GENEVA, 16 April 2007 - The number of people newly displaced within their own countries by conflict has sharply increased, with the Middle East particularly hard hit by new displacements, according to a global survey released today by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre of the Norwegian Refugee Council. The report was issued ahead of an international conference on displacement of Iraqis in the Middle East which convenes in Geneva this week.

"Some 4 million people were internally displaced during 2006 as a result of armed conflict, more than twice as many as in the previous year", said Tomas Colin Archer, Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council.

The total number of internally displaced people worldwide was nearly 25 million as of end-2006, the report says. This is about twice the number of refugees who have managed to cross an international border and are entitled to protection and assistance under the 1951 Refugee Convention. Internally displaced people fall under the protection of their governments, but in many cases it is these very governments who perpetrate forced displacement.

The conflict between Israel and the militant group Hizbollah as well as the violence in Iraq accounted for almost half of the new displacements. While most Lebanese and Israelis were able to return soon after the August 2006 ceasefire, the Iraq crisis continues unabated and has dramatically aggravated what is one of the world's worst internal displacement crises.

More people are currently forced to flee their homes in Iraq than in any other country in the world. Many of those uprooted by the ongoing sectarian violence and military operations - more than 700,000 since February 2006 - remain within Iraq's borders. Often they have no or very limited access to food, shelter, employment, health care and schools, and remain exposed to high levels of violence.

"The massive scale of forced displacement in recent months adds to the dramatic worsening of the humanitarian situation in Iraq", said Mr. Archer. "After centuries of cohabitation among different religious and ethnic communities, the current wave of displacements leads to increased separation and could result in a permanent redrawing of the ethnic and religious map of Iraq."

Other regions have also seen large-scale new internal displacement, according to the report. Hundreds of thousands of civilians were displaced in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan (Darfur), Sri Lanka and Colombia. The breakdown of security in parts of Chad and the Central African Republic, partially linked to a spill-over of the conflict in Darfur, led to the displacement of some 100,000 people in both countries.

"With the proliferation of armed groups in many conflicts, the displacement of civilians is often not a mere by-product of war, but a deliberate strategy used by rebels and government forces alike", said Mr. Archer.

The report also highlights positive developments, such as the peace processes in southern Sudan, Nepal and northern Uganda that have enabled large numbers of displaced people to return to their homes. Importantly, the sustainability of return depends upon continued commitment to the peace processes and increased support as transitions from conflict to development take place.

Additionally, the reform of the international humanitarian system has led to improvements in the response system in several countries. Improving the delivery of humanitarian aid to conflict-affected populations must remain a priority, but this must not divert attention from states' responsibility to address internal displacement at the political level: "Ultimately, only political solutions can resolve the essentially political problems that lie at the heart of most conflicts causing displacement", says the report.

The report, "Internal Displacement: Global Overview of Trends and Developments in 2006", is available at www.internal-displacement.org

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For more information, please contact Jens-Hagen Eschenbaecher, NRC Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, Geneva, +41 22 799 07 03 or 41 79 79 79 439.

The Geneva-based Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, established by the Norwegian Refugee Council, is the leading international body monitoring internal displacement worldwide.