The facts
- Worldwide 67 million people have had to flee their homes against their wishes.
- 51 million of these have resettled in another region of their home country.
- Two-thirds of people forced to move are women and children.
- Some 26 million of these have had to abandon their homes because of war to seek safety elsewhere within their country.
- People flee their homes by force because of conflict, persecution of their religion or ethnicity or natural disasters.
- Whole generations of people in Africa, Asia and the Middle East have known no other life than that lived in a refuge or camp.
- While many people travel outside of their home country becoming refugees, many more settle in other areas within their country. Unlike refugees, these people have limited protection under international law.
- Sudan, Colombia, Iraq, Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia and Zimbabwe have the highest number of people who have been forced to re-settle within their home country.
- In World War Two 5% of casualties were civilian; today it is estimated that between 80% and 90% of casualties are civilian. As a result of this increased risk of attack during conflict, families and communities are fleeing to protect themselves and settling in safety elsewhere.
