Refugees Daily - Internal Global Press Review

The number of people who have been forced to flee war, violence and persecution looks set to soar in 2015 past last year's record of nearly 60 million, the UN said Friday.

The UN refugee agency released a report showing rocketing numbers of people living as refugees, asylum seekers or displaced within their countries during the first half of the year, and indicated that the full-year figures would be devastating.

"With almost a million people having crossed the Mediterranean as refugees and migrants so far this year, and conflicts in Syria and elsewhere continuing to generate staggering levels of human suffering, 2015 is likely to exceed all previous records for global forced displacement," UNHCR said.

Last year, the number of displaced soared to a record 59.5 million worldwide, and Friday's report indicated that this year the figure "has far surpassed 60 million".

That basically means that one in every 122 people on the planet is today someone who has been forced to flee their home, the agency said.

"Forced displacement is now profoundly affecting our times," UN refugee chief Antonio Guterres said in a statement.

"Never has there been a greater need for tolerance, compassion and solidarity with people who have lost everything."

During the first six months of the year, at least five million people were newly displaced, with 4.2 million of them remaining inside their country and 839,000 crossing borders – the equivalent of 4,600 people becoming refugees every single day, the report said.

By the end of June, 20.2 million people were living as refugees worldwide, marking a 45-percent jump since 2011.

The main contributor is the ruthless conflict in Syria, which by June this year had created 4.2 million refugees, UNHCR said.

Without this factor, the global increase in refugee numbers from 2011 to mid-2015 would have been just five percent, the agency said.

UNHCR meanwhile pointed out that Europe's migration crisis – its worst since World War II – is only partially reflected in the new numbers, since arrivals have escalated dramatically in the second half of 2015, a period not covered by the report.

Global asylum applications shot up 78 percent compared to the first half of 2015 to nearly a million, the report showed.

Germany was the world's biggest recipient of asylum claims, clocking 159,000 during the six months leading to June – close to the total for all of 2014.

But the situation has escalated dramatically since then, with Germany now expected to take in one million asylum-seekers by the end of the year.

Russia came in second place in terms of asylum applications, receiving 100,000 in the first half of 2015, mainly from people fleeing the conflict in Ukraine.

The overall number of internally displaced people (IDPs), subtracting those who have returned home, swelled by two million over the six month period to about 34 million, the report said.

War-ravaged Yemen alone saw 933,500 new IDPs in the first half of the year, while the war in Ukraine displaced 559,000 internally, and the Democratic Republic of Congo counted 558,000 new internally displaced.

UNHCR meanwhile warned the global IDP numbers were likely higher, since the report only covers internally displaced people under UNHCR protection, and not those cared for at a national level.
 

The U.N. refugee agency warns the number of people forcibly displaced from their homes is likely to exceed 60 million in 2015. The UNHCR has released its Mid-Year Trends 2015 report covering global forced displacement during the first six months of this year.

The UNHCR report does not include the hundreds of thousands of refugees who made the perilous journey to Europe across the Mediterranean nor the thousands more seeking refuge from many conflicts around the world during the last half of this year.

But the report says the numbers are staggering and alarming. Figures show the global refugee total by mid-2015 had exceeded 20 million, the highest number since 1992; asylum claims had gone up by 78 percent from last year, and the numbers of internally displaced people had jumped by around two million to an estimated 34 million.

U.N. refugee spokesman, Adrian Edwards, tells VOA the current levels of forcible displacement, predicted to reach more than 60 million by year's end, have not been seen since World War II.

"Today, each of us has a one in a 122 chance of becoming a refugee, becoming displaced. And, that is very worrying because what happens to people once they become refugees, today they are staying refugees often for very many years. Some for their lifetime," said Edwards.

Edwards said huge numbers of Syrians have fled war and persecution during the past five years. He said Syrians account for nearly one-quarter of the world's 20 million refugees and millions more are displaced within the country.

"I would point to the fact that both in Syria, where you have more than six million people internally displaced, but also in many other countries where we are seeing rising internal displacement, this is a big, big worry because internal displacement is often an early warning indicator of future refugee flows," said Edwards.

The report says voluntary return rates are at their lowest levels in three decades. The UNHCR says there is little political will on the part of governments to work together to find solutions to the growing refugee and displacement problems.
 

The number of people forced to flee war, violence and persecution in 2015 is set to soar past last year's record of nearly 60 million, the UN has said. One in every 122 people has been forced to flee their home.

The UN refugee agency released a report Friday that showed rocketing numbers of people having been displaced within their countries or living as refugees or asylum seekers during the first half of the year, the agency indicating that the full-year figures would be even more acute.

"Forced displacement is now profoundly affecting our times," UN refugee chief Antonio Guterres said in a statement. "Never has there been a greater need for tolerance, compassion and solidarity with people who have lost everything."

Despite perceptions that most were headed for affluent Europe and North America, it's been developing countries bordering conflict zones that host the lion's share of the refugees, the report said. The report also went on to warn about growing "resentment" and "politicization of refugees."

