30 January 2024 – 1:00 pm
Raouf Mazou, Vice Alto Commissario per le questioni operative
I would like to thank President Pucciarelli and the members Committee on Human Rights for the invitation to share UNHCR’s assessment of the current situation of forced displacement.
Let me begin by expressing my appreciation to the Government of Italy – on behalf of UNHCR – for its support in addressing issues of forced displacement, including the resulting, humanitarian needs globally and particularly in Africa.
As we meet today, more than 114 million people are forcibly displaced worldwide, 32% of which are in Africa. Last year alone, UNHCR declared 43 emergencies in 29 countries compared to 35 emergencies in 25 countries in 2022.
We live in a world in turmoil – and one in which conflict and fragility increasingly compel people to flee.
These movements are driven by old and new conflicts and the failure of collective efforts to prevent and respond to these crises, further compounded by food insecurity, climate change, collapse of law and order amongst others.
It is important to stress that refugees and displaced people choose to stay as close to their countries as possible as the vast majority of refugees wish for nothing more than to go back home. Almost 90% of the forcibly displaced people in the world are in low- and middle-income countries.
While the refugee and displacement crisis is enormous and requires concerted international attention and cooperation, the focus of this response must be in countries affected by and closest to those in conflict.
This is not to understate the challenges posed by large population movements, especially “mixed” movements of refugees and others – such as those arriving in Italy’s land and sea borders – who choose to move for different reasons. In 2023, Italy saw over 150,000 people arriving by sea alone. Those moving along these routes include people fleeing conflict, as well as others escaping persecution, poverty, and more. Often root causes are a mix of these factors. People on the move use the same routes and fall prey to the same traffickers and smugglers. People smuggling is a business generating billion dollars revenues.
In this regard, UNHCR welcomes the initiative taken by the Government of Italy – through the Rome Process and in the “Mattei Plan” that provides now a comprehensive framework on equal terms – to work together, in the spirit of partnership and cooperation, with African States to address the root causes of irregular migration.
Within this framework, yesterday I attended the Italy-Africa Summit. I particularly appreciated discussions related the exacerbating effect of factors such as the climate emergency and food insecurity on forced displacement and see how efforts to address these challenges – along with vital development assistance – can support in providing protection, assistance and solutions for people along key migratory routes (from Sudan, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Eritrea, and Mali, among others which lead to Lampedusa, Italy and Europe).
UNHCR, as an organization, recognizes the scale and complexity of the challenge of mixed movements of refugees and migrants moving globally today. We are committed to working constructively and practically with states, as we do in Italy, and other partners to find better ways forward.
This means adopting a ‘route-based approach’, which can address mobility- related challenges holistically, at all relevant points along key mixed movement routes – from countries of origin, transit and destination.
The following issues are essential to an effective response to the forced displacement crisis:
1. Access to asylum at borders, without people being turned away or violently pushed back which is so often the case. For those who do seek asylum and protection, their cases must be heard and adjudicated. Systems must be fair and efficient — ensuring protection for those who need it and the quick return – in dignity and in compliance with their human rights – of those who do not. This is essential to restoring public confidence in national asylum systems.
2. Strengthened responsibility-sharing and support to countries closer to places of origin. These countries play a vital role in ensuring access to protection that refugees lack at home, such as for example Chad for people fleeing in Sudan. As such, support to African states in including refugees in national systems and services – from health and education to social protection – along with efforts to strengthen the self- reliance of the forcibly displaced cannot be overstated.
3. Third country solutions. In addition to supporting the displaced where they are, we must continue to offer alternative, legal, pathways to dangerous journeys. I welcome Italy’s own concerted engagement through a range of instruments from resettlement to educational visas and labour corridors and subsequent whole-of-society efforts – taking in Government, private sector, academia and civil society – to ensure the effective inclusion of refugees in Italian society.
4. That the root causes driving people from their homes are addressed. This means global cooperation to prevent and resolve conflicts, of course, but also urgent action to address the climate emergency, improve governance, equality, respect for human rights, and other factors of fragility.
5. Support to solutions in countries of origin that support those who make that difficult decision to return home. Think of Ivory Coast. In general, when refugees return the question is always what are they returning to? How sustainable can that return be when there is a lack of services like shelter, water, schools and health clinics?
Allow me to now shift to three of the displacement crises I have been asked to focus on: the Ukraine situation, the Middle East Region and the situation in Afghanistan.
Ukraine
The war in Ukraine has led to an unprecedented crisis resulting in devastating loss of life, injuries and wide-spread displacement. The level of destruction is appalling. Civilian infrastructure like power plants, water systems, kindergartens, and schools have been damaged or destroyed – and in some cases, directly targeted.
