Global refugee numbers remain at record high

SBS World News Radio: The world's forcibly displaced population remains at an all-time high. New figures from the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, show there are now over 65 million displaced people, largely from conflicts in the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa.The figures show developing nations continue to shoulder a disproportionate responsibility for hosting refugees.

Global refugee numbers remain at record highGlobal refugee numbers remain at record high

Global refugee numbers remain at record high

Displaced Syrians, Sudanese, Iraqis and Ethiopians join Lebanese families for a mass iftar in Beirut, hosted by the UNHCR.

For Nada Barakat, a Syrian refugee from Aleppo, it's a welcome gesture.

"Such entertaining activities, in which we can be together, help us face the difficulties of war and forget our pain a little... we make a nice atmosphere with people, meet each other and bring something positive for children and everyone here tired from war."

An average of 20 people were displaced every minute of every day last year, according to the latest snapshot of displaced people and refugees around the globe.

The UNHCR says more than half the world's refugees came from just three countries - Syria, Afghanistan and South Sudan.

And for the third consecutive year, Turkey hosted the largest number of refugees worldwide - 2.9 million.

That's followed by Pakistan - hosting primarily those fleeing Afghanistan - and Lebanon.

Nine of the top 10 refugee-hosting countries are developing nations, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia and Uganda.

The UNHCR says of over 10 million people displaced last year, just over a third sought protection abroad.

Nearly 70 per cent remained in their own countries - countries, it says, least-equipped to respond.

On a visit to Juba in South Sudan, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi has called on the country's leadership to help stem the flow of people within its borders.

"Southern Sudanese refugees don't travel very far. They don't arrive on the shores of Europe or Australia or at the border between Mexico and the US. Those are the places in the world where refugees become visible and where their message is heard, but they're here. They are nearby because they hope probably to go back and they live with communities that are close to them."

The global refugee population stands at 22.5 million, including 5.3 million Palestinians under the mandate of the UN's Works and Relief Agency.

Bruno Geddo, from the UNHCR in Iraq, says he's concerned about potential 'donor fatigue', especially as his agency has a funding shortfall of around 75 per cent.

"I'm also aware inevitably that in complex situations, and Iraq has been complex for the last 20-plus years, there may at times be a tendency by donors to succumb to fatigue. But again, the fight, the battle, the struggle which has been waged in Iraq is important well beyond the borders of Iraq. It is a fight, struggle that is being waged on behalf of the entire humanity."

Filippo Grandi acknowledges there's frustration on the part of the international community.

"This is unfortunate but this a reality that we have seen many times. Think of Syria 2013-14. Aid declined at that point because there was a realisation that what everybody thought was going to be a quick fix was not going to be a quick fix and therefore paradoxically aid diminishes. That's the time when you need to invest more because people also will lose faith and become desperate and perhaps move on if they don't have any other option, so this is the time when really humanitarian and development assistance is necessary."

In Europe, Hungary became a major crossing point for hundreds of thousands of migrants at the height of Europe's migrant crisis in 2015.

Around 7,000 are now stuck there in camps in an increasingly hardline system that many have widely criticised as being inhumane.

Aid groups say since the beginning of this year, only 100 asylum seekers have been granted protection status in Hungary - while over 2,200 were rejected during the same period.

For 14 year-old Afghan refugee, Namalali, conditions are harsh.

"I crossed the border 15 times, maybe 10 times police arrest me and fight me. I have with my friends, we have four, eight, 12 ... Also they arrest me and they fight me and when they fight me, they're smiling. Too much bad I'm having and every time they've taken us they crash our mobiles."

Tomas Bocek, from the Council of Europe, says asylum seekers are being deprived of their liberty, which is a breach of their human rights.

"You know, they don't understand why they are there, why they are in a closed camp, or they call it prison, why they ended up in this prison, or how they call it. And the question that everybody asked me is: when will we get out?"

 

 






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