A/71/279 demonstrate the commitment of the United Nations and the international community to addressing internal displacement effectively. III. World Humanitarian Summit: an agenda to reduce internal displacement 12. On 23 and 24 May 2016, the first World Humanitarian Summit was held in Istanbul, Turkey. It brought together some 9,000 participants from 173 Member States, including 55 Heads of State, thousands of representatives from civil society and non-governmental organizations and hundreds of private sector representatives, with the shared objective of better preventing and responding to humanitarian crises. 2 It was the culmination of a process of consultation, in which the Special Rapporteur was actively engaged, 3 and provided a unique platform to share and discuss ideas, practices and solutions. It sought to achieve high -level commitments at the national, regional and international levels to inspire an ongoing process of change and improvement in responses to crises. 13. The Summit brought much needed attention to internally displaced persons at a time when their numbers have reached unprecedented levels. The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) estimates that there were 40.8 millio n people internally displaced worldwide as a result of conflict and violence at the end of 2015, an increase of 2.8 million from its 2014 estimate and the highest figure ever recorded. 4 The grave situation of millions of internally displaced persons requires renewed attention, the rethinking of approaches to prevention, addressing root causes and responses, and concerted action at all levels. To date the challenges are not being adequately met and many of those affected by internal displacement are in dire and often life-threatening situations, often for years on end. The Summit emphasized that this situation must change and challenged all stakeholders to make that change real. 14. The Special Rapporteur informed the Summit that internally displaced persons are among the most vulnerable in crisis-affected States and are often at greater risk of harm within their own countries. They often lack adequate shelter or resources, have inadequate assistance, support and protection and may be traumatized by conflict or disaster. Millions reside outside camps in cities or informal settlements, where many are hard to reach or neglected; in short, they are among the world’s most vulnerable people. While much global political and media attention is currently focused on refugee and migrant flows across borders, greater attention and support must be given to protection of persons displaced within their countries of origin. They should not be left behind, in keeping with the theme of the Summit. __________________ 2 3 4 16-13413 See the Chair’s summary, entitled “Standing up for humanity: committing to action”, available from https://consultations2.worldhumanitariansummit.org/bitcache/5171492e71696bcf9d 4c571c93dfc6dcd7f361ee?vid=581078&disposition=inline&op=view . The Special Rapporteur participated in regional consultations for West and Central Africa, held in Côte d’Ivoire; the Middle East and North Africa, held in Jordan; and Latin America, held in Guatemala; and in the final consultations in Geneva. Alexandra Bilak and others, “Global report on internal displacement” (Geneva, Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, 2016). Available from www.internal-displacement.org/ globalreport2016/. 5/25