9th Forum on Minority Issues: Minorities in situations of humanitarian crises (Geneva 23-25 November 2016) Expert Meeting on Minorities in Humanitarian Situations 9th Forum on Minority Issues 22-25 November 2016 Correlation between Minorities and Internally Displaced Persons in Humanitarian Situations By Chaloka Beyani, London School of Economics, former UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons 2010-2016. General considerations  The discussion presented in this paper examines the situation of minorities as internally displaced persons. Most of the displaced populations in humanitarian situations in the world today are persons belonging to minorities. There is a correlation between the phenomenon of displacement and the forcible dispersal of minorities due to their distinct identity and geographical location whether within or between states.  State formation processes or creation often leads to the incorporation of populations of minorities as communities with a distinct identity usually in specific geographical locations. Early attempts to 'resolve' minority issues involved compulsory population exchanges between States as a way of promoting homogeneity. See for example the population exchange between Greece and Turkey under the 1923 Convention Concerning the Exchange of Greek and Turkish Populations. These population exchanges involved approximately two