Press Room ::Facts & Figures

Backgrounder:
The State of the International Refugee Crisis

More than at any time in history, the world is witnessing an increase in forcibly displaced people — those driven from their homes and their countries by civil war, ethnic strife, and political oppression.

According to the UN Refugee Agency’s 2010 Global Trends Report issued in June 2011:

Some 43.7 million people were forcibly displaced worldwide at the end of 2009, the highest number of people uprooted by conflict and persecution since the mid-1990s.¹
Those uprooted by conflict within their own country grew by 4% to 27.5 million, largely the result of persistent conflicts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Somalia.²
An estimated 25.2 million people — 10.554 million refugees and 14.7 million internally displaced persons — were receiving protection or assistance from the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) at the end of 2010.³
As many as 3.5 million stateless persons (people not considered citizens of any state under national laws) were living in 65 countries in 2010, according to UNHCR’s records. However, it is estimated that the total number of stateless people worldwide is much higher – about 12 million people.⁴
Some 7.2 million refugees were living in a "protracted situation" (defined as a situation in which 25,000 or more refugees of the same nationality have been living in exile for 5 years or longer in any given asylum country) in 2010, the highest level since 2001.⁵
Refugees voluntarily returning to their home countries fell to its lowest level in 20 years — 197,600 in 2009 compared to the norm over the past decade of around one million a year.⁶

These statistics only begin to document the problem. The dramatic increase in refugees and stateless people can be traced to what President Barack Obama has described as the "wars within nations"⁷ -- the resurgence of ethnic and sectarian conflicts, the growth of secessionist movements and insurgencies and an increasing number of failed states where local warlords and bands of militia directly challenge government authority. In his speech accepting the Nobel Peace Prize in December 2009, President Obama said: "In today’s wars, many more civilians are killed than soldiers; the seeds of future conflict are sewn, economies are wrecked, civil societies torn asunder, refugees amassed, and children scarred."

Another factor contributing to the significant increase in refugees is the protracted nature of today’s wars and internal conflicts, which make it difficult for refugees to return to their home countries. As noted recently by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres, "major conflicts such as those in Afghanistan, Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Congo show no signs of being resolved. Conflicts that had appeared to be ending or were on the way to being resolved, such as in southern Sudan or in Iraq, are stagnating."⁸

Due to these disturbing trends, addressing the needs of those escaping war, persecution and violence has never been greater. This is especially the case for millions of children under the age of 18; women and girls, who are at increased risk for discrimination and sexual and gender-based violence; older refugees, who are particularly vulnerable to disease and injury; and people with disabilities, who are often deprived of the humanitarian aid to which they are entitled. The following provides a snapshot of the most vulnerable populations and the efforts underway by UNHCR and other organizations to ensure their safety, protection and well-being.

Meeting the Needs of Forcibly Displaced Children

According to UNHCR statistics, approximately 47% of the world’s refugees and asylum seekers – 20.5 million people – are under 18 years of age⁹ and as many as 11% are under age 5.¹⁰ Many of these children have witnessed unimaginable horrors, including early exposure to violence, exploitation, abuse and neglect. For example, a 2004 global survey found more than 27 million children and youth affected by armed conflict, including child refugees, did not have formal access to education.¹¹

Because meeting the needs of forcibly displaced children is a priority for UNHCR, the agency provides nutrition and medical care, operates schools and vocational training programs, provides counseling and hosts programs that help young people prepare for new, independent lives. UNHCR also conducts research into the special needs of refugee children and has identified certain categories of children and adolescents that are especially vulnerable. These categories include: children living without parents or family members; teenage mothers and their children; victims of trafficking and sexual abuse; child survivors of violence; children facing social discrimination; those with mental or physical disabilities; and children living with or affected by HIV and AIDS.

