A/81/339 I. Introduction 1. By the end of 2025, an estimated 82.2 million people were internally displaced worldwide: more than 68.6 million by conflict and violence, and almost 13.6 million by disasters. 1 Conflict- and violence-related displacements reached a record high in 2025, and while disaster-related displacements declined from the exceptionally high levels of 2024, they continue to account for tens of millions of new displacements each year. Protracted displacement is the norm; the average duration of displacement exceeds a decade in many contexts. 2 2. Reconstruction after armed conflict, generalized violence or disasters plays a central role in determining whether internally displaced persons can achieve durable solutions – through voluntary, safe and dignified return, local integration, or settlement elsewhere – and in laying the foundations for more just, inclusive and resilient societies. However, if poorly planned, financed or implemented, reconstruction can perpetuate discrimination and exclusion or generate new or secondary displacement. Reconstruction extends beyond the physical rebuilding of housing, infrastructure and services. It must address both the tangible and intangible dimensions of loss, encompassing civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights as well as environmental and institutional recovery, while advancing peacebuilding, justice and social cohesion. Lasting reconstruction must not only restore what was lost but also address the structural drivers of displacement and aim to prevent the recurrence of conflict and violence, reduce disaster risk, and remedy exclusion, discrimination, and governance failures. 3. The present report examines how reconstruction processes affect communities, including host and return communities and internally displaced persons following mass devastation, and seeks to clarify how such processes should be designed and implemented to advance durable solutions and create conditions for sustainable peace and resilience. In doing so, it addresses the persistent gap between the normative framework governing internally displaced persons’ rights and the lived rea lities of displaced populations in reconstruction contexts. For the purposes of the present report, “mass devastation” refers to contexts in which large-scale destruction has occurred as a result of armed conflict, situations of occupation, generalized violence or disasters, including those associated with sudden and slow-onset effects of climate change. In the report, reconstruction is understood broadly as a multidimensional process that extends beyond the rebuilding of physical infrastructure to encompass the recovery and rehabilitation of institutions, services, livelihoods, communities and social relations, and the restoration of conditions necessary for the enjoyment of human rights and the achievement of durable solutions. 4. To inform the present report, the Special Rapporteur issued a call for inputs 3 and held consultations with representatives of academia, civil society, United Nations organizations and international financial institutions. She thanks the Member States, partners and stakeholders who provided written submissions and participated in the consultations. II. Legal, policy and institutional frameworks 5. The Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement establish the rights of internally displaced persons in relation to return, resettlement and reintegration, the __________________ 1 See https://www.internal-displacement.org/global-report/grid2026/. See https://internaldisplacement-panel.org/. 3 See https://www.ohchr.org/en/calls-for-input/2026/call-inputs-report-reconstruction-andinternally-displaced-persons-conflict. 2 26-12053 3/24