Attachments
Chapter 1
Key displacement situations in 2023
Conflict in Sudan broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese Army Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, causing one of the largest humanitarian and displacement crises in the world. As escalating violence quickly spread from the capital, Khartoum, to other parts of the country, more than 6 million people in Sudan had been forced to flee by the end of the year, with a further 1.2 million fleeing to neighbouring countries. The number of Sudanese refugees and asylum-seekers globally increased by at least 826,800 during the year to reach 1.8 million, almost all of whom were hosted by neighbouring countries, including the Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia and South Sudan. In these countries, national legal and policy frameworks include refugees in public services, such as documentation, education, health care and social housing despite still under-developed systems, access barriers and different standards in some situations. In total, 10.8 million Sudanese remained forcibly displaced at end-year. As the conflict rages on, thousands are still being displaced daily, more than one year after it began. As of May 2024, operational data indicates the number of new displacements since April 2023 has risen to more than 7.1 million within the country, with a further 1.9 million people hosted in neighbouring countries.
Prior to the war, the country was already facing a dire humanitarian situation, with 3.6 million people internally displaced. This figure rose to 9.1 million, the largest number of people ever recorded to have remained displaced within their own country at end-year. Hunger is widespread in the country, with more than 20 million people (42 per cent of the entire population) facing acute food insecurity, especially in conflict areas that are hard to reach.23 One million refugees also lived in Sudan prior to the latest conflict, primarily from Eritrea, Ethiopia, South Sudan and the Syrian Arab Republic. Many have now been forced to return to their home countries prematurely or move on to other countries, often arriving in remote and difficult-to-access locations that lack essential services. For example, estimates indicate that the conflict forced nearly 400,000 South Sudanese refugees to leave Sudan and return to South Sudan. Even as refugees were forced to leave Sudan, several hundred thousand refugees remained in Sudan - the country they had sought refuge in. This includes those who have been repeatedly displaced within the country as the conflict unfolded.
Conflict in the Gaza Strip in the State of Palestine has had a devastating toll on the Palestinian civilian population.24 The humanitarian situation is extremely dire, with levels of hunger so widespread with all of the 2.2 million inhabitants facing acute food insecurity and an imminent threat of famine.25 UNRWA estimates that between October and December 2023, up to 1.7 million people (or over 75 per cent of the population) have been displaced within the Gaza Strip, with some having been forced to flee multiple times.26 By the end of 2023, there were 6 million Palestine refugees under UNRWA’s mandate, 1.6 million of whom were in the Gaza Strip.27 UNRWA estimates that two-thirds of the Palestine refugees under its mandate in the Gaza Strip have become internally displaced in 2023, compounding existing vulnerabilities.
More than 1.3 million people have been displaced within Myanmar in 2023 by escalating violence following the military takeover in February 2021, bringing the total number of IDPs in the country to more than 2.6 million by the end of 2023. An additional 1.3 million refugees and asylum-seekers from Myanmar were hosted in other countries. Nearly one million are stateless Rohingya refugees, most of whom fled Myanmar seven years ago. Most live in Cox’s Bazar refugee camp in Bangladesh, where dependency on humanitarian aid is widespread and the security situation is deteriorating.28 Desperation in these camps is driving Rohingya refugees to risk their lives on dangerous sea routes to Indonesia and Malaysia, which have been described as among the deadliest in the world. Estimates show that one Rohingya died or went missing for every eight who attempted the journey in 2023.
Globally, nearly 10.9 million Afghans remained displaced, almost all within their country or in neighbouring countries. In 2023, the number of Afghan refugees30 reported globally increased by 741,400 to reach 6.4 million, mostly reflecting new population estimates reported by both the Islamic Republic of Iran and Pakistan. Opportunities for sustainable return remain limited, as almost half the population of more than 40 million people in Afghanistan face acute food insecurity, and millions remain displaced from their homes within the country.
After the escalation of the war in 2022, displacement within and from Ukraine continued, albeit at a slower rate than during the previous year. Approximately three-quarters of a million people became newly internally displaced, primarily in eastern and southern Ukraine, where fighting was most intense during 2023. Reflecting revised estimation methodologies, as well as return movements, the number of people remaining internally displaced in Ukraine by the end of 2023 decreased to 3.7 million. The number of Ukrainian refugees and asylum-seekers increased by 275,500 to 6 million. At the end of the year, an estimated one-sixth of the Ukrainian pre-war population had fled abroad. Whilst new estimates indicate that up to 1.3 million internally displaced people and at least 324,600 refugees returned during 2023, it remains highly challenging to accurately quantify such movements. At end-year, a total of 9.7 million Ukrainians remained forcibly displaced.
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a resurgence of fighting in the eastern part of the country has exacerbated a humanitarian emergency where large-scale forced displacement started nearly two decades ago. During the year, 3.8 million people were newly internally displaced, while 1.8 million IDPs were estimated to have returned during the same period, and 6.7 million people remained internally displaced in the country at the end of 2023.
Somalia continued to experience persistent insecurity in 2023 as well as weather extremes, with flash floods in April 2023, after five consecutive failed rainy seasons. During the year, 673,000 Somalis were displaced within their country due to conflict, with a further 2 million new internal displacements caused by disasters. Some 20 countries around the world, hosting millions of refugees, asylum-seekers and internally displaced people, are experiencing increasing risks of climate-related hazards as well as conflicts (see “Forced displacement in the context of the adverse effects of climate change and conflict” on page 23). In Somalia, 3.9 million people remained displaced in the country at end-year, and the number of Somalis who sought international protection also rose by 177,600 to 1 million, most of whom were in Kenya and Ethiopia.
Elsewhere, indiscriminate gang violence in Haiti has caused a surge in human rights violations, with 311,000 people remaining displaced within their country at the end of the year. Nearly half of the country’s 11.4 million people require humanitarian assistance.31 The number of Haitian refugees and asylum-seekers rose sharply by 68 per cent to 350,600. Hostilities in Syria flared up in 2023, with the number of people displaced within the country growing by 174,000 to stand at 7.2 million at end-year. Including 6.5 million Syrian refugees and asylumseekers, a total of 13.8 million Syrians remained forcibly displaced in 137 countries at end-year. A further 141,900 refugees fled to Armenia, with most of them arriving after renewed armed conflict in the South Caucasus region in September 2023.