World Refugee Day: Millions Displaced Amid Ongoing Crises
On World Refugee Day, a new UN report sheds light on the staggering global refugee crisis. According to the data, by the end of 2023, approximately 117 million people worldwide had been forcibly displaced from their homes due to conflict, persecution, and other threats – a number equivalent to the entire population of Italy.
More details in the following report:
The report from the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reveals that the number of displaced people has risen sharply in recent years, from 8 in 1,000 globally in 2014 to 14 in 1,000 in 2023. Of the 117 million displaced, the majority – 68.3 million – are internally displaced, remaining within the borders of their home countries.
The regions most impacted are Africa and the Middle East, which together account for nearly 70% of the world’s internally displaced population. Sudan, Syria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Yemen top the list of countries with the highest numbers of internally displaced. Significant displacement has also occurred in parts of Europe, with Cyprus, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Serbia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina each having over 20% of their populations displaced.
In addition to the internally displaced, the report documents 43.4 million refugees living outside their home countries – more than the population of Poland. Nine out of ten of these refugees come from just 10 nations, including Afghanistan, Syria, Venezuela, Ukraine, and South Sudan. Most seek shelter in neighboring countries, with Iran, Turkey, Colombia, Pakistan and Jordan hosting the largest refugee populations.
Concerningly, the report also highlights a growing backlog in asylum applications, with 5.6 million new requests made in 2023 but only 1.4 million decisions reached. This legal limbo leaves many displaced people in a precarious situation. Additionally, the data shows that over 1 million former refugees returned to their home countries in 2023, often to environments still marred by conflict and instability.
In the meantime, many countries have launched aggressive policies towards refugees. The EU has adopted restrictive policies that facilitate deportation of “unwelcome” asylum seekers and seeks to block trends of illegal migration from less developed countries.
Pakistan also launched a crackdown on the presence of undocumented Afghans in the country last year, leading to mass deportations into Taliban-ruled Afghanistan already plagued with economic and political instability.
According to Amnesty International, Egypt has carried out mass arrests and unlawful deportations of thousands of refugees fleeing the war in Sudan.
On this day, let us pray for the reappearance of the long-awaited saviour of the world, the heir of Ghadir, who will cleanse the Earth from all injustice and establish global peace, comfort and relief from all the unpleasant under his Divine leadership.
