The number of people displaced by conflict and violence has reached levels unseen since the end of the Second World War, with close to 60 million forcibly displaced by the end of 2014.

People are also increasingly caught in 'semi-permanent' crises and protracted displacement.

Almost 50 per cent of refugees have been in exile for five years or longer, and millions of them have been displaced for decades. Third generations of refugees are now being born in refugee camps.

Meanwhile, solutions to displacement are elusive. Because of ongoing violence and unrest in many countries, 2014 saw the lowest number of voluntary repatriations since the early 1980s.

Against this backdrop, the overarching objective of the Dialogue is to bring together States, intergovernmental organizations, civil society and other relevant humanitarian and academic partners so as to understand better existing and newly developing root causes of displacement and to identify actions to prevent, address and resolve them.