The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons (IDPs) , Paula Gaviria Betancur , has sounded the alarm over the rapidly escalating challenge of urban displacement , calling it “one of the most urgent human rights crises of our time.” Presenting her latest report to the UN General Assembly in New York, Gaviria Betancur warned that cities — once seen as sanctuaries for displaced people — are becoming sites of exclusion, inequality, and neglect.

“Cities can offer opportunity and protection, but they can also deepen vulnerability. The human rights of displaced persons must not end where city limits begin,” she said.

The Scale of Urban Displacement

According to the report, around 60 per cent of the world’s 83.4 million internally displaced

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