UN: Number of Displaced People Worldwide Has Doubled Over a Decade
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in its latest report has announced that the number of displaced people and refugees has doubled over the past decade. According to this report, solutions must be found as quickly as possible to prevent this trend.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees announced on Thursday, June 16 (June 26 in the Iranian calendar) in its latest report that the number of displaced people and refugees worldwide has doubled over the past decade and has reached an unprecedented figure.
According to this report, by the end of 2021, approximately 90 million people worldwide were displaced and refugees. This number is unprecedented since record-keeping began. Experts at the UN High Commissioner’s office believe that this figure has likely now reached 100 million people.
The report states that in many countries, war, violence, and oppression prevail, and this situation has intensified again in recent months. Now Russia’s attack on Ukraine has aggravated the situation.
Filippo Grandi, the High Commissioner for Refugees, regarding the war in Ukraine, said he is not optimistic and fears that this war will turn into a long-term conflict. He stated: “In addition to this war in Ukraine, it has had a negative impact on humanitarian aid to other countries in the world.”
Grandi called on donor countries to increase their contributions so that at least humanitarian measures can be realized.
On this matter, he said: “What we have seen so far is not additional aid, but regular aid. The situation is such that Ukraine is currently receiving a lot of aid while other crisis-affected countries are being increasingly deprived.”
Ukraine, Syria, Afghanistan, Yemen, Ethiopia, Venezuela, and South Sudan; according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees report, the list of war-torn and crisis-affected countries whose citizens need aid is long.
To this list, countries that host displaced people and refugees can also be added; countries that are usually neighbors and in many cases do not have considerable capital and resources to address them.
According to this report, by the end of 2021, in only Turkey, Colombia, Uganda, and Pakistan, more than 8 million displaced people and refugees from other countries in the world were living.
The report also states: “The speed and scale of displacement is greater than the capabilities based on which solutions can be found for displaced people and refugees. The crisis can only be resolved through international cooperation.” According to Filippo Grandi, however, the state of these cooperations has become much worse.
On this matter, he emphasized: “If countries do not cooperate with each other, they will not be able to stop this negative trend. In fact, everyone is a loser. But I am concerned because Russia’s attack on Ukraine has dealt a blow to all efforts for cooperation at the political level.”
Grandi added that he hopes this trend will change, otherwise the number of displaced people and refugees in the world will continue to increase in the coming years.
In the report of the UN High Commissioner, however, glimmers of hope can also be seen. For example, the number of people who were internally displaced in their countries and were able to return to their homes increased in 2021 and reached the level before the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Grandi, the UN High Commissioner, regarding positive phenomena, emphasized that the Ukraine war shows that if the world’s governments, especially European governments, want and cooperate, large waves of refugees can be controlled.
Source: DW
