Rio de Janeiro – The global displacement of people forced to flee their homes hit another record, capping a decade-long rising trend. According to UN Refugee Agency UNHCR’s annual Global Trends report, the number of people that had to flee their homes stands at the highest level since records began. “A trend that can be only reversed by a new, concerted push towards peacemaking,” UNHCR said.
The report launched on Thursday (16) in a partnership between UNHCR and the Social Service of Commerce (SESC) Rio showed that those displaced by war, violence, persecution, and human rights abuses stood at 89.3 million, up 8% on a year earlier and well over double the figure of 10 years ago.
According to UNHCR, the Russian invasion of Ukraine caused “the fastest and one of the largest forced displacement crises since World War II.” Other emergencies, from Africa to Afghanistan and beyond, pushed the figure over the dramatic milestone of 100 million in May 2022. “Either the international community comes together to take action to address this human tragedy, resolve conflicts and find lasting solutions, or this terrible trend will continue,” said the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi.
According to the World Bank, 23 countries, with a combined population of 850 million, faced medium- or high-intensity conflicts. Food scarcity, inflation and the climate crisis are adding to people’s hardship, stretching the “humanitarian response just as the funding outlook in many situations appears bleak.”
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
