• Every year, hundreds of thousands of people living in combat zones are forced to flee their homes because their safety and their basic needs can no longer be guaranteed. They seek refuge from arbitrary treatment, threats, harassment, theft and destruction of their property, and banditry. While some move only a few miles, others travel much farther afield but without crossing national borders. Some stay away for a few days only, while others will remain on the road for years. Some are taken in by relatives. Most, however, become wholly dependent for their survival on protection and assistance programmes, and it is these conflict victims who are central to the ICRC’s mandate and activities.

• For thousands of people who have fled their homes to seek temporary refuge elsewhere, the temporary solution has become permanent and they have become more or less settled in their new location. Some no longer have plans to return home. The reasons they give include a greater sense of security, better economic prospects, a new way of life and the reconstitution of social and family networks. These people have a different set of requirements: like the majority of local residents, they are in far greater need of development programmes than of emergency assistance. Accordingly, they are only of indirect concern to the ICRC.

• Then there are the tens of thousands of people who are not themselves displaced but who are in a similar predicament. These are the inhabitants of zones from which displaced people have fled or where they have resettled. Owing to injury, sickness, debility, advanced age or isolation, those in the first group are unable to join the stream of forced migrants. Those in the second group will experience a significant decline in living standards with the arrival of IDPs. The lives of all, whether displaced persons or residents, are profoundly disrupted by the conflict. The longer the fighting lasts, the more the distinction between the two categories becomes blurred. That is why, in keeping with the principle of impartiality that underlies its activities, the ICRC assists the most vulnerable members of displaced and resident populations on the basis of their needs rather than according to the predetermined category to which they belong.

As a neutral and impartial intermediary, the ICRC seeks to ensure that all parties to a conflict comply with their obligation under international humanitarian law (IHL) to protect and assist persons displaced as a result of fighting.

• The ICRC considers that problems resulting from internal displacement are first and foremost a matter for the national authorities, who bear primary responsibility for meeting the needs of IDPs. The ICRC and other humanitarian agencies are prepared to respond to the most pressing needs of displaced populations, but their input is temporary and cannot be a substitute for government action. In this connection, the ICRC must also take care that its humanitarian aid is not misappropriated by any of the warring parties or used by them to further their own interests.

• In order to conduct its traditional activities (such as the restoration of family ties, food and non-food assistance, rehabilitation of health services and health posts), the ICRC maintains a regular presence in the field. This allows it to monitor the situation very closely (by gathering data, taking down first-hand accounts and setting up a network of contacts) and to use information obtained directly from victims to draw the attention of the authorities to any irregularities or violations of IHL. Recommendations for improving the protection of displaced populations are submitted to the authorities. The ICRC also offers them its support (principally in the form of technical cooperation and training and dissemination activities) to help them do what is required to prevent violations.

• Further, by maintaining constant dialogue with the civilian and military leaders of the warring parties the ICRC is able to act as a neutral intermediary and thus facilitate agreements aimed at resolving humanitarian problems, for example by setting up protected zones or evacuating individuals at risk.

The main aim of ICRC action is to prevent displacement. To this end, it urges all parties to a conflict to spare civilians so that they can remain safely in their homes.

• Where large-scale population movements occur, the ICRC seeks to determine whether displacement has been forced. Any decision taken by the authorities to displace civilians has to be consistent with IHL and has to be justified by military or security imperatives. In cases of forced displacement, the ICRC negotiates with the relevant authorities in an effort to put an end to this violation of IHL.

• Should displacement prove unavoidable, top priority is given to ensuring the safety of the IDPs’ destination (it must be far enough away from the front lines, for example, and the authorities must be made aware of the need for the camps to be demilitarized). The second concern is the suitability of the chosen site (including the proximity of a source of drinking water, stable terrain and a surface area that complies with standards for setting up a camp). The security of displaced persons is also dependent on their access to resources such as water, crops and firewood.

• Once it has established a good working relationship with those in charge of the camp (not forgetting women’s associations), the ICRC embarks on activities to preserve family unity and restore family ties where they have been severed. It conducts tracing activities in order to determine the whereabouts of persons reported missing, organizes the exchange of Red Cross messages, and reunites families whose members have been dispersed as a result of the fighting. Particular attention is paid to the most vulnerable, such as unaccompanied minors, the elderly and the disabled. Where necessary, the ICRC also offers displaced persons a range of other services – it may relay urgent messages if telecommunication networks fail and help vulnerable individuals to travel by organizing their evacuation or providing them with escorts.

• When IDPs are arrested in connection with a conflict, the ICRC seeks to establish their identity and requests permission to visit them. It confirms that they are in custody, registers them and monitors them during their time in detention. ICRC visits provide detainees with an opportunity to correspond with their relatives by means of Red Cross messages.

• Whenever the possibility arises for displaced persons to return home, the ICRC urges the authorities to ensure by all necessary means that they can do so safely and with dignity. It also checks that the material conditions are right for return. Here too the ICRC may provide the IDPs with greater security by escorting them across hostile terrain and helping them to regain their self-sufficiency. It may also offer them short-term assistance to promote their return to economic security.

If they are to have a positive impact on the lives of the people they target, all assistance and protection operations must include in-depth analysis of the challenges inherent in conflict situations:

• The first challenge concerns access to victims. All too many displaced populations still endure intolerable security conditions in which any humanitarian action is impossible. While at times there may be geographical or administrative constraints, the reasons for this situation are usually political in nature.

• The safety of humanitarian workers is also extremely important. If security is inadequate or the warring parties do not understand or accept the role of humanitarian workers, no operation can be conducted in a sustained or effective manner.

• Policy on assistance must seek at all times to avoid further destabilizing the situation by exacerbating or causing inequalities, or by creating conditions conducive to corruption or the misappropriation of aid by one or more parties to the conflict.

The availability of sufficient aid for a population’s survival and the logistic challenge of its delivery are dependent on substantial financial resources which are not always readily forthcoming. Aid operations in situations that are in the media spotlight in certain donor countries will attract plenty of funding. Others, of lesser media or geostrategic interest, will be chronically under-funded. This will inevitably affect the quantity and the quality of the aid that reaches victims, which is neither certain nor constant, nor necessarily fairly distributed among continents.

• Coordination between humanitarian agencies is paramount. In particular, operations must be conducted in accordance with universally recognized minimum standards. It is also essential to avoid duplication of effort.