Internal displacement: Global overview of trends and developments in 2007.

In 2007 the global internal displacement crisis continued unabated. Although international attention to the plight of internally displaced people (IDPs) has grown significantly over the past years there was still no breakthrough in reducing the numbers and measurably improving the situation of those who had been forced to flee their homes as a result of conflict generalised violence or human rights violations. Displacement in the words of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon remained "arguably the most significant humanitarian challenge that we face". Millions of people were newly displaced by conflict during 2007 chased from their homes and land by brutal government armies and militias rebel groups or hostile neighbouring communities. They joined the ranks of IDPs who had been uprooted in previous years and who remained unable to return to their homes or find other durable solutions exposed to violence and severe violations even of their most basic human rights. (excerpt)