This point shapefile is compiled by the U.S. Department of State, Humanitarian Information Unit (INR/GGI/HIU). This dataset contains open source derived data about the geographic locations (point geometry) of internally displaced persons (IDP) and identified tent camps and other locations, such as collective centers, schools, mosques, sports facilities, host families, etc. in towns inside Syria where displacement has taken place. Sources of this information include the United Nations, the Assistance Coordination Unit, the Syria Needs Assessment Project, NGOs, and media reports. Location coordinates are at the city level and are plotted using the Syria P-Code system (http://www.mapaction.org/map-catalogue/mapdetail/2753.html) and NGA GeoNames (http://earth-info.nga.mil/gns/html) datasets. The field "PCode" is a combination of the all the administrative level and community level P-Codes for a specific location. Camp locations are verified using high-resolutions commercial satellite imagery. In the "IDP_TYPE" field "Location" refers to general areas of reported IDP presence, "Camp" refers to informal or formal settlements for specific IDP use, and "Pal Camp" refers to Palestinian refugee camps that existed before the start of the conflict. In addition to Syrian IDP camps and locations, the Palestinian camps are plotted based on verified data from the U.N. Relief Works Agency (UNRWA). This dataset will be updated as needed and is current as of September 23, 2013. The mission of the Humanitarian Information Unit (HIU) is to serve as a U.S. Government interagency center to identify, collect, analyze, and disseminate all-source information critical to U.S. Government decision-makers and partners in preparation for and response to humanitarian emergencies worldwide, and to promote innovative technologies and best practices for humanitarian information management.
