The most widely used definition of internally displaced persons (IDPS) is one presented in a 1992 report of the secretary-General of the United Nations, which identifies them as “person who have been forced to flee their homes suddenly or unexpectedly in large numbers, as a result of armed conflict, internal strife, systematic violation of human rights or natural or unexpectedly in large numbers, as a result of armed conflict, internal strife, systematic violation of human rights or natural or man-made disasters and who are within the territories of their own” (UNHCR 1992). Presently, there are about 26 million.
