UNHCR Global Trends report

UN Refugee Agency, is today appealing to countries worldwide to do far more to find homes for millions of refugees and others displaced by conflict, persecution or events seriously disturbing public order. This is as a report released today showed that forced displacement is now affecting more than one per cent of humanity – 1 in every 97 people – and with fewer and fewer of those who flee being able to return home.

UNHCR’s annual Global Trends report, which comes two days ahead of 20 June World Refugee Day, shows that an unprecedented 79.5 million were displaced as of the end of 2019. UNHCR has not seen a higher total.

World Refugee Day

• It is an international day designated by the United Nations to honour refugees around the globe.
• It falls each year on 20th June and celebrates the strength and courage of people who have been forced to flee their home country to escape conflict or persecution.
• It is an occasion to build empathy and understanding for the refugee’s plight and to recognize their resilience in rebuilding their lives.

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

• United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a UN Refugee Agency and a global organization dedicated to saving lives, protecting the rights and building a better future for refugees, forcibly displaced communities and stateless people.
• It was created in 1950 to help millions of Europeans who had fled or lost their homes.
• It is headquartered at Geneva, Switzerland.

History of migration

• The ‘Global Refugee Crisis’ was first born during the Second World War (1939–45). During the Second World War, a crisis arose in the 20th century and millions of people had to leave their homes and move to a safe place.
• According to one figure, around 40 million people were displaced in Europe during this period.
• Even though the Second World War ended in the year 1945, the struggle continued even after this and due to this the displacement of people continued even after the World War.
• India became independent in August 1947. But India got divided into two parts and millions of people had to leave everything and move to a new place during this time. If we look at the statistics, around 14 million people had migrated during this period.
• The formation of a Jewish state after the war in Palestine led to the migration of about 750,000 people to the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.
• Independence movements took place in Asia and Africa in the early phase of the 20th century. During this period, the independence wars and subsequent civil conflicts forced millions of people from Algeria, Congo, Angola, Nigeria and other countries to flee.
• Between 1981 and 1989, there was a period of civil war in Central America, in which about 2 million people were displaced.
• Bangladesh became independent in the year 1971, during which around 10 million people had migrated from erstwhile East Bengal.

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