Wars in Ukraine and Sudan and the crisis in Afghanistan have forced millions of people to flee in search of safety.
The number of displaced people around the world has reached a record 110 million, with wars in Ukraine and Sudan forcing millions from their homes, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said.
Some 19 million people were forced to flee last year — the biggest annual jump ever — bringing the total to 108.4 million at the end of last year, the UNHCR said in its annual report on forced displacement on Wednesday.
The number has since risen to at least 110 million, mainly due to Sudan’s eight-week conflict, UN refugee chief Filippo Grandi told reporters.
“It’s quite an indictment of the state of our world to have to report that,” he said at a press conference in Geneva.
The total figure includes both people seeking safety in their own country and those who have crossed the border. Refugees and asylum seekers made up about 37.5 percent of the total, according to the report.
“Solutions to these movements are increasingly difficult to envision, even put on the table,” he said. “We are in a very polarized world, where international tensions are reflected in humanitarian issues.”
Before the 2011 conflict in Syria, there were about 40 million refugees and internally displaced persons, a number that the agency said had remained stable for about 20 years. But the number has risen every year since then.
Grandi blamed “the usual set of causes” for driving more and more people out – conflict, persecution, discrimination, violence and climate change.
Of the total number of refugees and those in need of international protection, about half came from just three countries: Syria, Ukraine and Afghanistan, the report said.
At the end of 2022, 11.6 million Ukrainians were still displaced, of which 5.9 million were internally displaced and 5.7 million were abroad.
Grandi expressed concern about countries introducing stricter rules for admitting refugees and carrying out pushbacks, without specifying the countries involved.
Countries in the eastern part of the European Union, such as Poland and Hungary, have refused to accept anyone from the predominantly Muslim Middle East and North Africa, while right-wing and populist parties across the bloc have fueled debate with anti- immigration rhetoric.
Outside the EU, the UK is pushing new legislation that would prevent anyone arriving in a small boat from across the English Channel from seeking asylum, following Australia’s controversial offshore migration policy.
The bill has passed the lower house, but has yet to receive the support of the upper house.
“We are seeing increasing reluctance from states to fully adhere to the principles of the 1951 (refugee) treaty, even states that have signed it,” Grandi told Reuters news agency on the sidelines of the briefing.
However, he was optimistic about a number of developments, namely an agreement EU ministers reached last week on sharing responsibility for migrants and refugees.
“There are issues that cause concern. Overall, though, I think it’s a positive step,” he said. “We are so glad that the Europeans are agreeing on something.”
He also praised Kenya, which he said is seeking new solutions for the half million refugees it hosts, many of them fleeing poverty and drought in the Horn of Africa.
According to the report, 339,300 refugees were able to return home last year, while 114,300 were resettled in a third country – twice as many as in 2021.