Mexico City.- The number of people in the world forced to move from their place of residence due to persecution, conflict, violence, human rights violations or events that seriously disrupt public order reached 117.3 million at the end of last year, 8 percent more than in 2022, reported the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR).
In its report Global Trends in Forced Displacement 2023, released this Wednesday, it highlighted that the figure demonstrates the failure of efforts to maintain peace and guarantee security in various parts of the world.
He explained that of the total number of people affected, 68.3 million correspond to internally displaced persons, 31.6 million to refugees under the UNHCR mandate, 6.9 million to asylum seekers and 6 million to Palestinians.
The countries with the highest number of internally displaced people are Sudan, with 9.1 million, Syria, with 7.2 million, and Colombia, with 6.9 million.
The report warns in particular about the critical situation in the Gaza Strip.
“UNRWA (United Nations Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Middle East) estimates that between October and December 2023 up to 1.7 million people (or more than 75 percent of the population) have been displaced within the Gaza Strip , and some have been forced to flee several times,” he points out.
“At the end of 2023, there were 6 million Palestinian refugees under UNRWA mandate, 1.6 million of whom were in the Gaza Strip.”
Regarding the number of refugees globally, UNHCR warns that their number has more than tripled in a decade.
Almost three quarters, 73 percent, of the refugees, it indicates, come from 5 countries: Afghanistan, Syria, Venezuela, Ukraine and Sudan.
Meanwhile, the main countries receiving refugees are Iran, Türkiye, Colombia, Germany and Pakistan.
The report warns of the 26 percent increase registered in 2023 in the number of asylum applications pending resolution, compared to 2022.
The countries with the largest number of such pending applications were the United States at the end of last year, with 2.6 million; Peru, with 508 thousand; Germany, with 361 thousand, Mexico, with 257 thousand, and Egypt, with 232 thousand.
The United Nations Agency calls to guarantee fair and efficient asylum systems.
“Effective procedures and rapid decisions on asylum applications allow those recognized as refugees to find protection wherever they are and find better paths to socioeconomic inclusion,” he notes.
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