The Neglected Generation: The Impact of Displacement on Older People

To date, practitioners and policy makers have devoted scant attention to the impact of displacement caused by human rights violations, conflict and natural hazards on older men and women. Yet people forced from their homes by crises are among the world’s most vulnerable and, among them, older persons are generally acknowledged to be especially at risk. While older internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees share many basic needs with the rest of the population and experience similar insecurity, human rights violations and discrimination, they also face additional challenges and protection risks related to their age. This report shines the spotlight on the experience of displacement for older people in an effort to increase understanding of its particular characteristics.