The war in Ukraine

In its annual report, the United Nations announced that the number of forcibly displaced people around the world has jumped to a record high of 110 million people. And the situation in Ukraine and Sudan is forcing millions to flee their homes.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said that the number, which was 108.4 million people at the end of last year, increased by 19.1 million from what it was at the end of 2019, which is an unprecedented increase.

The organization added that the recent conflict in Sudan has exacerbated the situation, which had already become exceptional in 2022, due to the war in Ukraine and the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.

The Forced Displacement Report also showed that over the two decades preceding the Syrian conflict that broke out in 2011, the global level was roughly stable at about 40 million refugees and internally displaced persons, but it has been increasing annually since then, and has now more than doubled.

For his part, UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi told a press conference in Geneva: “This is where we are today. We have 110 million people who have fled because of conflict, persecution, discrimination and violence, often in addition to other motives, especially the impact of climate change. This is an indictment of the state of our world.”

Grandi added: “The prevailing discourse is still that all refugees go to rich countries. This is wrong in fact, what is happening is the exact opposite. 70% of refugees, that is 35 million, flee to the country next to their own. Most of them want to go home. This is The numbers tell a completely different story than what we hear constantly, especially from some politicians.”

The UNHCR stated that 35.3 million people are refugees, and 62.5 million are displaced out of the total number registered in 2022. It indicated that 5.4 million asylum seekers and 5.2 million others need international protection.

The High Commissioner said that all these people are now facing a more hostile environment, especially the refugees, and he referred to the attack launched by the Syrian refugee in the French city of Annecy: “What we need to avoid is generalization, some have said that refugees are killing children, and I read phrases such as + Genocide+ and +murderers of the French+ This is hate speech, and I hope no one uses it.”