Number of Refugees and Displaced Persons Worldwide Exceeds 100 Million
For the first time, the number of displaced persons worldwide has exceeded the 100 million mark. The United Nations Refugee Agency announced this news, stating that the war in Ukraine alone has added 14 million people to the global displaced population.
According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Geneva, for the first time in the world, more than 100 million people have been forced to flee their homes due to conflict, violence, human rights violations, and persecution. Filippo Grandi, the High Commissioner of the UN Refugee Agency, described this figure as “disheartening and equally alarming,” and said: “This is a record that should never have been reached.”
Based on data from this organization, the number of displaced persons worldwide at the end of 2021 had reached 90 million people. These individuals were forced to flee primarily due to new or ongoing conflicts in countries such as Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Myanmar, Nigeria, Afghanistan, and Congo.
Russia’s attack on Ukraine in February of this year resulted in the displacement of eight million people within Ukraine’s borders and the exodus of six million other Ukrainians outside the country.
53 Million Internally Displaced Persons
The head of the UN Refugee Agency praised humanitarian assistance to Ukrainian refugees around the world. Filippo Grandi, however, also stated that humanitarian aid is merely a palliative measure. According to him, there is only one way to reduce the number of displaced persons and refugees: “Peace and stability, so that people are not forced to choose between the danger of living in their country or making a dangerous escape and exile.”
More than 100 million displaced persons worldwide include both those forced to flee within their own countries and those who have been forced to leave their homeland. Those forced to flee within the borders of their countries are estimated at 53 million and 200 thousand people.
The UN Refugee Agency is scheduled to release its annual report titled “Global Trends” on June 16.
Source: DW
