UNHCR: More people are fleeing than ever

The number of people forced to flee conflict, violence, human rights abuses and persecution has passed the staggering 100 million mark for the first time in history,” the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR said than one percent of the world population.

Grandi: That must be a wake-up call

“One hundred million is a bare number, sobering and alarming at the same time. It is a record that should never have been reached,” said the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi. “This must be a wake-up call to resolve and prevent destructive conflicts, end persecution and address the root causes that force innocent people to flee.”

By the end of 2021, the number of displaced people worldwide had risen to 90 million, according to new data from the UNHCR. The protracted conflicts in Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Myanmar, Nigeria, Afghanistan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are largely responsible. Added to this is the war in Ukraine.

So far, the war started by Russia has forced eight million people inside Ukraine to leave their homes. In addition, more than six million refugee movements from Ukraine to other countries have been registered.

According to the UNHCR, a good half of the displaced people worldwide are fleeing in their own country. The UN organization puts the number of internally displaced people at around 53 million people.

Grandi: Humanitarian aid alone will not solve the refugee problem

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Grandi specifically highlighted the “international reaction to the people fleeing the war in Ukraine” as “overwhelmingly positive”. “Compassion is alive and we need a similar mobilization for all crises around the world.”

Ultimately, however, humanitarian aid is not the answer. Above all, “peace and stability are needed so that innocent people are not forced to choose between acute danger in their own country or dangerous flight and exile,” said Grandi.

The UN refugee agency intends to publish its detailed annual report on flight and migration in mid-June.

qu/kle (afp, epd)