Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)
Colombia’s estimated 2.6 million – 4.4 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) constitute the largest humanitarian crisis in the Western Hemisphere. Afro-Colombian and indigenous persons are disproportionately over-represented in the numbers of IDPs. This crisis is far from improving, as an astonishing 380,000 people were newly displaced in 2008, a 24 percent increase over 2007. In addition, some 500,000 – 750,000 Colombians have fled to neighboring countries, where they are largely invisible and unassisted.
