A United Nations report said that the number of refugees across the globe has risen for the first time in five years. The reason according to the report is the violence in Iraq.
The rise in the total number of refugees is by more than 14% to last year, which makes the number of refugees reach up to around 10 million, according to the UN Refugee Agency.The number of internally displaced refugees has reached a record high as well, about 13 million, said the report.
According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees’ report, 2006 Global Trends, - a declining trend in the global figures regarding the refugees have been reversed for the first time since 2002. At the end of 2006, the number of refugees in the world was 9.9 million according to the UN. The figure suggested a rise of 1.2 million, or 14%, from a total recorded number of 8.7 million at the end of 2005.
It has been concluded that the rise in the number of refugees on a global scale is due to the violent socio-political situations in Iraq. Conflicts in Lebanon, East Timor, Sudan and Sri Lanka are also responsible for the sudden increase in the number of refugees, according to the report.
Approximately 1.5 million Iraqis are now living as refugees in other countries, majority of them in Syria and Jordan, according to estimations. These people are the second largest group of refugees in the world after the Afghans.
2.1 million of the Afghans are apparently still living outside their native land. Other notable refugee populations listed by the UN are - 686,000 Sudanese, 460,000 Somalis and around 400,000 people each from DR Congo and Burundi.
The situation is worse than it looks. The UN report has not taken into account around 4.3 million Palestinians who were uprooted due to the violent struggle with Israel. The current statistics say that the total number at present is the highest since 2002. The UN had reported 10.6 million refugees worldwide in 2002.
The number of internally dislocated refugees has also risen last year to 24.5 million, according to the UN report. These are the people whose displacement were internal, and were not recorded as refugees under the International Law.
The Iraq violence is seen as one of the major causes of this internal displacement on such a huge scale. According to the latest UNHCR figures not sited in this report, around 2.3 million Iraqis have been internally displaced, and around 32.9 million people have been marked by the report as ‘persons of concern’, or people who are returnees, stateless or internally displaced. The overall figure suggests a 56% increase on the figure recorded last year.
Homeless people all over the world are seeking refuge. More than actual protection, they are in need of social, and more importantly political protection.
A few organizations are trying their best. However, counting the numbers may identify the problem and seek to measure its intensity, but it will definitely not solve the problem.
Via : BBC
