World Refugee Crisis Peaks
Today is World Refugee Day, a day that holds particular significance in Africa – home to one third of the world’s refugees. Today we honour the resilience and courage of the millions of people who have been forced to flee their homes and we salute those communities that offer them safety.
According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the end of 2016 saw the record high of 65.6 million refugees worldwide, a massive 300 000 additional refugees, compared to 2015.
More than half of this number come from three countries: Syria, Afghanistan and South Sudan.
The shocking increase in refugees over 2016 is a combined result of persecution, violence, human rights violations and conflict across the globe.
While Turkey tops the list of countries with the largest number of refugees, the crisis in South Sudan continues to have the fastest-growing refugee population.
Over the past year, Uganda has taken in more refugees than any other country in the world. It is also home to Bidi Bidi, one of the world’s largest refugee camps. are located. The other largest refugee camp is Dadaab in Kenya. These camps are home to just some of the 18 million displaced people in Africa alone.
In collaboration with the UNHCR, on 22 June, Uganda will host the solidarity summit on refugees to raise funds to assist in solving the global refugee crisis.
UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, released an official statement today in honour of World Refugee Day. He called upon us, as human, to reject fear and exclusion and to stand together and do what we can to help. Part of Grandi’s statement read:
“So on World Refugee Day, when we pause to contemplate the fate of the millions of people who cannot return to their homes tonight because of war or persecution – it’s also a moment to ask ourselves what each of us can do to overcome indifference or fear and embrace the idea of inclusion, to welcome refugees to our own communities, and to counter narratives that would seek to exclude and marginalize refugees and other uprooted people. Because, when we stand together #WithRefugees, we also stand for respect and diversity for all.”