For refugee children, a school is not just a place to learn — it also provides a safe haven, which is why UNHCR considers education "an important protection tool."¹² As stated in UNHCR policy documents: "With regard to refugee children, education is an especially useful tool to protect them from dangers such as military recruitment, sexual exploitation, abuse, violence, and trafficking. Education raises refugee children’s awareness, provides a viable alternative to harmful options that may present themselves, and enables intellectual development and psycho-social recovery."¹³

Another UNHCR priority is preventing violence against children, both inside and outside refugee camps. Towards this end, the agency conducted a series of groundbreaking assessments of refugee children in 2005-2006, which identified those situations putting children and adolescents at risk. The research, published in 2008, found that:¹⁴

Refugee children experience violence within and outside refugee camps;
Children living without parents are especially vulnerable and need added protection; Refugee children often experience discrimination by local residents, including teachers;
Gender-based violence directed against girls, including harassment and rape, is widespread;
Forced marriages, often resulting from rape and pregnancy, are common in many camps;
Alcohol and substance abuse by adults often results in violence, sexual assault and violence against refugee children; and
Some of the tasks assigned to children, such as gathering firewood and collecting water, put them at risk for discrimination and rape.

With these issues in mind, UNHCR developed 13 fundamentals of child protection¹⁵, which are now used by UNHCR field staff and the agency’s partners to protect refugee and stateless children considered at risk. Among the key principles are that children should be among the first to receive protection and assistance and gender equality is essential.

Safeguarding Women and Girls

Women and girls represented 49% of all refugees and asylum seekers in 2010.¹⁶ Often threatened by the violence around them, they face many vulnerabilities and hardships not shared by men.

During times of displacement and hunger, women and girls carry the burden of searching for food for their family or children's survival and are often deprived of basic services, such as food, shelter and health care. Women and girls often suffer gender-based violence, such as abduction, rape and forced pregnancy, slavery, sexual trafficking, forced sterilization, and infection with sexually transmitted diseases and AIDS.¹⁷

To address these serious problems, in 1991 UNHCR adopted Guidelines on the Protection of Refugee Women, which set specific standards for the protection of refugee women and girls, including guidelines on reproductive health and sexual and gender-based violence. These guidelines have played an important role in increasing awareness of the threats women and girls face and in states more vigorously enforcing laws that safeguard the rights of women and girls. The guidelines have also led to new gender-specific protection and assistance programs, including efforts to increase the enrollment of girls in schools, expand the availability of reproductive health services, and provide safe houses and counseling services for victims of trauma or violence.

Protecting the Old and the Vulnerable

Refugees over 60 years old comprised 5% of the overall population in 2010.¹⁸ Mostly women,¹⁹ these older refugees are particularly vulnerable during conflict and natural disasters due to their lack of mobility, weakened vision, and increased incidence of chronic illnesses, such as arthritis or rheumatism. As a result, older refugees often become both socially isolated and physically separated from their families.

While the plight of older refugees can be severe, they should not be viewed as passive victims. Rather, they often serve as formal and informal leaders of their communities, contribute to peace and reconciliation measures and transmit the culture, skills and crafts that are important in preserving the traditions of the dispossessed and displaced. Further, older refuges are often called upon to take on more responsibilities in the care of younger family members.

Despite these positive contributions, there remains limited awareness of the rights and needs of older refugees and an urgent need to raise their profile among humanitarian decision-makers and practitioners. Accordingly, in 2000, UNHCR established a special Policy on Older Refugees that promotes the early identification of older persons with special needs, strengthened community services and improvements in data collection and needs assessments so as to have a more accurate picture of the population of older refugees. UNHCR also put in place an Age, Gender and Diversity Mainstreaming (AGDM) Program designed to increase the access of older refugees to decision-making and to basic services.

Addressing the Needs of People with Disabilities

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that between 2.8 and 4 million of the world's forcibly displaced people live with disabilities²⁰, one third of them children.²¹ Among displaced persons who have fled civil conflict, war or natural disasters, the number with disabilities may be even higher. Yet, persons with disabilities remain among the hidden, neglected and socially excluded of all displaced people today.

Largely invisible in their uprooted communities, disabled refugees are frequently not identified or counted in refugee registration data, have difficulty getting access to protection and assistance programs and face other obstacles, such as lack of access to latrines and bathing areas in refugee camps. As a result, hundreds of thousand of displaced people with disabilities are effectively deprived of the humanitarian aid to which they are entitled.

At the same time, displaced persons with disabilities face serious protection risks in camps and urban settings, including exploitation, physical and sexual abuse, harassment, ridicule, discrimination and neglect. These problems are most acute for women, children and older persons with disabilities. Moreover, displaced children with disabilities are often excluded from education while older persons face extreme isolation in displacement situations and have increased difficulty getting basic health care and other services.

