Table A.3: Illustration of the changes in the AHHS for Benin between 2008 and 2016 For the purpose of the example we use a hypothetical number of 1,000 households displaced Estimated number of people displaced applying the AHHS respective to the year of the figure AHHS as of 2008 AHHS as of 2010 AHHS as AHHS as of 2012 of 2014 AHHS as of 2016 5.2 5.1 5 4.9 4.8 5,200 5,100 5,000 4,900 4,800 IDMC’s data collection, analytical process, definitions and decision rules Definition of an IDP We use the definition of an IDP contained in the 1998 Guiding Principles. The criteria related to the “forced” nature of displacement “within internationally recognized borders” is fundamental in determining whether a person is an IDP, but the Guiding Principles do not set other criteria by which to identity a person fleeing their “home or place of habitual residence”. As such, we interpret IDPs to include not only citizens of a country in which displacement takes place, but also non-nationals such as migrants and asylums seekers in Libya, and Palestinian refugees in Syria and Lebanon; refugees who have returned to their home country but have been unable to go back to their habitual place of residence, such as Afghan refugees returning from Pakistan (see part 2); and stateless people such as the Rohingya. Forced displacement should not only be associated with the notion of a fixed place of residence, but also flight from traditional “living spaces” that support people’s livelihoods, such as pastoralists’ grazing areas. Given that the concept of habitual residence is intimately linked to the issue of livelihoods, people who have lost them as a result of their displacement – such as pastoralists in Somalia and elsewhere in eastern Africa – are considered IDPs. We consider a person to be displaced regardless of how far or for how long they flee. The IASC framework on durable solutions deems displacement to have ended when IDPs have returned home, integrated locally in their place of refuge or settled elsewhere in the country in a sustainable way, and no longer have vulnerabilities linked to their displacement. We acknowledge this concept, but for the purpose of our 102 GRID 2017 monitoring and reporting, we do not count IDPs who have returned to their area of origin or place of habitual residence as IDPs, and subtract the figure from our total estimates, whether they are known to have achieved a durable solution or not. This is because in the vast majority of cases it is not possible to properly gauge the extent to which IDPs have achieved a lasting end to their displacement or not. On the other hand, we consider children born in displacement to be IDPs, and they are included in our estimates. This is particularly pertinent in countries such as Azerbaijan, where displacement has lasted for decades. As such, the number of IDPs in these countries may increase over the years as a result of demographic trends, despite the fact that the original trigger has long ceased to cause any new displacement. For countries that have been divided into two internationally recognised states, such as Sudan and South Sudan, we do not consider people whose former place of habitual residence is in one of the new entities and refuge in the other as IDPs. For instance, we do not consider a person who fled from what was formerly southern Sudan to northern Sudan an IDP following the creation of South Sudan, but people displaced within either Sudan or South Sudan are considered IDPs. Data sources Our ability to report on displacement and provide reliable estimates is contingent on the availability of sources, and their willingness to gather and share data. We draw on information produced or compiled from a wide range of source types. Governments might be expected to have the primary responsibility for counting IDPs, but many others are involved in data gathering, including international organisations, community-based organisations, specialised websites, thematic databases, local authorities, national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies and private sector institutions. Such sources play a significant role,