“This should be a wake-up call to resolve and prevent destructive conflict, end persecution and address the causes that force innocent people to flee.” The figure includes refugees and asylum seekers, as well as 53.2 million internally displaced people.
By the end of 2021, the number of displaced people worldwide had risen to 90 million. According to UNHCR, this was triggered by new waves of violence or protracted conflicts in countries such as Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Myanmar, Nigeria, Afghanistan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Furthermore, the war in Ukraine this year has displaced eight million people within the country and more than six million have fled abroad.
“The international response to people fleeing the war in Ukraine has been overwhelmingly positive,” Grandi said. “Compassion is alive and we need a similar mobilization for all crises around the world.” Humanitarian aid, however, is ultimately just a “soothing” and “not a cure”. “To reverse the trend, there is only one answer: peace and stability,” said the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
UNHCR releases its annual Global Trends report on 16 June with global, regional and national data on forced displacement for 2021. It already includes updates through April 2022.