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UN says refugee numbers now compete with WWII refugee figures (24 June 2014)

Date: 24/06/2014
Duncan Lewis, Immigration Solicitors, UN says refugee numbers now compete with WWII refugee figures

To coincide with World Refugee Day, a new report published by the UN has revealed that the number of refugees across the world is set to top 50 million for the first time since World War II.

The number of children who have become refugees has also risen – from 41% of all refugees in 2009 to 50% of the total number of refugees today.

In African countries, children constitute 60% of the total number of refugees.

The report – 25 Years of Displacement 1989-2013 – has also found that the conflict in Syria has helped fuel the total number of people who became refugees in 2013 by 6 million.

In 2013, a total of 2.2 million refugees fled from Syria – the largest number of refugees in a single year since the 1994 Rwanda genocide, say the report’s authors. A total of 2.47 million people have left Syria because of the conflict – while 6.5 million have become displaced from their homes as a result of the Syrian conflict, which started in 2011.

Afghanistan, Syria and Somalia are the top three countries with most refugees – and now account for almost half of the world’s newly displaced refugee population, says the report.

There are now 51.2 million people who have been forcibly displaced globally – including 2.57 million refugees from Afghanistan and 1.12 million refugees from Somalia.

After Afghanistan, Syria and Somalia, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo have the most refugees.

The report say that the global total of refugees stands at 16.7 million, with 33.3 million people displaced from their homes in their own countries – and 1.2 million asylum seekers across the globe.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Antonio Guterres said that the findings of the report show that the global humanitarian crisis is likely to deepen.

“Peace is today dangerously in deficit,” he said.

The UNHCR has said that conflict – rather than repressive regimes or natural disasters – is behind the top eight of the 10 main causes of the world’s 914,000 new asylum claims in 2013.

UNHCR data also shows that the UK has fallen from sixth to eighth place among the most popular places to claim asylum – despite a 7% rise in the number of asylum claims made in the UK in 2013.

In 2013, a total of 29,395 people applied for asylum in the UK, compared with 27,500 asylum applications in 2012.

The UN has called for Britain and other EU countries to accept more refugees from Syria, including children, however.

The top five destinations for asylum seekers are now Germany, the US, South Africa, France and Sweden. Applications for asylum in Germany have risen by 70% in just one year, the UNHCR reports.

Duncan Lewis Immigration Lawyers

Duncan Lewis immigration lawyers can advise refugees on applying for asylum in the UK, as well as asylum appeals and detention pending deportation from the UK.

Duncan Lewis is also a leading firm of Legal Aid lawyers and can offer legal advice on immigration matters such as right to work in the UK, housing benefit, British citizenship, student visas and spousal visas.

For expert legal advice on immigration and asylum in the UK, contact Duncan Lewis immigration lawyers on 020 7923 4020.


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