Geneva/New York, May 23 – The United Nations refugee agency said a record number of over 100 million people have been forced to flee war, human rights violations and persecution, including the millions of Ukrainians displaced by Russia’s war in their country this year.
The agency said there were an estimated 90 million people who were forcibly displaced by violence in countries like Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Myanmar, Nigeria, Afghanistan and Congo by the end of 2021. That number has reached over 100 million this year after more than six million Ukrainians fled their country and a further eight million are displaced inside the country following the February 24 Russian military invasion.
“One hundred million is a stark figure — sobering and alarming in equal measure. It’s a record that should never have been set,” said UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, UN News reported. “This must serve as a wake-up call to resolve and prevent destructive conflicts, end persecution, and address the underlying causes that force innocent people to flee their homes.”
“The international response to people fleeing war in Ukraine has been overwhelmingly positive,” Grandi added. “Compassion is alive, and we need a similar mobilization for all crises around the world. But ultimately, humanitarian aid is a palliative, not a cure. To reverse this trend, the only answer is peace and stability so that innocent people are not forced to gamble between acute danger at home or precarious flight and exile”.
The UN agency said the 100 million displaced people worldwide represented 1 per cent of the global population and they included refugees as well as asylum seekers and the 53.2 million people displaced within their countries.
Jan Egeland, the Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council, said, “Today’s sobering 100 million displacement figure is indisputable proof that global leaders are failing the world’s most vulnerable people on a scale never before seen. Behind these numbers are families without roofs over their heads, children shut out from school and entire communities facing starvation. We are witnessing an unprecedented plague of human suffering.
“The war in Ukraine has not only forced over 14 million people from their homes, but has tipped the global displacement number over 100 million for the first time on record. Disruptions to Ukraine’s supply chains have also caused food and fuel prices to soar in the world’s crisis hotspots, worsening an already dire situation for displaced people. We are seeing the domino effect of this devastating many places where we operate, from Somalia to Yemen.
“Meanwhile, the aid system is overstretched and underfunded. We will not be able to support 100 million people in need without more resources – it is twice the number of people compared to a decade ago, without a doubling of funding to match it.”
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UN: Over 100 million people forced to flee conflict and persecution for the first time on record
Geneva/New York, May 23 – The United Nations refugee agency said a record number of over 100 million people have been forced to flee war, human rights violations and persecution, including the millions of Ukrainians displaced by Russia’s war in their country this year.
The agency said there were an estimated 90 million people who were forcibly displaced by violence in countries like Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Myanmar, Nigeria, Afghanistan and Congo by the end of 2021. That number has reached over 100 million this year after more than six million Ukrainians fled their country and a further eight million are displaced inside the country following the February 24 Russian military invasion.
“One hundred million is a stark figure — sobering and alarming in equal measure. It’s a record that should never have been set,” said UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, UN News reported. “This must serve as a wake-up call to resolve and prevent destructive conflicts, end persecution, and address the underlying causes that force innocent people to flee their homes.”
“The international response to people fleeing war in Ukraine has been overwhelmingly positive,” Grandi added. “Compassion is alive, and we need a similar mobilization for all crises around the world. But ultimately, humanitarian aid is a palliative, not a cure. To reverse this trend, the only answer is peace and stability so that innocent people are not forced to gamble between acute danger at home or precarious flight and exile”.
The UN agency said the 100 million displaced people worldwide represented 1 per cent of the global population and they included refugees as well as asylum seekers and the 53.2 million people displaced within their countries.
Jan Egeland, the Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council, said, “Today’s sobering 100 million displacement figure is indisputable proof that global leaders are failing the world’s most vulnerable people on a scale never before seen. Behind these numbers are families without roofs over their heads, children shut out from school and entire communities facing starvation. We are witnessing an unprecedented plague of human suffering.
“The war in Ukraine has not only forced over 14 million people from their homes, but has tipped the global displacement number over 100 million for the first time on record. Disruptions to Ukraine’s supply chains have also caused food and fuel prices to soar in the world’s crisis hotspots, worsening an already dire situation for displaced people. We are seeing the domino effect of this devastating many places where we operate, from Somalia to Yemen.
“Meanwhile, the aid system is overstretched and underfunded. We will not be able to support 100 million people in need without more resources – it is twice the number of people compared to a decade ago, without a doubling of funding to match it.”
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