Posted on 06/18/2009 9:30:21 AM PDT by bs9021
Dictatorships Leave Millions Homeless
by: Emily Kanyi, June 18, 2009
Antonio Guterres, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, has termed the drop in the number of refugees under the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) mandate as an “illusion.”
According to a recent annual 2008 report released by the UN Refugee Agency on June 16, 2009, the global refugee statistics represent a drop of about 700,000 refugees from 2007. However, there are concerns that a surge of displacements in 2009 not reflected in the report have already offset the decline. “The numbers are growing again. In 2009, we have already seen substantial new displacements, namely in Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Somalia,” said Guterres.
The “Global Trends” report indicates that there were some 42 million people forcibly uprooted from their homes worldwide in 2008. This includes 16 million refugees and asylum seekers and 26 million internally displaced people (IDP).
About two million refugees and IDP were able to return home in 2008, a decline from the year before. Refugee repatriation (604,000 persons) was down 17 percent. IDP returns (1.4 million persons) dropped by 30 percent. UNHCR touts repatriation as the most durable solution for refugees.
According to the report, “2008 experienced the second-lowest repatriation total in 15 years.” The report cites rising insecurity mainly in Afghanistan and Sudan as a contributing factor.
However, Guterres expressed optimism. “The number of resettled refugees is on the rise. This is a positive thing that is happening,” he said. The report indicates that the refugee population under the UNHCR’s mandate declined in 2008 as a result of voluntary repatriation and also due to “a downward revision in estimates of refugees and people in ‘refugee-like situations’ from Iraq and Colombia.” The 2008 refugee figure was 10.5 million, down from 11.4 in 2007......
(Excerpt) Read more at campusreportonline.net ...
Coming to a country near you, soon.
Mexico?
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