WORSENING GLOBAL DISPLACEMENT

WORSENING GLOBAL DISPLACEMENT

UN  HIGH  COMMISSIONER  FOR  REFUGEES  LAUNCHES  STATE  OF  THE  WORLD'S
REFUGEES, WARNS OF WORSENING GLOBAL DISPLACEMENT

NEW YORK, May 31 (UNHCR) - The head of the UN refugee agency, António Guterres, warned today that factors causing mass population flight are growing and that the coming 10 years will see more and more people on the move becoming refugees or internally displaced persons.

In comments marking the launch of a flagship UNHCR book, The State of the World's Refugees: In Search of Solidarity, Guterres said displacement from conflict is becoming compounded by a combination  of  causes;  including  climate  change,  population  growth,  urbanization,  food insecurity, water scarcity and resource competition.  All these factors are interacting with each other increasing instability and conflict and forcing people to move.  In a world that is becoming smaller and smaller, finding solutions, he said, will need determined international political will. 

"The world is creating displacement faster than it is producing solutions," said Guterres, UN High Commissioner for Refugees. "And this means one thing only: More people trapped in exile over many  years,  unable  to  return  home,  to  settle  locally,  or  to  move  elsewhere.

Global displacement is an inherently international problem, and as such needs international solutions - and by this I mainly mean political solutions."

The State of the World's Refugees: In Search of Solidarity details these and other changes to the environment for the displaced since 2006 when the previous edition of the book was published. It  presents  a  decidedly  gloomier  outlook:  larger  and  more  complex  displacement  challenges, increased threats to the safety of humanitarian workers, and states needing to strengthen their cooperation. 

Notable  among  these  changes  is  the  emergence  of  internal  displacement  as  a  dominant challenge. Today most of the world's 43 million forced to flee their homes are not refugees but people who are displaced within their own countries. Globally, some 26 million people fall into this category, compared to around 15‐16 million refugees and a further million asylum seekers. For humanitarian workers, an ensuing implication is that helping the displaced is becoming more costly and dangerous. In countries such as Somalia, Afghanistan, Yemen, or Iraq, getting help to internally  displaced  populations  means  working  in  environments  where  access  is  difficult  and
conflict or criminality can present deadly risk.  

The State of the World's Refugees: In Search of Solidarity looks at these problems and the state of cooperation among countries.  "The space for humanitarian intervention is shrinking exactly when  the  need  for  humanitarian  help  is  increasing.    Pressures  on  the  international  protection system  are  clearly  growing.    In  some  industrialized  countries  in  particular  we  see  fortress mentalities that serve only to shift responsibility and compassion elsewhere.  In a world where societies  are  becoming  multi‐cultural  and  multi‐ethnic,  it  is  essential  to  promote  the  values  of tolerance and to fight the manifestation of xenophobia," said Guterres.  

Several  chapters  in  the  book  look  at  emerging  challenges,  including  the  growing  numbers  of urban refugees, and displacement from climate change and natural disasters. It notes that more people  are  already  displaced  annually  by  natural  disasters  than  by  conflict.  And  it  carries  a warning about gaps in international protection when it comes to people who flee across borders to  escape  climate  change  impacts  or  natural  disasters.    They  are  not  recognized  as  refugees under international law.  


The book describes how UNHCR and its partners have developed many innovative practices in response to evolving displacement challenges. However, it also elaborates the struggle UNHCR often faces in promoting state compliance with customary international law as it relates to the forcibly  displaced,  or  the  compliance  of  signatory  states  to  their  obligations  under  the  1951 Refugee  Convention  and  its  1967  Protocol.    It  also  looks  at  the  problems  of  the  world's estimated 12 million stateless people - without citizenship of any state, they are often trapped in legal and human rights limbo.

Eighty per cent of today's refugees live in the developing world. Greater international solidarity is  needed  to  address  this  challenge,  the  book  concludes  in  its  last  chapter.    This  encompasses providing  more  resettlement  opportunities  for  refugees  in  the  industrialised  world,  focusing development  cooperation  projects  to  foster  sustainable  voluntary  return  or  local  integration, and supporting host communities.  A new deal in burden and responsibility sharing is needed in the whole cycle of refugee protection from prevention of conflict to solutions.

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Information for Reporters/Editors

1.  The  United  Nations  High  Commissioner  for  Refugees  (UNHCR):  The  Office  of  the  United Nations  High  Commissioner  for  Refugees  (UNHCR)  is  mandated  to  lead  and  coordinate international  action  for  the  worldwide  protection  of  refugees  and  the  resolution  of  refugee problems. Since its establishment in 1951, UNHCR's primary purpose has been to safeguard the rights and well‐being of refugees. Today, it also works with former refugees who have returned to  their  homeland;  internally  displaced  persons;  and  people  who  are  stateless  or  whose nationality  is  disputed.  The  agency  has  a  national  and  international  staff  of  more  than  7,685 working  in  126  countries,  and  its  budget  for  2012  is  US$3.59  billion.

http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49ed83046.html

2. The High Commissioner for Refugees: António Guterres is the head of UNHCR, responsible for the  agency's  direction  and  control.  Mr  Guterres,  a  former  Portuguese  prime  minister  (1995‐2002), became the 10th UN High Commissioner for Refugees in June 2005 when he was elected by  the  UN  General  Assembly  to  a  five‐year  term.  He  was  re‐elected  in  April  2010  to  a  second five‐year term.

http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49c3646c8.html

3.  The  State  of  the  World's  Refugees  2012:  In  search  of  solidarity,  is  produced  by  UNHCR  in collaboration with external contributors. The sixth edition, published by Oxford University Press, is  being  launched  on  31  May  2012  in  New  York.  Under  the  overarching  theme,  the  search  for solidarity,  its  eight  thematic  chapters  cover  conflicts  and  humanitarian  space;  asylum;  durable solutions;  statelessness;  internal  displacement;  urbanization;  climate  change  and  natural disasters;  and  international  solidarity.  Previous  editions  of  the  book  can  be  found  at

http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49c3646c4b8.html

4.  The  Global  Trends  Report  is  UNHCR's  leading  annual  statistical  overview  and  provides  data and insight on refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced people, and stateless people. The report is released every year close to World Refugee Day on 20th June, and past editions have attracted strong media interest. The upcoming issue of the report, covering forced displacement in 2011, is due for release on 18th June 2012. Recent editions of the report and other statistical information can be found at

http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49c3646c4d6.html

5.  Interviews:  Interview  requests  should  be  directed  to  Melissa  Fleming,  UNHCR  Chief Spokesperson fleming@unhcr.org on +41 79 557 9122.