In news- The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has recently published the 2022 annual Global Trends Report on World Refugee Day by the UN.
Key highlights of the report-
- UNHCR’s Global Trends report presents key statistical trends and the latest numbers of refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced and stateless persons worldwide as well as numbers of people who have returned to their countries or areas of origin.
- The report is published once a year and reflects on the previous year.
- The figures are based on data reported by governments, NGOs and UNHCR.
- According to the report, on Earth, 1 in every 78 people is now displaced.
- There were 23.7 million new internal displacements worldwide, due to disasters. It is a decrease of 23 percent compared to last year.
- The largest displacement occurred in China in 2021 (6 million), the Philippines (5.7 million), and India (4.9 million).
- 5.9 million people across the world remained displaced at the end of 2021 due to disasters.
- The number of people who were forced to flee their homes has increased in the past decade and stands at the highest level since records started.
- By the end of May 2022, more than 100 million people were forcibly displaced worldwide. The reasons cited are violence, war in Ukraine, food insecurity, human rights abuses, climate crisis, and other emergencies from Africa to Afghanistan.
- The report, however, notes that the impact of climate change on displacement is not uniform.
- Importantly, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has caused the fastest and largest forced displacement crises after World War II from Africa to Afghanistan and beyond.
- In India’s case, the report points out that around five million people were internally displaced. The reason cited is due to disasters and climate change in 2021.
- Low and middle-income countries hosted 83% of the world’s refugees and Turkey hosted nearly 3.8 million refugees, the largest population worldwide.
- The number of new individual asylum applications registered globally in 2021 increased by 25% to 1.4 million from 1.1 million but it is less than pre-pandemic levels.
- Also, Unaccompanied or separated children (UASC) accounted for two percent of new asylum claims.
- The U.S. was the most popular choice among refugees to seek asylum, followed by Germany, Mexico, Costa Rica, and France.
World Refugee Day-
- June 20 is designated as World Refugee Day by the UN.
- The day was first established on 20 June 2001, in recognition of the 50th anniversary of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees.
- The 1951 Refugee Convention acknowledges a refugee as an individual who is unable to return to their country of origin owing to the founded fear of being affected by their race, religion, participation of a social group or in different political opinions.
- The theme for World Refugee Day 2022 is whoever, whatever, whenever. (Everyone has got a right to seek safety).
- The event aims to recognise the strength of the refugees who have fled the conflict and persecution of their country in hope of finding sanctuary and living a better life.
- World Refugee Day builds the concept of understanding for their plight which shows one’s resilience and courage in the rebuilding of their future.
About United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)-
- UNHCR, a United Nations agency, is a global organization dedicated to saving lives, protecting rights, and building a better future for refugees, forcibly displaced communities and stateless people.
- The body assists them in their voluntary repatriation, resettlement or local integration.
- Headquarter of UNHCR is in Geneva, Switzerland.
- The 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol are the key legal documents that form the basis of UNHCR.
- The 1951 convention finds its roots in Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948.
- It states that everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy asylum from persecution in other countries.
- Established in 1954, the UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award honours individuals, groups and organizations who go above and beyond the call of duty to protect refugees, as well as displaced and stateless people.
- The Winner of UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award for 2021 was the Jeel Albena Association for Humanitarian Development (JAAHD), a humanitarian organization providing emergency services to internally displaced people in northern Yemen.
Source: The Indian Express
