Sudanese women in a refugee camp in Chad. The number of refugees in the world has reached 114 million Refugees and migrants
The number of refugees in the world has reached 114 million and continues to grow. In June, the statistics will be updated and this figure will be higher, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi warned members of the Security Council. He added that the world has not taken the necessary political decisions to overcome this crisis.
Violation of humanitarian law
One of the main factors contributing to the increase in the scale of forced displacement is the violation by the parties to the conflict of the basic rules of warfare. “Increasingly, civilians have no choice but to flee in terror,” Grundy stressed.
He elaborated on the situation in Gaza, which is leading to extremely tragic consequences for the local population. The High Commissioner also recalled the millions of Syrian refugees, the situation in Lebanon and Jordan. The influx of Syrians into EU countries has prompted a flurry of proposals on how to solve the problem, including by sending refugees back to so-called “safe areas” in Syria,” the High Commissioner noted.
The UN, he said, agrees that the voluntary and safe return of Syrian refugees to their homeland is the best solution. But today there are most often no conditions for this. Grandi called on the Syrian government and the international community to make efforts to change the situation.
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Consequences of the war in Ukraine
Grandi also spoke about the hardships that refugees from Myanmar and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are suffering, and also focused on the crisis associated with the war in Ukraine. “This is yet another theater of war where international humanitarian law is violated every day: look at the ongoing attacks on the Ukrainian energy grid, which cause enormous suffering to civilians. The strikes do not spare houses and other civilian infrastructure,” the speaker emphasized.
He noted that last January he visited Ukraine and saw young Kharkiv residents studying in the metro, because it was the only place where local authorities could provide them with safety and warmth. Grandi recalled the elderly and other vulnerable people living near the front lines who urgently need humanitarian and psychological support. “You continue to view the war in Ukraine as a political and military problem, but you must not forget its profound and devastating consequences for the people of Ukraine,” Grandi said to members of the UN Security Council.
Sudanese flee to Europe
He also detailed the horrors of the ongoing war in Sudan. “Nor should it be surprising that a year after the outbreak of violence, the number of Sudanese arriving in Europe increased by 500 percent,” he said. “Most of them never wanted to leave home, but brutal violence forced them to flee. And insufficient assistance in neighboring countries forces them to move again – especially to North Africa and further to Europe.”
Overcoming differences in the Security Council
Rich countries, the High Commissioner continued, are constantly worried about what they call “irregular movements.” But these countries, Grandi says, are not doing enough to help people before refugees entrust their fate to traffickers. He called on the Security Council to overcome differences and act, because otherwise, according to him, the world will face even greater chaos.