Displaced

The United Nations has said that there are an estimated 114 million displaced persons worldwide, a record amount that illustrates the “international community’s failure to solve conflicts.” The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, stated on Wednesday that, as of the end of September of 2023, “the number of people displaced by war, persecution, violence, and human rights violations globally is likely to have exceeded 114 million,” an increase of 5.6 million over the previous year.

This total is the largest the agency has ever kept track of since it started collecting statistics in 1975. According to UNHCR, in the first half of 2023, natural disasters and instability in Somalia were the primary causes of displacement, along with wars in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Afghanistan, Sudan, Myanmar, and Ukraine. By the middle of 2023, 11 million Ukrainians had been forced to escape the battle with Russia, while three million Sudanese citizens were trapped in the middle of a civil war that pitted the Sudanese army against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

According to a UNHCR estimate, almost one-third of those who have been forcefully displaced are from Afghanistan, Syria, or Ukraine. As of mid-year, Syria remained the country with the greatest number of refugees (6.5 million across 130 countries) and the second-highest number of internally displaced persons (6.7 million). With 6.9 million internally displaced individuals, Colombia has the highest number of displaced persons worldwide. The country is experiencing an armed struggle between the military, armed groups, and paramilitary organizations.

Additionally, the number of Palestinians is increasing. According to the UN humanitarian organization OCHA, Israel’s all-out bombing assault in the confined Gaza Strip has pushed 1.4 million Palestinians from their homes in October 2023 alone, leaving much of the area in ruins. Filippo Grandi, the head of the UN agency responsible for refugees, bemoaned the inaction of the international community in addressing the predicament of displaced people and called for a fresh effort to find answers.

Grandi released a statement saying, “As we watch events unfold in Gaza, Sudan, and beyond, the prospect of peace and solutions for refugees and other displaced populations might feel distant.” However, we can’t give up. Grandi said that they will continue to advocate for and discover solutions for refugees alongside our allies. Long-lasting humanitarian problems are a significant factor in the displacement issue, even though the emergence of hostilities from Ukraine to Gaza has made it worse.