Everywhere from Germany to Argentina , refugees are amassing at faster rates than ever before. In fact, there have never been more forcibly-displaced people at any point in human history. Embed from Getty Images. This came in response to the first great refugee crisis of the 20th century, the Second World War — which forcibly displaced around 50 million worldwide. The Convention and Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees updated this definition, which had previously only included refugees within Europe who were displaced before In there were just over 2 million refugees around the world.
As the refugee population has changed, so too has the need for a more encapsulating definition of what defines a refugee. With a growing global population, combined with human conflict and environmental change, people are becoming refugees for more reasons than ever before. Global Citizen is bringing you five of the biggest ones:. The most common reason people become refugees is persecution — which can take on many forms: religious, national, social, racial, or political.
When it comes to religious refugees in the United States, the split between Christians and Muslims is quite even. Around the world, religious refugees are everywhere: from Muslims persecuted in Myanmar to Christians in the Central African Republic to Hindus in Pakistan. Many famous individuals have been, at one point or another, a political refugee. Currently, the largest group of refugees in the world are fleeing civil conflict in Syria , which has been raging since and has killed , Syrians and displaced 6.
Another 5 million have left the country entirely. Unlike people who arrive in Australia by boat, people who arrive by plane are generally not subject to mandatory detention. Most people seek asylum in their neighbouring countries if it is safe for them to do so.
The top hosting countries are:. Around the world in , 2 million new claims for asylum were lodged with governments or through UNHCR. Australia reported 23, claims were made within Australia, and 70, from outside of Australia over the financial year. For example, in , Bangladesh continued to host , people in a refugee-like situation from Myanmar and in Turkey granted temporary protection to , refugees from Syria.
The gap between needs and actual resettlement is growing, with some States significantly reducing the number of resettlement places on offer. The UN resettlement system does not operate in this way.
A queue implies that resettlement is an orderly process and by waiting for a period of time, a person will reach the front of the queue. The UN resettlement system prioritises asylum seekers for resettlement according to considered needs and situations of vulnerability, rather than waiting time. In , there were 26 million refugees worldwide. During that year, Australia resettled 18, refugees from overseas. COVID has impacted the ability of states to fill those spaces.
The Refugee Council of Australia says that if a global queue did actually exist, people joining the back of the queue might wait more than years for resettlement. At the end of there were 26 million refugees worldwide. This is the highest ever number recorded. More than two-thirds came from just five countries:. In —19, Australia granted a total of 18, refugee and humanitarian visas. The majority of these people came from:. The number of children seeking safety is steadily increasing worldwide.
People can be forced to migrate because of conflict, persecution, environmental degradation, poverty and development. Most refugees and people seeking asylum reside in their neighbouring countries if it is safe for them to do so. In many countries, including in Asia Pacific, refugees and people seeking asylum do not have a legal right to stay, work or access basic service.
This affects their ability to remain safe and support the most basic needs of their families. Where people can exercise choice in determining their destination country, they can be influenced by the presence of social networks, historical ties between the countries of origin and destination, and the knowledge or belief that a certain country is democratic, where human rights and the rule of law are likely to be respected. In the financial year of , Australia granted refugee status to 14, people, either through resettlement from other countries or granting protection to people who had applied for asylum in Australia.
Under international law, whether in Australia or another country, a person undergoes a rigorous process to prove they have a well-founded fear of persecution before they are granted refugee status. This may be for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, resulting in the suffering of serious human rights violations including torture or cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment.
In Red Cross' experience, the majority of people who apply for asylum do so because their lives and safety are under threat from war, violence or human rights abuses in their homeland. Most people do not wish to leave the homes, families, friends and communities that they know and love. For example, reports claim that some Hondurans are leaving their country due to fear of instability after the highly contested election in While the significant numbers of people fleeing the Northern Triangle countries are evidence of the extreme conditions in the region, many others have fled from their homes and are internally displaced elsewhere in their home countries for those same reasons.
Venezuela, once a middle-income developing country, is now collapsing. The data on homicides are murky because the government stopped releasing comprehensive crime statistics years ago. In short, Venezuela is a neglected humanitarian crisis.
According to the UNHCR, the number of Venezuelans applying for asylum around the world increased from in to 34, in —a thirty-fivefold increase. The situation in Latin America is shifting, but the Northern Triangle region is still considered to be one of the most dangerous regions within Latin America, one that is producing significant numbers of refugees.
But the Trump administration, rather than recognizing the need to do more to stabilize countries in the region and protect those seeking asylum, is taking actions that will actually worsen the situation. Last month, President Donald Trump floated the idea of cutting U. Furthermore, mishandling asylum cases and deterring people from applying for asylum by criminally prosecuting people and separating children from their mothers is not just dangerous for those seeking asylum but inhumane as well.
High Commissioner for Refugees for providing additional data on asylum-seekers. Sam Fulwood III.
0コメント