World Refugee Day; The number of refugees in the world has reached its highest level
Association for Defending Victims of Terrorism - UNHCR reported that due to the increase in war, violence and natural disasters around the world, more than 120 million people fled their homeland or were displaced by May this year.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees says the number is an 8 percent increase over the previous year and the highest number since the organization began keeping records. Children make up 40% of all forced refugees.
The United Nations also says that this means that every minute, at least 20 people have to give up their lives to escape war, persecution, or terror.
UNHCR released the findings ahead of World Refugee Day on June 20. This day, initiated by the United Nations, is dedicated to “commemorating the resistance and courage of refugees around the world”.
Filippo Grandi, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, said: “Behind this high and growing number lie countless humanitarian tragedies. This suffering must mobilize the international community to confront the root causes of forced displacement.”
What places do refugees flee from?
The report shows that in 2023, nearly three out of four refugees (73 percent) will be from just five countries: Afghanistan, Syria, Venezuela, Ukraine, and Sudan.
Syria still faces the world’s largest displacement crisis, with 13.8 million people forcibly displaced inside and outside the country by the end of 2023, largely due to the civil war that has raged for the past 12 years.
One of the main factors in the increase in global displacement figures this year has been the civil war in Sudan, which led to the displacement of nearly 11 million Sudanese by the end of 2023.
After the Taliban took over in 2021, more than 6.4 million people fled Afghanistan last year in search of a better life.
More than six million people have left the oil-rich country since the collapse of Venezuela’s economy under Nicolas Maduro, who has been in power since 2013.
With the continuation of Russia’s war against Ukraine, the number of Ukrainian refugees reached six million by the end of 2023.
Apart from these cases, according to UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East), the ongoing war in Gaza has resulted in the displacement of 1.7 million people, which is 75% of the population of the Gaza Strip. Many of these people have experienced displacement several times.
Refugees, immigrants, asylum seekers: what is the difference?
A refugee is a person who has been forced to leave their country due to factors such as war, persecution or natural disasters.
The BBC uses the term migrant to refer to all people on the move who have not yet completed the legal process of applying for asylum. This group includes people fleeing war-torn countries, who are likely to be granted asylum, as well as people seeking job opportunities and improved living conditions, whom governments tend to classify as economic migrants.
Some people don’t like using the term “migrant” to describe refugees because it implies that people have chosen to move to another place rather than being forced to flee.