Staggering scale of displacement

During the first six months of 2015, at least 5 million people were newly displaced, with 4.2 million of them remaining inside their country and 839,000 crossing national frontiers – the equivalent of 4,600 people becoming refugees every single day, the report said.

By the end of June, 20.2 million people were living as refugees worldwide, marking a 45 percent jump since 2011.

The main contributor is the relentless conflict in Syria, which by June this year had created 4.2 million refugees, the UNHCR said.

Germany was by far the world's largest recipient of asylum claims, logging about 159,000 – nearly the amount registered in all of 2014 – during the six months leading to June.

The situation has accelerated even more since June, with Germany now expected to take in 1 million asylum-seekers by the end of the year.

Russia came in second place in terms of asylum applications – mainly from people fleeing war in eastern Ukraine – receiving 100,000 in the first half of 2015.

Meanwhile, civil war in Yemen, where a Saudi-backed coalition is trying to dislodge Iran-backed militias, saw 933,500 new cases of internal displacement in the first half of the year. War in Ukraine displaced 559,000 internally and the Democratic Republic of Congo counted 558,000 new internally displaced.

The UN report is based on official figures as of mid-year, well before the influx of refugees and migrants crossing the Mediterranean peaked in October. It extrapolates from trends to estimate a global total.

This year's total is projected to far surpass 60 million. That means that one in every 122 people on the planet was forced to flee their home, the agency said.

Dim prospects for return home

As numbers of displacement soar, voluntary returns – a measure of how many refugees can safely return home – are at their lowest levels in more than three decades, with only 84,000 people returning by mid-year against 107,000 at the same time a year before, the UNHCR said.

"In effect, if you become a refugee today your chances of going home are lower than at any time in more than 30 years," the report concluded.
 

Geneva (dpa) – The number of refugees and internally displaced people worldwide will likely reach a new record far beyond 60 million this year, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said Friday in Geneva.

This means that one in every 122 humans is someone who has has been forced from their home.

"Forced displacement is now profoundly affecting our times," said Antonio Guterres, the outgoing UN high commissioner for refugees.

"Never has there been a greater need for tolerance, compassion and solidarity with people who have lost everything," he said.

At least 5 million people around the world fled across borders or became displaced within their countries between January and June, UNHCR said in its preliminary annual statistics that were based on data from the first half of the year.

Syria has remained as the biggest source of new refugees this year and the conflict there contributed to the new annual record.

Syria's neighbour Turkey was the world's biggest host, according to the refugee agency. It currently hosts 2.3 million Syrians.

In Lebanon, another country bordering Syria, one in five inhabitants is a refugee, making it the country with the biggest refugee population per capita.

The agency said it was worried that the number of refugees who returned home during the first half of 2015 was at the lowest level in 30 years, as falling return rates indicate high levels of conflict around the world.

Guterres, a former Portuguese prime minister and peace negotiator, leaves office at the end of the year. He will be replaced by the Italian UN diplomat Filippo Grandi, who led the UN agency for Palestinian refugees until 2014.
 

GENEVA, Dec 18 (Reuters) – The number of people forcibly displaced worldwide is likely to have "far surpassed" a record 60 million this year, mainly driven by the Syrian war and other protracted conflicts, the United Nations said on Friday.

The estimated figure includes 20.2 million refugees fleeing wars and persecution, the most since 1992, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in a report.

Nearly 2.5 million asylum seekers have requests pending, with Germany, Russia and the United States receiving the highest numbers of the nearly one million new claims lodged in the first half of the year, it said.

"2015 is on track to see worldwide forced displacement exceeding 60 million for the first time – 1 in every 122 humans is today someone who has been forced to flee their homes," it said. The total figure at the end of 2014 was 59.5 million.

An estimated 34 million people were internally displaced as of mid-year, about 2 million more than the same time in 2014. Yemen, where civil war erupted in March, reported the highest number of newly uprooted people at 933,500.

"Never has there been a greater need for tolerance, compassion and solidarity with people who have lost everything," Antonio Guterres, U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, said in a statement.

Developing countries bordering conflict zones still host the lion's share of the refugees, the report said, warning about growing "resentment" and "politicisation of refugees".

The report, based on official figures as of mid-year before the influx of refugees and migrants crossing the Mediterranean to reach Europe peaked in October, extrapolates from trends to estimate the global total.

Syria's civil war that began in 2011 has been the main driver of mass displacement, with more than 4.2 million Syrian refugees having fled abroad and 7.6 million uprooted within their shattered homeland as of mid-year, UNHCR said.

Together, nationals of Syria and Ukraine, where a separatist rebellion in the east erupted in April 2014, accounted for half of the 839,000 people who became refugees in the first half of 2015, it said.

Violence in Afghanistan, Somalia and South Sudan sparked large refugee movements, as well as fighting in Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Iraq.

Voluntary returns – a measure of how many refugees can safely go back home – are at their lowest levels in more than three decades, with only 84,000 people returning by mid-year against 107,000 at the same time a year before, the UNHCR said.

Many refugees will live in exile for years to come, it said. "In effect, if you become a refugee today your chances of going home are lower than at any time in more than 30 years." (Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay)