EThere are three main events that have led to this unprecedented increase: the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Taliban coup in Afghanistan and the Sudan conflict. The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) counts 110 million displaced persons in its world refugee report published this Wednesday. UNHCR accounts include refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced persons and other vulnerable people. At the end of 2021 there were still 89.3 million displaced persons. The number rose by 19.1 million by the end of 2022 – to 108.4 million. According to the UNHCR, the figure is currently as high as 110 million.
“These numbers show us that some people get into conflicts far too quickly and are far too slow to find solutions,” said the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi. “The consequences are devastation, displacement and suffering for each of the millions of people who have been forcibly displaced from their homes.”
Grandi praised the worldwide hospitality of the receiving countries and at the same time took the politicians to task: “Above all, much more needs to be done to end conflicts and remove obstacles so that refugees have the opportunity to return home voluntarily, safely and with dignity .”
A look at the statistics for the past few years shows that the number of displaced people worldwide has more than doubled since 2013. It is true that 70 percent live in the immediate vicinity of a conflict region, for example in a neighboring country. Nevertheless, the development has also led to more people fleeing to Europe. Germany is one of the main destination countries there, so there are now more than two million refugees living in this country.
There are also two positive developments
Overall, Turkey has taken in the most refugees. Per capita, however, most live in Aruba. Aruba is a Caribbean country off Venezuela. Most of the displaced persons come from Venezuela after Syria, Ukraine and Afghanistan.
In Syria, people fled from ruler Assad, in Ukraine from Putin’s troops, in Afghanistan from the Taliban and in Venezuela from the economic misery of socialist ruler Maduro. Many Venezuelans have moved to Colombia and Peru, many Afghans to Iran, and the Ukrainians to Germany and Poland in particular.
The annual report also mentions two positive figures. On the one hand: 114,300 refugees were placed in other countries by the UNHCR through so-called resettlement programs. That was twice as many as in the previous year. Most of these controlled resettled refugees were last accepted by Canada, followed by the United States and Australia. Australia has even quadrupled the number of refugees taken in this way. As a deterrent, the country does not allow asylum seekers who come by boat to enter the country.
The other positive development: 339,300 refugees returned to their homeland. However, the fighting that broke out in Sudan this spring shows that the number of displaced people is likely to continue to rise in 2023. The UNHCR assumes that by May this year the number of displaced persons will have reached 110 million.
In the European Union, the interior ministers of the member states recently agreed on a new asylum policy. Accordingly, there should be fast-track procedures at the EU’s external border for asylum seekers with little chance of recognition. The number of migrants had recently prompted many host countries to realign their asylum policies.
#million #number #displaced #people #record #high