The number of refugees, asylum-seekers and internally displaced persons in the world by the end of 2016 totaled a record high of 65.6 million people.
As more than 1,000 children continue to flee South Sudan, on average every day in search of safety, the region's refugee crisis has become a children's crisis, UNICEF said today, on World Refugee Day.
Devastating conflicts, violence and persecution in places like Syria and South Sudan left a record 65.6 million people uprooted from their homes by the end of 2016, the United Nations said Monday.
The global number of refugees and displaced persons has increased by about 300,000 to 65.6 million, the UN's refugee agency estimates. The rest had fled their native countries, with that figure broken down into 22.5 million refugees and 2.8 million people "seeking asylum".
While the 2016 total is high-representing an enormous number of people needing protection worldwide-it also shows that growth in displacement slowed a year ago.
Another 22.5 million people - half of them children - were registered as refugees previous year, the UNHCR report showed, pointing out that this is "the highest level ever recorded".
South Sudan's civil war, which began in December 2013, has left tens of thousands dead and forced a total of 3.7 million people from their homes - almost a third of the population.
It also illustrates the need for countries and communities supporting refugees and other displaced people to be robustly resourced and supported, the absence of which can create instability, have consequences for lifesaving humanitarian work, or lead to secondary displacement. At the same time, the United Nations report has warned on this huge imbalance that can create instability in the host countries saying "the figure illustrates the need for countries and communities supporting refugees and other displaced people to be robustly resourced and supported".
One in every 113 people around the world has been forcibly displaced and needs protection, writes Farren Collins.
The report called the large number of unaccompanied children asking for asylum a growing and unsettling development.
Trump labors to make Mueller-Comey tie a key talking point
Trump, according to his advisers, had become enormously frustrated that Comey would not say so publicly. Trump and Comey spoke several times , both in person and on the phone.
The UN chief said it is "so inspiring to see countries with the least doing the most for refugees".
Since violence erupted in South Sudan in December 2013, more than 1.8 million people, including more than one million children have arrived in neighbouring countries.
Grandi said he is anxious that the United Nations has received only about 23 percent of the $8 billion it requested to deal with the continuing Syrian civil war.
"The system protecting refugees will collapse if we do not step up our support to countries like Uganda", said Jan Egeland, Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council in a statement.
Pakistan stands first in highest number of refugees with 1.6 million.
Uganda received 532,725 new refugees past year, and was the country receiving the largest number of refugees worldwide.
Other countries with large numbers of Myanmar refugees included Thailand (102,600), Malaysia (87,000), and India (15,600), said the report.
Some 189,300 refugees were accepted for resettlement by 37 countries.
In 2016, war-ravaged South Sudan joined the list when approximately 737,400 people fled the country after peace efforts broke down in July.
Comments