The United Nations has announced that a record 110 million people worldwide have been forcibly displaced from their homes, branding the massive upsurge an "indictment" of the world.
According to the UNHCR – the UN refugee agency – Russia's war in Ukraine, refugees fleeing Afghanistan and the fighting in Sudan have pushed the total number of refugees forced to seek shelter abroad, and those displaced within their own countries, to an unprecedented level.
The UNHCR said in its annual report released Wednesday, that by the end of last year, 108.4 million people were displaced.
The Global Trends in Forced Displacement report underlines that the number was up 19.1 million from the end of 2021 – the biggest-ever increase since records began back in 1975.
🆕: There are now more than 110 million forcibly displaced people globally.
— UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency (@Refugees) June 14, 2023
But who is behind this staggering number?
Refugees.
Asylum-seekers.
Internally displaced.
...
More in our new #GlobalTrends report: https://t.co/J8LvyK11aY#ForcedToFlee pic.twitter.com/xI1FtSucdY
Since then, the eruption of the conflict in Sudan has triggered further displacement, pushing the global total to an estimated 110 million by May.
UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi told a press conference in Geneva, "We have 110 million people that have fled because of conflict, persecution, discrimination and violence, often mixed with other motives – in particular the impact of climate change.
"It's quite an indictment on the state of our world," he added.
Numbers likely to increase
Of the 2022 global total, 35.3 million were refugees who fled abroad, with 62.5 million internally displaced.
There were 5.4 million asylum-seekers and a further 5.2 million other people – predominantly from Venezuela – needing international protection.
"My fear is that the figure is likely to increase," said Grandi.
He said the swelling displacement this year was being increasingly met with "a more hostile environment, especially when it comes to refugees, almost everywhere".
"Leadership is about convincing your public opinion that there are people that deserve international protection," he said.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees noted that around 76 percent of refugees fled to low- and middle-income countries, while 70 percent stayed in neighbouring countries.
The number of people forced to flee has risen again. They are now more than 110 million worldwide.
— Filippo Grandi (@FilippoGrandi) June 14, 2023
War, violence, persecution, discrimination — and increasingly, climate change, often linked to conflict — all cause displacement.
A world with too many crises, too few solutions.
Door must 'remain open'
Grandi said Britain's plans to send asylum-seekers to Rwanda for adjudication was "not a good idea".
He said the US case was more complex, but added: "We are worried ...about denial of access to asylum in the United States."
Under tougher new US rules, asylum-seekers are supposed to set up an interview appointment through a smartphone application or processing centres Washington plans in Colombia, Guatemala and other countries.
Grandi welcomed the European Union's steps towards a pact on asylum and migration, calling it a good attempt to balance tensions surrounding the issue, and "relatively fair" to people on the move.
Under pressure to reduce migrant arrivals, EU governments last week agreed on steps to fast-track migrant returns to their countries of origin or transit countries deemed "safe".
Grandi said the way to address the flow of people coming to Europe was to start much further upstream on refugees' long journeys.
However the door to asylum in the EU, the United States and Britain "needs to remain open...People need to be able to seek asylum where they feel safe."
And he added: "Asylum seekers should not be put in jail. Seeking asylum is not a crime."
