UNHCR, the UN agency for refugees, today called on countries to take greater steps to provide homes for millions of refugees and other people who have fled due to conflict, persecution or incidents that seriously disrupt public order. This is based on a report released today, which shows that forced flight or displacement is currently carried out by more than one percent of humanity – 1 in 97 people – with the possibility of them returning home increasingly slim.
UNHCR’s annual Global Trends Report, released two days before World Refugee Day on June 20, showed that 79.5 million people, a very significant number, fled at the end of 2019. UNHCR has never before seen a higher number.
The report also notes the dwindling prospects for refugees to see an end to their suffering. In the 90s, every year an average of around 1.5 million people were able to return to their places of origin. However, over the past decade, this number has decreased to around 385,000 people per year, meaning the increase in the number of forced displacements far exceeds existing solutions.
“Currently we are witnessing a change in reality, where forced displacement is no longer only widespread, but has also turned into a phenomenon that is no longer short-term or temporary,” said the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi. “We cannot expect people to live in upheaval for years, with no hope of returning home, or hope of building a future where they are. We need a new, more open welcome for people on the run, and stronger efforts to resolve the years-long conflict, which is at the root of the great suffering of many people.”
The UNHCR Global Trends Report shows that of the 79.5 million people who were forced to flee at the end of last year, 45.7 million of them were people who fled to other areas but were still within their country. The remainder are people who have fled to other locations, namely 4.2 million people who are waiting for the results of their asylum application, while 29.6 million people are refugees and other people who have been forced to flee their country.
The annual increase, from 70.8 million at the end of 2018, is the result of two main factors. The first is the very worrying emergence of forced displacement in 2019, especially in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Sahel region, Yemen and Syria – with Syria now in its tenth year since the conflict began, creating 13.2 million refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced persons, or the equivalent of one-sixth of the total number of people forced to flee in the world.
The second factor is the situation of Venezuelans outside their country of origin, many of whom are not officially registered as refugees or asylum seekers, but for whom sensitive treatment and protection are needed.
This total includes a combination of individual crises and other personal crises. The number of children (estimated at between 30-34 million, tens of thousands of whom include unaccompanied children) among those forced to move is greater than, for example, the combined populations of Australia, Denmark and Mongolia. Meanwhile, among this population, the proportion of people aged 60 years and over (4 percent) is far below the world population for the same category (12 percent) – a statistic that reflects sadness, despair, unimaginable sacrifice and separation from people – people they love.
8 things you need to know regarding forced displacement/escape at this time
– At least 100 million people were forced to flee their homes in the past decade, seeking asylum inside or outside their home countries. This number exceeds the entire population of Egypt, the country with the 14th largest population in the world.
– The increase in the number of forced displacement/escapements has almost doubled since 2010 (41 million previously vs 79.5 million now).
– 80 percent of the world’s forced refugees are in countries or territories affected by acute food crises and malnutrition – many of which are countries at risk of climate change and other disasters.
– More than three-quarters of the world’s refugees (77 percent) are stuck in long-term flight situations – for example due to the impact of the situation in Afghanistan, which has now been going on for five decades.
– More than eight in 10 refugees (85 percent) are in developing countries, usually in countries neighboring the country they fled.
– Five countries account for two-thirds of people undergoing forced cross-border displacement: Syria, Venezuela, Afghanistan, South Sudan and Myanmar.
– The Global Trends Report takes into account all large displaced and displaced populations, including the 5.6 million Palestinian refugees, all of whom are under the care of UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works agency for Palestine).
– The commitment to “leaving no one behind” contained in 2030 Sustainable Development explicitly includes refugees, thanks to the adoption of a new indicator related to refugees by the UN Statistical Commission in March this year.
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NOTE: UNHCR Global Trends is published in parallel with the Global Report which reports on the steps taken by UNHCR to address the needs of those forced to flee, as well as those known to be stateless people in the world.
For Additional Information:
The UNHCR Global Trends Report and other multi-media assets are available on the media page.
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