{"id":163071,"date":"2020-06-22T12:00:45","date_gmt":"2020-06-22T11:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=163071"},"modified":"2020-12-02T10:41:16","modified_gmt":"2020-12-02T10:41:16","slug":"un-refugee-chief-laments-nearly-80-million-people-forcibly-displaced","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2020\/06\/un-refugee-chief-laments-nearly-80-million-people-forcibly-displaced\/","title":{"rendered":"UN Refugee Chief Laments Nearly 80 Million People Forcibly Displaced"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"field field-name-field-news-date field-type-datetime field-label-hidden\">\n<div class=\"field-items\">\n<div><\/div>\n<blockquote>\n<div class=\"field-item even\"><span class=\"date-display-single\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/un-news-logo-e1568706362531.png\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-109474\" src=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/un-news-logo-e1568706362531.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"field-item even\"><span class=\"date-display-single\">18 June 2020 &#8211; <\/span><em>Global displacement reached a staggering 79.5 million people last year &#8211; almost double the number of people in crisis registered a decade ago \u2013 owing to war, violence, persecution and other emergencies, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said today.<\/em><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<div>\n<div class=\"paragraphs-items paragraphs-items-field-news-story paragraphs-items-field-news-story-full paragraphs-items-full\">\n<div class=\"field field-name-field-news-story field-type-paragraphs field-label-hidden\">\n<div class=\"field-items\">\n<div class=\"field-item even\">\n<div class=\"entity entity-paragraphs-item paragraphs-item-one-column-text\">\n<div class=\"content\">\n<div class=\"field field-name-field-text-column field-type-text-long field-label-hidden\">\n<div class=\"field-items\">\n<div class=\"field-item even\">\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Highlighting that this number now represents one in every 97 people on the planet, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/\" class=\"word-link\" title=\"UN High Commissioner for Refugees\"  target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">UNHCR<\/a>\u2019s latest <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/5ee200e37\/\" >Global Trends report<\/a> shows that 8.7 million people were newly displaced in 2019 alone, with developing countries worst hit.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Emi Mahmoud\u2019s powerful new poem in the time of <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/COVID19?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" >#COVID19<\/a> will leave you emotional&#8230; \ud83d\ude14<\/p>\n<p>Then speechless&#8230; \ud83d\ude2e<\/p>\n<p>And finally inspired. \ud83d\udc99 <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/WorldRefugeeDay?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" >#WorldRefugeeDay<\/a> <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/WyO5ALZJ6z\" >pic.twitter.com\/WyO5ALZJ6z<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency (@Refugees) <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Refugees\/status\/1273239584617488385?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" >June 17, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis almost 80 million figure \u2013 the highest that UNHCR has recorded since these statistics have been systematically collected, is of course a reason for great concern. This is approximately one per cent of the world\u2019s population, we have never reached this very significant percentage\u201d, UNHCR High Commissioner, Filippo Grandi said, his comments coinciding with World Refugee Day, being marked this coming Saturday.<\/p>\n<h3>\u2018Rhetoric\u2019 slammed<\/h3>\n<p>Speaking to journalists in Geneva, the UNHCR chief noted that although the issue of displacement affects all nations, data showed that it was poorer countries which hosted 85 per cent of those forced from their home.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis continues to be a global issue, an issue for all States, but one that challenges most directly the poorer countries &#8211; not the richer countries &#8211; in spite of the rhetoric,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Numerous emergencies old and new are behind the massive people flows, from Afghanistan to Central African Republic, to Myanmar, with hotspots including the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Burkina Faso &#8211; and the wider Sahel &#8211; and the continuing fallout in Syria, after nearly a decade of civil war.<\/p>\n<h3>Staying close to home<\/h3>\n<p>Nonetheless, 73 per cent of the 79.5 million on the move have sought shelter in a country neighbouring their own, Mr. Grandi continued, dismissing the regularly politicised misconception, that most migrants and refugees target richer countries far from home.<\/p>\n<p>Nearly seven in 10 of those displaced came from Syria, Venezuela, Afghanistan, South Sudan and Myanmar, the High Commissioner continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf crises in these countries were solved, 68 per cent of global forced displacement would be on its way to being solved\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n<h3>COVID impact<\/h3>\n<p>Asked about the impact of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/coronavirus\" class=\"word-link\" title=\"Coronavirus disease (COVID-19)\"  target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">COVID-19<\/a> on mass population movements, Mr. Grandi said that it would \u201cno doubt\u201d push more people into crisis.