Humanitarian needs are growing. Temperatures have dropped to freezing levels and millions continue to face insecurity, particularly in frontline regions. Nearly 4 million people continue to be internally displaced within Ukraine – some of whom have been displaced for now nearly two years, many of them separated from their families and struggling to make ends meet. Some 14.6 million people in Ukraine – around 40% of the population – need humanitarian assistance.
The war has led to an unprecedented protection crisis across Ukraine – beyond the dangers of missiles and drones. The need for psychosocial support is huge. The majority of refugees wish to return home, but they urgently need support in the countries hosting them, until it is safe for them to return. Many have nowhere to return to as their home areas are occupied and those who decide to return spontaneously need support with housing, livelihoods and access to services. UNHCR’s intention surveys amongst the displaced indicated that the main obstacles are safety and security as well as access to housing, livelihoods and basic services.
UNHCR has been on the ground in Ukraine – and has been for 30 years – since we started supporting the repatriation of Crimean Tatars in 1994. We work with a strong network of partners, in particular local NGOs, and in alignment and close coordination with the government and its regional authorities, with whom we have MOUs. This fosters sustainability and ensures that our response complements and supports the nationally led response and avoids the creation of parallel systems.
UNHCR provides on-the-ground emergency response to address the critical humanitarian needs. Side-by-side with the humanitarian response, UNHCR contributes to the early recovery and reconstruction work. Stabilizing displaced populations, enabling voluntary returns and building opportunities within Ukraine through a combination of humanitarian, recovery, development and private sector programmes will pave the way for economic revival and building back a better Ukraine. This requires sustained and expanded humanitarian funding for the response in Ukraine, alongside recovery funding.
Middle East
With some 15.6 million forcibly displaced and stateless people, the Middle East and North Africa region continues to face economic, political and security challenges, and the needs of the internally displaced, refugees and returnees remain high. They lack access to essential services and need our support in promoting their self-reliance an integration into national systems and social protection schemes.
In 2023, two new emergencies have intensified existing hardships. Earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria severely affected both countries, and a record 15.3 million Syrians, including 6.8 million internally displaced inside Syria, urgently require humanitarian assistance and protection.
Furthermore, the conflict in Sudan has resulted in a substantial influx into Egypt, further straining Egypt’s resources and infrastructure.
Even in protracted situations like Jordan and Lebanon, the impact of the Syria crisis and recent socio-economic challenges have been devastating. In Lebanon, 90 per cent of Syrian refugees now find themselves living in conditions of extreme poverty.
Needless to say, the ongoing hostilities we are witnessing in Gaza risk expanding to the wider region and having a profound long-term impact on the dynamics of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We have already seen spillover in the occupied West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen. It is vital to avoid irreversible action that would embolden extremists and doom any prospects for lasting peace. It is vital to not lose sight of the core of the conflict and seize every opportunity to address its drivers and take urgent steps to de- escalate tensions in the region.
Afghanistan
Afghanistan has suffered more than 40 years of conflict, recurrent natural disasters, chronic poverty, and food insecurity, with the country currently facing an unprecedented and deepening humanitarian crisis. Some 3.5 million people are displaced due to conflict, and many children are out of school. The health care system is collapsing, fundamental rights of women and girls are under threat, farmers and herders are struggling amidst the climate crisis, and the economy is in free fall. Half of Afghanistan’s population experiences acute hunger. Conflict has subsided, but violence, fear, and deprivation remain.
More than 900,000 Afghans were newly displaced inside the country since 2021, the vast majority of whom are women and children. This comes on top of disasters including drought, earthquakes and the far-reaching impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Afghans already constitute one of the largest refugee populations worldwide, and almost 90 per cent are hosted in Iran and Pakistan.
UNHCR is committed to staying and delivering in Afghanistan to protect the most vulnerable and assist Afghans with life-saving shelter, core relief items, community infrastructure, and psychosocial support. Amid winter, UNHCR has strengthened its seasonal support with targeted assistance like blankets, stoves, solar lanterns, insulation kits and support for heating, clothing, and vital household supplies.
Further exacerbating an already tenuous situation, Pakistan’s announcement for undocumented foreigners to leave is of particular concern to UNHCR, as the orders have adversely affected Afghan nationals including registered refugees and others with valid documents. Since 15 September 2023, close to half a million Afghans have returned.
Mass arrivals back to Afghanistan are adding to the ongoing humanitarian crisis as winter temperatures already reaching -4°C. Many Afghan returnees are vulnerable, including elderly, women and children, are in dire need of shelter and support.
This is indeed a very precarious situation – Afghans who have fled to Pakistan in search of safety, in the wake of the August 2021 events, are at risk of arrest, deportation, homelessness alongside lack of support to cover basic needs. The Government and people of Pakistan have a commendable, decades-long history of hosting Afghans who fled conflict and violence in the past.
As Afghanistan is facing human rights challenges – particularly for women and girls, such plans would have serious implications for all who have been forced to leave the country and may face serious protection risks upon return.
Thank you.
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