population of just 4 million, the Central African Republic (CAR) is the world’s sixth poorest country. Increased insecurity and a series of uprisings in the north have plunged the country into a deep crisis. Article publié dans le Magazine Croix-Rouge Croissant-Rouge, No 3, 2007
    (The ICRC worldwide\Africa\Central African Republic)
    Press article Includes Photo

    2-1-2008
    Haunted guests: Iraqis seek refuge with their neighbours
    In the largest population movement in the Middle East since 1948, a huge influx of Iraqis is putting pressure on services in Jordan and Syria. How are their Red Crescent Societies responding to the needs? Article published in the Red Cross Red Crescent Magazine, No 3, 2007
    (The ICRC worldwide\Middle East and North Africa\Iraq)
    Press article Includes Photo

    24-9-2007
    Flight of the Colombians
    Colombia’s conflict is the longest of modern times, still continuing after more than 45 years. Hardly anyone is spared by the violence. Some have no choice but to leave their homes to escape threats, harassment or worse. Article published in the Red Cross Red Crescent Magazine, No 2, 2007
    (The ICRC worldwide\The Americas\Colombia)
    Press articleYves Heller

    17-5-2006
    Amid chaos, Katangans driven from homes by war
    To survive attacks by marauding militias, 170,000 Congolese have taken refuge on remote islands on Lake Upemba. In early May, the ICRC was finally able to get relief supplies to them. A report by Richard Werly that first appeared in the French language newspaper, "Le Temps", on May 17 2006. It is reproduced here with the newspaper's kind permission.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Africa\Congo-Kinshasa)
    Press articleRichard Werly Includes Photo

    1-10-2005
    Protection of IDPs: an ICRC view
    IDPs are of primary concern to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Ensuring their protection lies at the core of its mandate, operational concerns and priorities - article published in Forced Migration review, IDP Supplement, October 2005. By the head of the Protection Division, ICRC.
    (ICRC Activities\Protection)
    Press articleAlain Aeschlimann Includes Photo

    31-7-2005
    Darfur’s refugees in Chad
    Some 200,000 civilians, many of them women and children, have crossed Chad since 2003, fleeing the ongoing violence in the western Sudanese province of Darfur. The refugees and the local populations are sharing the region’s limited resources, but tensions are rising as competition increases for food, firewood and water – Article published in the Red Cross Red Crescent Magazine, No 2, 2005
    (The ICRC worldwide\Africa\Sudan)
    Press articleRosemarie North

Report
Video Collection
    21-8-2008
    Georgia: ICRC gets help to people caught up in conflict
    In the first days of the emergency, hundreds of tonnes of food, blankets and sanitary supplies were flown into the Georgian capital, Tbilisi. During his 3 day visit to Georgia and the Russian Federation, ICRC President Jacob Kellenberger saw the difficult conditions for himself, and met some of the thousands of people displaced by fighting and in urgent need of assistance.
    (Info resources\Video)
    Video Collection Includes Video

More in this section
    4-7-2008
    Internal Displacement of Populations in Armed Conflicts
    Recommendations made at the 10th joint seminar of the Department of Political Affairs of the African Union Commission and the International Committee of the Red Cross. The seminar was aimed at contributing to the current debate on the problematic of the internal displacement in Africa with a clear focus on armed conflict and other situations of violence.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Africa)

    30-8-2002
    Legal protection of internally displaced persons
    Despite not being the beneficiaries of a specific convention, as is the case for refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs) are protected by various bodies of law, principally national law, human rights law and, if they are in a State experiencing an armed conflict, international humanitarian law.
    (Focus\War and displacement)



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© 2008  International Committee of the Red Cross
28-08-2008