Record 65.3M refugees displaced by war, U.N. says
A record 65.3 million people around the world were displaced from their homes due to wars and persecution by the end of 2015, the highest total since the United Nations began keeping records, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees reported Monday.
The report, released on World Refugee Day, said the total represented almost 6 million more people than were displaced a year earlier. On average, 24 people were forced to flee each minute in 2015, the U.N. said.
UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said refugees also face increasing dangers.
“At sea, a frightening number of refugees and migrants are dying each year; on land, people fleeing war are finding their way blocked by closed borders," Grandi said. "Closing borders does not solve the problem.”
The report blames the booming refugee numbers in part on large numbers of refugees from places such as Somalia and Afghanistan, where wars have dragged on for decades. The report also says new or reignited conflicts are occurring more frequently — and that the rate at which solutions are being found for refugees and internally displaced people has been declining since the end of the Cold War.
The internal politics in some nations blocks solutions, Grandi said.
“The willingness of nations to work together not just for refugees but for the collective human interest is what’s being tested today, and it’s this spirit of unity that badly needs to prevail,” he said.
The report comes two days after United Nation Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on European nations to provide additional aid to Greece as it struggles to cope with the migrant crisis there. An estimated 1 million people fled Syria and nearby nations through Turkey to Greece last year, many of them risking their lives in crowded boats to seek asylum in the European Union. Thousands remain stuck on Greek islands, and more are on the mainland.
President Obama issued a statement Monday recognizing World Refugee Day, announcing that he will convene a Leaders' Summit on Refugees in New York in September. Obama noted that the U.S. provides more humanitarian assistance to refugees than any nation in the world.
"Today, we commemorate the spirit and strength of refugees worldwide and the dedication of those who help them on and after their journeys," Obama said. "Protecting and assisting refugees is a part of our history as a nation, and we will continue to alleviate the suffering of refugees abroad, and to welcome them here at home, because doing so reflects our American values and our noblest traditions as a nation."
The State Department said it was participating in refugee outreach programs in several cities to mark the day. Secretary of State John Kerry will attend an interfaith Iftar — a celebratory meal eaten by Muslims after sunset during the month-long fast of Ramadan — at the All Dulles Area Muslim Society center in Sterling, Va.
"The United States remains committed to finding safe, new lives for the world’s most vulnerable people as they flee conflict, terrorism, and persecution," the department said in a statement.