2008 saw the celebration of the tenth anniversary of the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement. Participants at the international conference held in Oslo reviewed the considerable progress which has been achieved since the Guiding Principles were first issued, in terms of their influence on states, most of which have now accepted them, and as the foundation for humanitarian and protection standards. At the end of 2008, the number of people internally displaced by conflict, generalised violence or human rights violations across the world stood at approximately 26 million. The figures alone do not give much insight into the long-term plight and daily problems of internally displaced people (IDPs), but they do provide measurable indicators of the challenge which internal displacement continues to pose to humanitarian organisations and human rights defenders.