CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 4 INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS (IDPs) MANY NEW DISPLACEMENTS AS WELL AS RETURNS OF IDPS By the end 2016, 40.3 million people were internally displaced due to armed conflict, generalized violence, or human rights violations. That is almost on a par with the 40.8 million reported the previous year, according to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC). 47 However, this total figure to some extent masks the enormous upheavals that continued to take place in 2016, with many large-scale new displacements as well as large numbers of people returning to their homes, often under difficult circumstances. Since the inter-agency cluster approach was introduced in January 2006, IDP statistics have been collected jointly by UNHCR and cluster members. The total number of IDPs, including those in IDP-like situations reported by UNHCR offices also decreased, albeit to a greater extent than estimated by IDMC. (The UNHCR figure is lower than IDMC’s global figure, as not all IDP populations were covered by UNHCR or cluster partners.) 48 At the end of 2016, the IDP population reported by UNHCR offices stood at 36.6 million, compared with 37.5 million a year earlier, a decrease of 0.9 million. This number comprised reports by 29 countries where UNHCR was engaged with IDP populations UNHCR > GLOBAL TRENDS 2016 during 2016, compared to 28 countries reporting the previous year. Of the 36.6 million IDPs, 13.9 million were assisted by UNHCR, compared with 13.3 million in 2015. During 2016, 5.5 million IDPs were newly displaced by conflict and violence in their countries, according to data reported by UNHCR offices. More than 1.3 million people were newly displaced in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, followed by South Sudan (865,000), Libya (630,000), Afghanistan (623,200), 49 Iraq (598,000), and Yemen (467,100). At the same time, 6.5 million IDPs returned to their areas of origin, and IDP numbers decreased by another 3 million as some crossed an international border and become a refugee or due to statistical adjustments. 47 For detailed statistics on global internal displacement, see the IDMC website at www.internal-displacement.org. 48 The total number of IDPs reflected in UNHCR’s official statistics constitute only those individuals that are internally displaced by conflict-induced situations and are protected/assisted by the organization. Therefore, the total number of IDPs reported in the annex tables of this report does not constitute the global number of IDPs worldwide. See IDMC for statistics on IDPs displaced due to disasters. 49 The figures for new internal displacement in Afghanistan are being reviewed, and adjustments are expected. 35