conflict and violence Total number of IDPs as of end 2016 There were around 40.3 million people displaced within the borders of 56 countries and territories as a result of armed conflict and generalised violence as of the end of 2016 (see map, p.24). The total number of IDPs has nearly doubled since 2000 and increased sharply over the last five years. The latter spike was due in large part to the conflict and violence that spread across the Middle East following the Arab spring uprisings in late 2010. Following a peak in 2015, which represented the highest figure IDMC has reported since it began its work in 1998, the total number of IDPs fell slightly in 2016 – but there is no sign of a downward trend. The persistence of large numbers of IDPs across the world reflects the intractability of conflicts and crises, notably in the Middle East and subSaharan Africa, where IDPs face all but insurmountable obstacles in re-establishing normal lives. It is also explained in part by the inconsistent monitoring of displacement over time and by the lack of updated data, particularly on protracted situations. Such information would allow us to track IDPs’ progress toward durable solutions and ultimately start to take them off the books. Twice the number of refugees Global displacement caused by conflict and violence has hit a record-high. As of the end of 2015, 65.3 million people were displaced within or across borders as a result of conflict, generalised violence, persecution and human rights violations.55 The vast majority of them, nearly two-thirds, had not crossed international borders and were internally displaced. The number of IDPs has been roughly twice that of refugees in recent years, and the gap between estimates for the two groups has been growing since 1997 (see figure 1.9). Despite this, IDPs receive relatively little global attention, particularly when compared with the highly visible influx of refugees and migrants to Europe in recent years. People who flee conflict or persecution across an international border are eligible for globally recognised protection, as embodied in the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 protocol and supported by a dedicated UN agency. IDPs’ fate, meanwhile, lies in the hands of their own governments, some of whom are unwilling or unable to assist or protect them. Indeed, in some cases, they may have caused their displacement in the first place. Figure 1.9: Refugees and IDPs displaced by conflict and violence, 1990 to 2016 Source: IDMC, with UNHCR and UNRWA for refugee data (2016 figures not yet available) ON THE GRID: Global internal displacement in 2016 25