INTERNAL DISPLACEMENT: A GLOBAL OVERVIEW

Abstract

Internal displacement caused by violent conflicts, systematic violations of human rights and other traumas is truly a global crisis, affecting an estimated 20 to 25 million people in over forty countries. Some five million internally displaced persons can be found in Asia. Although Asia is the continent with the smallest percentage of internally displaced persons in relation to the overall population, it is also the most heavily populated region and one with a great diversity of ethnic and religious identities—lines along which displacement tends to occur. Where problems of internal displacement do exist in Asia, they are severe.