For the first time, more than 100 million people are being displaced from their homes, cities and countries, forced to flee conflict, violence, human rights abuses and persecution. Data released by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees shows that the crisis in Ukraine and other conflicts around the world helped pass this milestone.
“One hundred million is a staggering number, both sobering and alarming. It’s a record that should never have been set,” said Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees. “This should serve as a wakeup call to resolve and prevent destructive conflict, end persecution and address the underlying causes that are forcing innocent people to flee their homes,” he said.
According to the United Nations Organization, the number of people forcibly displaced worldwide rose to 90 million by the end of 2021, driven by new waves of violence or protracted conflicts in countries such as Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Myanmar, Nigeria, Afghanistan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
In addition, the war in Ukraine this year has displaced 8 million inside the country, and more than 6 million movements of refugees from Ukraine have been registered.
Today, only the Syrian crisis outstrips the influx of refugees from Ukraine. But if the war continues, the forecast rate will be exceeded between June and July.
However, the global crisis goes far beyond Ukraine and is directly related to the international community’s inability to end armed conflicts, which, once initiated, rarely result in a lasting peace agreement.
“With more than 1% of the world’s population, the total equates to the 14th most populous country in the world,” according to the UN.
The 100 million people registered include refugees and asylumseekers, as well as the 53.2 million people displaced within its borders by conflict.
“The international response to people fleeing the war in Ukraine has been extremely positive,” added Grandi. “Compassion is alive and we need a similar mobilization for all crises around the world. But ultimately, humanitarian aid is a palliative, not a cure,” he said.
“To reverse this trend, the only answer is peace and stability, so that innocent people are not forced to gamble between imminent danger at home and precarious flight and exile.”