

Internal Displacement: Global Overview of Trends and Developments in 2010 - Nepal

Publication Date 23 March 2011
Cite as Norwegian Refugee Council/Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (NRC/IDMC), Internal Displacement: Global Overview of Trends and Developments in 2010 - Nepal, 23 March 2011, available at: [accessed 27 December 2014]

Quick facts
Number of IDPsAbout 50,000
Percentage of total populationAbout 0.2%
Start of current displacement situation1996
Peak number of IDPs (Year)200,000 (2005)
New displacement0
Causes of displacementArmed conflict, human rights violations
Human development index138

At the end of 2010, more than four years after the government of Nepal and Maoist rebels ended their ten-year conflict, about 50,000 people were still displaced by the war and by inter-ethnic violence, and remained unable or unwilling to return to their homes.

The Maoists generally fulfilled their commitments to return the houses and land they had taken from people during the war, but problems were still reported in some districts. Security concerns also persisted due to threats by Maoist-affiliated groups involved in extortion or land seizures, and in the Terai region by other armed groups who had been fighting for increased political involvement since 2007. Meanwhile, the government lacked the institutions, resources and presence in rural areas to provide basic services to many citizens. In a depressed post-war economy, many returnees had still not established the means to sustain their basic needs, and some were forced back to towns and cities again in search of work.

The majority of people still displaced in 2010 were living in the cities where they had sought refuge during the war. Some people who had fled the conflict had managed to integrate and find jobs, but others, including in particular internally displaced children and women, were struggling to find proper accommodation or access basic services. They were also exposed to trafficking, sexual exploitation, discrimination and child labour.

Since 2007, the Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction has helped registered IDPs to return home, but it has done little for those hoping to integrate locally. Almost four years after being enacted, the national IDP policy has yet to be fully implemented, undermining IDPs' chances of achieving durable solutions.

During 2010, the protection cluster led by OHCHR still struggled to involve the government. It recognised that needs remained significant and that some vulnerable groups, such as the IDPs, remained neglected, and so reviewed its strategy during 2010 to re-focus on the human rights of IDPs.

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