The number of refugees and displaced people in the world has exceeded one hundred million.
The number of displaced people worldwide has surpassed 100 million for the first time, the UN refugee agency said, adding that the war in Ukraine alone has added 14 million to the world's refugee population.
For the first time, more than 100 million people worldwide have been forced to flee their homes due to conflict, violence, human rights violations and persecution, according to a report by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Geneva. Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, called the figures “both heartbreaking and alarming,” adding: “This is a record that should never have been reached.”
According to data from this organization, the number of refugees in the world reached 90 million at the end of 2021. These people have been forced to flee most of all due to new conflicts or the continuation of previous conflicts in countries such as Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Myanmar, Nigeria, Afghanistan, and Congo.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February of this year displaced eight million people within Ukraine's borders and forced another six million Ukrainians to flee the country.
53 million displaced people in their homeland
The head of the UN refugee agency has praised the assistance provided to Ukrainian refugees around the world. Filippo Grandi, however, said that humanitarian aid is only a palliative. According to him, there is only one way to reduce the number of displaced people and refugees: "Peace and stability, so that people do not have to choose between living in danger in their own country or fleeing dangerously and being deported."
There are more than 100 million refugees worldwide, including both those who have been forced to flee within their own countries and those who have been forced to leave their homelands. An estimated 53.2 million people have been forced to flee within their own countries.
The UN refugee agency is set to release its annual report, "Global Trends," on June 16.
Source: DW
