The Forgotten - The Stateless and Internally Displaced

Camps for people uprooted by natural disasters or armed conflict inside their own country can stir envy among locals and become a recruiting ground for armed groups, the International Committee of the Red Cross warned Thursday. In many cases displaced people are better housed in towns and villages, the ICRC said. Creating camps that can dwarf surrounding towns should be a last resort, as the health services, food and housing provided by aid agencies may draw people who would otherwise stay in their homes. "The lure of social services way beyond anything they ever experienced may encourage the flight," ICRC said in a 22-page ... Read Full Story

More than a million people in eastern and central Africa have fled their homes in the past six months, bringing the internally displaced population there to over 10 million, the UN said on Tuesday. Between March and September, 10 out of 18 countries in the region recorded a jump of 1.08 million in the number of internally displaced people (IDPs) mainly due to conflicts, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a report. A total of 10.18 million are now displaced within their home countries, it added. The escalation of fighting in central Somalia and eastern Democratic Republic of Congo ... Read Full Story

African leaders gathered on Thursday in the Ugandan capital for a two-day summit aimed at agreeing a treaty on improving the plight of the continent's 17 million refugees and displaced. The Convention on the Protection and Assistance of the Displaced People in Africa is the first of its kind aimed at internally displaced people, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). "The summit is aimed at pursuing durable solutions to the root causes and challenges of Africa's 17 million IDPs and refugees," Ugandan Minister for Refugees Tarsis Kabwegyere said ahead of the meeting. Political upheaval, conflicts and natural disasters have left ... Read Full Story

More than a million people in eastern and central Africa have fled their homes in the past six months, bringing the internally displaced population there to over 10 million, the UN said on Tuesday. Between March and September, 10 out of 18 countries in the region recorded a jump of 1.08 million in the number of internally displaced people (IDPs) mainly due to conflicts, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a report. A total of 10.18 million are now displaced within their home countries, it added. The escalation of fighting in central Somalia and eastern Democratic Republic of Congo ... Read Full Story

African leaders started a summit on Thursday aiming to agree measures to improving the plight of the continent's 17 million refugees. African Union Commission chairman Jean Ping said the huge numbers of displaced represent a threat to Africa's stability. "It's the continent's future that is at stake," he told the opening of the two day summit which was to ratify the Convention on the Protection and Assistance of the Displaced People in Africa. The convention is the first of its kind aimed at internally displaced people, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres ... Read Full Story