Global Report on Internal Displacement 2017

22.05.2017 |

GENEVA/NEW YORK
There were 31.1 million new cases of internal displacement by conflict, violence and disasters in 2016. This is the equivalent of one person forced to flee every second.

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A man-made famine on our watch

03.05.2017 |

YEMEN
“I am shocked to my bones by what I have seen and heard here in war- and hunger- stricken Yemen. The world is letting some 7 million men, women and children slowly but surely, be engulfed by unprecedented famine, says NRC’s Secretary General, Jan Egeland.

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Lifesaving aid to people facing starvation

Drought and conflict have displaced millions of people, and four countries are facing an extensive humanitarian crisis. We are on the ground in Yemen, Somalia, South Sudan and Nigeria, helping communities affected by food crisis.

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The Norwegian Refugee Council is an independent humanitarian organisation helping people forced to flee.
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30 November 2016. Juba: Nyakuan Dador, originally from Mangatein, walks at the UN Protection of Civilians (PoC) site in Juba, South Sudan.

Nyakuan, mother of six children, doesn't know the whereabouts of her husband who is a member of the opposition forces. She has been displaced with her children since the civil war started nearly 3 years ago. The conflict officially broke out on December 15, 2013, between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and those loyal to former Vice President Riek Machar. Since then, an estimated 1.6 million people has been displaced inside the new country's borders. In addition, more than 640,000 people have fled to neighbouring countries. Hunger is on the rise.

According to OCHA, more than 6.1 million South Sudanese are in need of protection and humanitarian assistance such as food, clean water, education and other basic services.

Nyakuan Dador's story:

Nyakuan moved to the PoC right after the conflict started in December 2013. Her husband goes regularly in and out of the IDP camp to work as a trader in different villages to help the family to move on. “But it’s really hard to sustain our big family with so little income,” she explains. That’s why she also runs a small restaurant at the PoC.

Nyakuan complains about the lack of good education and healthcare, and even food. “Life was very different before the war,” the woman remembers, “in our homeland we used to have money to pay the hospital and school fees.” The mother regrets they are totally under the assistance of the humanitarian organizations. “These organizations are our parents now,” she says.

Nyakuan is a real supporter of good education in the PoC. “If our children go to the school everyday, they will become something good in the future,” she believes. However, Nyakuan admits that teachers are not paid and school materials are very short. That’s why her only message to the international community is providing support on education for the new generations.

“It has been a long time since we celebrated a proper Christmas,” Nyakuan says. She would like to cook something special for her guests, “but now there is nothing to prepare and no guests to come to my shelter.”

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Photo by Albert Gonzalez Farran - NRC

25. May 2017

Humanity has no borders

Two-thirds of all people who are forced to flee due to conflict and disaster are displaced within their own country. Despite soaring numbers, internally displaced people receive little global attention. “Humanity has no borders, and no group should be neglected,” says NRC’s Secretary General Jan Egeland.

DR Congo | 24. May 2017

Record High Displacement in DR Congo

During 2016, more than 920,000 people were forced to flee their homes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo according to a new report from the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre.

Ethiopia | 22. May 2017

Empowering women through cooperatives

ETHIOPIA/Somali region: Local women defy drought and come together to start their own business, boosting the local community and enhancing economic independence.

22. May 2017

More than 31 million people displaced within their own country in 2016

Conflict, violence and disasters caused 31.1 million new internal displacements in 2016, according to a new report released today by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).

Syria | 19. May 2017

Sitting exams, despite war

As Syrian students take their final exams, the Norwegian Refugee Council calls on all actors to ensure their safety at this critical stage in their education.

Central African Republic | 16. May 2017

The international community must remain mobilized in CAR

Six months after the donors' conference in Brussels, Action Against Hunger and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) are sounding the alarm and calling on the international community to remain mobilized so that the crisis in the Central African Republic (CAR) does not become forgotten.

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Vicente (76) sits in the sun. He explains the merits of the handmade basket his people have made for generations. It’s his job to teach his great grandson Andreas to make traditional handicrafts.

“All young people must learn,” he says. “They should all learn as I did before.”

But many of the old handicrafts that are traditional to the Jiw are dying out. The community has been uprooted from its ancestral land time and again because of the conflict. With each displacement, a little of their unique culture and traditions are lost.

In 2009, the Government classified the Jiw as one of the country’s 30 endangered tribes.

Forty years displaced
Some of the 17 families in this small community in El Salado have been displaced by violence since 1970.

Vicente, his daughter Luzdary (66) and Andreas are three generations of Jiw that have finally returned to their ancestral lands. They are part of a group that the Norwegian Refugee Council has helped to return to a place they can finally call home.

Traditionally a hunting tribe, Andreas proudly shows off a spear he uses for hunting.

“There are fewer animals nowadays than before though, and the men in the community must walk up to 8 hours when they go to hunt meat to feed the community,” says Andreas.

Andreas wants to work with computers when he finishes school. “People who work on computers make more money,” he laughs.

Vicente recognizes that the numbers of their people are falling. “Some families were as big as 50 people before,” he recalls. “But now are as small as 30. They left for the towns.”

Neglected communities
A peace deal signed in Colombia in 2016 paved the way for the country to rebuild, after the decades-long war.

International organizations are keen to support, and funding is coming in for development projects like strengthening peace. However, small communities like the Jiw who are in humanitarian need have been somewhat neglected.

Building a future
The Norwegian Refugee Council has been working with the Jiw Community in the Guaviare region since September 2015. We are helping to rebuild homes for hundreds of displaceden, women and children returning to their ancestral lands. We provide free legal counseling so that people know their rights on land issues. We also support children to return to school.

Date: February 2017
Photo credit: NRC / Michelle Delaney
Text: michelle.delaney@nrc.no

Perspective

Colombia’s disappearing tribe

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Uganda

Welcome to Uganda

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NRCs response to the Mosul crisis

IRAQ | MOSUL CRISIS

As of 18 April 2017, an estimated 400,000 people are currently living in displacement as a result of the military operations to retake Mosul.

NRC has assisted over 200,000 people who have fled Mosul since the 25 February with lifesaving assistance - food, water and shelter.

NRCs emergency response

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NORCAP: Expert deployment

Hans Christen Knævelsrud working on camp management for UNHCR in Zaatari Camp in Jordan (Photo: NRC/Christian Jepsen)

About NORCAP

NORCAP is the Norwegian Refugee Council’s expert deployment capacity. We aim to improve international and local ability to prevent, prepare for, respond to and recover from crises. We do this by bringing actors together and by sending experts to the UN and to national, regional and international organisations and institutions.

Shakiba (9) is giving a flower to Sara (4). They have both just arrived Chios, after fleeing from Afghanistan. In the background: Faribars (3).
Photo: NRC/Tiril Skarstein

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NORCAP works with partners on national, regional and international levels in order to contribute effectively to humanitarian operations. We provide expertise in various fields to support to a wide range of organisations and countries through the deployment of expert personnel.