Overcoming these barriers is a key priority for UNHCR, which has played a leading role in elevating the unmet needs of displaced persons with disabilities with the international community and its partners. As such, UNHCR has issued a range of policies and guidelines that emphasize early detection, medical screening, prevention, treatment and physical rehabilitation as the main strategies for assisting persons with disabilities. UNHCR has also incorporated the principles contained in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, a treaty signed by 127 countries and entered into force in May 2008.²² This treaty is now the principal human rights instrument to promote and protect the rights of persons with disabilities around the world.

The Time Is Now

The facts are clear: today, the world is witnessing an unprecedented crisis in human displacement. More people displaced by war, violence or persecution are in urgent need of both emergency and ongoing aid than ever before and the costs of providing assistance to refugees and displaced people are rising rapidly. As a result, UNHCR faces a funding gap for its global lifesaving operations that cannot be closed through contributions from the United Nations (only three percent of UNHCR’s total funding).

Closing this funding gap is essential for UNHCR to resolve refugee problems worldwide, which is why the United States Association for UNHCR (USA for UNHCR) is urging Americans to take part in a new movement — the Blue Key Campaign. Designed to provide a broadened base of support for UNHCR, the campaign will raise awareness of the growing international refugee crisis and encourage Americans to make a difference.

References

2010 Global Trends: Refugees, Asylum-seekers, Returnees, Internally Displaced and Stateless Persons; UNHCR, June 20, 2011
2010 Global Trends: Refugees, Asylum-seekers, Returnees, Internally Displaced and Stateless Persons; UNHCR, June 20, 2011
2010 Global Trends: Refugees, Asylum-seekers, Returnees, Internally Displaced and Stateless Persons; UNHCR, June 20, 2011
2010 Global Trends: Refugees, Asylum-seekers, Returnees, Internally Displaced and Stateless Persons; UNHCR, June 20, 2011
2010 Global Trends: Refugees, Asylum-seekers, Returnees, Internally Displaced and Stateless Persons; UNHCR, June 20, 2011
2010 Global Trends: Refugees, Asylum-seekers, Returnees, Internally Displaced and Stateless Persons; UNHCR, June 20, 2011
Text of speech by President Barack Obama accepting the Nobel Peace Prize, December 10, 2009
UNHCR press release June 15, 2010: "Number of Forcibly Displaced Rises to 43.7 Million Last year, the Highest Level Since the Mid-1990s."
2010 Global Trends: Refugees, Asylum-seekers, Returnees, Internally Displaced and Stateless Persons; UNHCR, June 20, 2011
2010 Global Trends: Refugees, Asylum-seekers, Returnees, Internally Displaced and Stateless Persons; UNHCR, June 15, 2010
Education Forum Initiative. Innovative Strategic Partnerships in Refugee Education (INSPIRE): Working Together for Protection and Durable Solutions. UNHCR Geneva March 2004
Education Forum Initiative. Innovative Strategic Partnerships in Refugee Education (INSPIRE): Working Together for Protection and Durable Solutions. UNHCR Geneva March 2004
Education Forum Initiative. Innovative Strategic Partnerships in Refugee Education (INSPIRE): Working Together for Protection and Durable Solutions. UNHCR Geneva March 2004
Through the Eyes of a Child: Refugee Children Speak About Violence. A Report on Participatory Assessments Carried Out with Refugee and Returnee Children in Southern Africa, 2005-2007
Summary of UNHCR’s Executive Committee Conclusion on Children at Risk, No. 107 (LVIII)- 2007
2010 Global Trends Report: Trends at a Glance.
Association for Women’s Rights in Development. Refugees and Internally Displaced. http://www.awid.org/eng/Issues-and-Analysis/Library/Refugees-and-Internally-Displaced
2010 Global Trends Report (page 33)
UNHCR's Policy on Older Refugees. April 2000
Disabilities Among Refugees and Conflict-Affected Populations. Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children. 2010.
Disabilities Among Refugees and Conflict-Affected Populations. Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children. 2010.
Disabilities Among Refugees and Conflict-Affected Populations. Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children. 2010.