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am very worried and we\u2019ve said it to a lot of different Governments that have asked us the question\u201d, he said. \u201cThe \u2018livelihoods crisis\u2019\u2026the increased poverty of these populations, in my opinion &#8211; coupled with lack of solutions to a situation of conflict and in situations like the Sahel, with a deterioration of security &#8211; there\u2019s no doubt it will increase population movements in the region but also beyond, towards Europe\u201d.<\/p>\n<h3>\u2018Stagnant\u2019 Rohingya situation<\/h3>\n<p>Since the global health crisis began, the agency has also reported an increase in the number of Rohingyas moving from Bangladesh and Myanmar, towards Malaysia and other States in South East Asia.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_163072\" style=\"width: 460px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/UN-Women-Allison-Joyce-rohingya-cox-bazaar.jpeg\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-163072\" class=\"wp-image-163072\" src=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/UN-Women-Allison-Joyce-rohingya-cox-bazaar.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"299\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-163072\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A woman holds her child in Balukhali refugee camp in Cox\u2019s Bazar.<br \/>UN Women Allison Joyce<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"dnd-widget-wrapper context-un_news_full_width type-image\">\n<div class=\"dnd-atom-rendered\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/global.unitednations.entermediadb.net\/assets\/mediadb\/services\/module\/asset\/downloads\/preset\/Libraries\/Production+Library\/09-06-2020_UN-Women_Coxs-Bazar.jpg\/image300x180cropped.jpg\" media=\"(max-width : 480px)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/global.unitednations.entermediadb.net\/assets\/mediadb\/services\/module\/asset\/downloads\/preset\/Libraries\/Production+Library\/09-06-2020_UN-Women_Coxs-Bazar.jpg\/image770x420cropped.jpg\" media=\"(max-width : 768px)\" \/><\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cThat in my opinion is linked more than COVID once again by the very stagnant situation of the Rohingya issue\u201d, Mr. Grandi said. \u201cNo solution, great poverty and lack of opportunities in the camps in Bangladesh, now maybe also couple with the lockdown that was made necessary by COVID that has added to the hardship.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Venezuelans\u2019 mass movement<\/h3>\n<p>For the first time, Venezuela\u2019s 3.5 million displaced people feature in the UNHCR report, accounting in part for the significant rise, compared with the 2018-19 data.<\/p>\n<p>Taking into account people forced to move multiple times as a net figure, the total displacement figure for 2019 is not 8.7 million, but 11 million.<\/p>\n<p>This covers 2.4 million people who sought protection outside their country and 8.6 million who were newly displaced within the borders of their countries, according to the agency.<\/p>\n<p>Many displaced populations failed to find long-lasting solutions for rebuilding their lives last year, with only 317,200 refugees able to return to their country of origin and only 107,800 resettled in third countries, UNHCR said.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_163073\" style=\"width: 510px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/refugee-women-brazil.jpg\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-163073\" class=\"wp-image-163073\" src=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/refugee-women-brazil.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/refugee-women-brazil.jpg 680w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/refugee-women-brazil-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-163073\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A mother takes care of her baby inside a gymnasium that has been turned into a refugee settlement in Pintolandia, Brazil. \u00a9 UNHCR\/Vincent Tremeau<\/p><\/div>\n<h3>Displaced children in their millions<\/h3>\n<p>In terms of the ages of those affected, the UN agency estimates that around 30 to 34 million of the world\u2019s 79.5 million forcibly displaced, are children.<\/p>\n<p>Of the near 80 million people cited in the report, 26 million are refugees; 20.4 million come under UNHCR\u2019s mandate and 5.6 million are Palestine refugees registered with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/news.un.org\/en\/story\/2020\/06\/1066492\" >Go to Original &#8211; news.un.org<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>18 June 2020 &#8211; Global displacement reached a staggering 79.5 million people last year &#8211; almost double the number of people in crisis registered a decade ago \u2013 owing to war, violence, persecution and other emergencies, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":109474,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[82,2234],"tags":[867,120,840,1126,1495,487,926,1050,950,883,91,86,821,822,124,70,481],"class_list":["post-163071","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-united-nations","category-great-reset","tag-anglo-america","tag-conflict","tag-cruelty","tag-hegemony","tag-human-needs","tag-human-rights","tag-humanitarianism","tag-imperialism","tag-invasion","tag-migrants","tag-nato","tag-occupation","tag-refugees","tag-unhcr","tag-united-nations","tag-usa","tag-warfare"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163071","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=163071"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163071\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/109474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=163071"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=163071"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=163071"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}