A/HRC/56/47 relocations, people are relocated to a specific location rather than simply made lo leave from a location, as in the case of an eviction. Movement in the context of disasters and the adverse effects of climate change does not constitute planned relocation unless it is part of a planned process aimed at addressing specific hazard-related issues, such as mitigating flood risk. 20. The question of when planned relocation constitutes internal displacement deserves specific consideration. Internal displacement includes situations where people have been forced or obliged to flee or to leave their homes or places of habitual residence as a result of natural or human-made disasters, and have not crossed an internationally recognized State border. 23 The defining factor is the involuntary nature of movement. Thus, planned relocations constitute internal displacement when people are made to relocate against their will. In the case of environmental pressures, however, the line between voluntary movement and forced displacement is often blurred. Communities may consent to relocate in the face of threats like sea level rise, but such consent is influenced by the pressing need to avoid imminent danger rather than being based on a wholly free choice.24 21. Principle 6 of the Guiding Principles explicitly recognizes the right not to be arbitrarily displaced and prohibits the forced movement of people affected by disasters unless required to protect their safety and health; thus, while planned relocations can be essential for the safety and/or health of the relocated persons when used as a measure of last resort, they may in other circumstances amount to arbitrary displacement. Displacement that fails to comply with the minimum requirements of due process and other safeguards, that lasts longer than necessary or that has a long-term negative impact on the enjoyment of human rights may be considered arbitrary.25 Furthermore, planned relocations that could be avoided by applying safer alternatives, such as infrastructure improvements, may also be considered arbitrary displacement.26 B. Global scope of planned relocations 22. Global or national figures of the number of people relocated are not currently available. 27 A global mapping exercise of planned relocations in the context of natural hazards, disasters and climate change published in 2021–2022 identified 408 cases in 78 countries: approximately 40 per cent in Asia, 38 per cent in the Americas, 10 per cent in Africa and 9 per cent in the Pacific. Few cases were documented in Europe or the Middle East. According to the study, relative to population size, the Pacific had the highest number of cases. The phenomenon is likely larger, as the study only captured cases documented in English, Spanish, French and Portuguese in academic and grey literature. The regional distribution of the documentation of planned relocations aligned with disaster displacement estimates and with hazard hotspots, highlighting how planned relocations emerged as both a prevention and solutions strategy in the context of disasters and the adverse effects of climate change.28 23. An in-depth analysis of 34 well-documented planned relocation cases from the global mapping exercise revealed several trends. Most planned relocation cases involved fewer than 250 households; many were carried out on a much smaller scale. Most processes included a move from one shared origin to one shared destination site. The sites of both origin and destination were predominantly rural (though in Asia a larger proportion of destination areas were urban). In most cases the destination site was less than 20 km from the site of origin, and in just under half of the cases the distance was less than 2 km. Community actors and 23 24 25 26 27 28 Displaced Persons (2010), p. 503; and submission by David James Cantor. Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, introduction, para. 2. Elizabeth Ferris, Climate Justice and Environmentally Displaced Persons (forthcoming); and submission by David James Cantor. See A/76/169. See Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, principle 6 (2) (d). An exception is Fiji, which maintains data on the number of houses relocated. Erica Bower and Sanjula Weerasinghe, Leaving Place, Restoring Home: Enhancing the Evidence Base on Planned Relocation Cases in the Context of Hazards, Disasters, and Climate Change (Platform on Disaster Displacement, 2021). 5