Record 117m people forcibly displaced in 2023 says UN

AFP

The United Nations refugee agency said the number of people forcibly displaced stood at a record 117.3 million as of the end of last year, warning that this figure could rise further without major global political changes.

"These are refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced people, people being forced away by conflict, by persecution, by different and increasingly complex forms of violence," said Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). 

"Conflict remains a very, very deep driver of displacement."

In its report on global trends in forced displacement, UNHCR said that there had been a yearly increase in the number of people forcibly displaced over the last 12 years. 

UNHCR estimates that forced displacement has continued to increase in the first four months of 2024, and that the number of those displaced is likely to have exceeded 120 million by the end of April.

"Unless there is a shift in international geopolitics, unfortunately, I actually see that figure continuing to go up," Grandi said, referring to the risk of new conflicts.

The conflicts that have driven displacement include the war in Sudan, which Grandi described as "one of the most catastrophic ones" despite garnering less attention that other crises. More that nine million people have been internally displaced and another two million have fled to neighbouring countries including Chad, Egypt and South Sudan, Grandi said.

"People are arriving in the hundreds every day," he said, referring to the influx of people seeking safety in Chad.

In Gaza, Israel's bombardment and ground campaign have caused around 1.7 million people – nearly 80 per cent of the Palestinian enclave's population – to become internally displaced, many of them multiple times.

Grandi warned that the possible crossings of Gazans into Egypt from the southern border town of Rafah to escape Israel's military offensive would be catastrophic. 

"Another refugee crisis outside Gaza would be catastrophic on all levels, including because we have no guarantee that the people will be able to return to Gaza one day," Grandi said.

More from International news

  • Israel launches major Gaza offensive

    Israel's airforce killed at least 146 Palestinians in new attacks on Gaza over the past 24 hours and injured many more, local health authorities said on Saturday, as the country launched a major ground offensive.

  • Turkey in talks on PKK weapons handover

    Turkey is in talks with authorities in Baghdad and in the northern Iraqi city of Erbil on how the PKK will hand over their weapons, President Tayyip Erdogan said following the group's decision to disband.

  • 'Let's not waste time' with US-backed Gaza aid plan: UN chief

    United Nations aid chief Tom Fletcher said on Friday that time should not be wasted on an alternative US-backed proposal to deliver aid to Gaza, saying the UN has a proven plan and 160,000 pallets of relief ready to enter the Palestinian enclave now.

  • Ukraine urges more pressure on Russia after drone kills nine

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Saturday for stronger sanctions on Moscow after a Russian drone killed nine bus passengers in north-eastern Ukraine just hours after the two countries held their first peace talks in three years of war.

News