Forced displacement presently affects over 60 million people worldwide, of which over 38 million are internally displaced persons (IDPs). Current data suggests that women living in protracted displacement slightly outnumber men, and given the difficulty in accessing female IDPs in many contexts, it is likely that their number is underestimated. The number of refugees and IDPs continues to grow and the length of stay in host countries has been on the rise in recent decades.More than 45 percent of refugees live in a state of protracted displacement lasting for more than five years while about 50 percent of IDPs have been displaced for more than three years. They live in ‘second exile’, caught between the inability to return to their homes and the lack of durable solutions elsewhere. While the average duration of 33 current protracted refugee situations at the end of 2014 is estimated at 25 years, most of the situations (24) have lasted for more than 20 years.
This paper is developed as a reference document. Its objective is to provide a broad overview of UNDP’s offer of support with respect to protracted displacement. The document underlines the importance of investing in development approaches to displacement, providing a number of concrete examples from current and past programmes. This paper complements a series of country notes with programme examples across all regions.