3 graphs that show the historical increase in refugees in the world (and what the numbers are in Latin America)

120 million people in the world are displaced from their homes having been forced to flee war, violence and persecution, according to the UN refugee agency, UNHCR. This figure represents an increase of 8% over the previous year and represents an all-time high since the organization began keeping records.

Every minute, at least 20 people have to leave everything behind to escape conflict, the UN says.

The organization also points out that around 40% of the displaced are minors.

“Behind these alarming and growing numbers lie countless human tragedies. Such suffering must prompt the international community to act urgently to address the root causes of forced displacement,” said Filippo Grandi, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

The UNHCR report was released shortly before the commemoration of the World Refugee Day on June 20, which seeks to “honor the strength and courage of refugees around the world,” according to the UN.

Syria remains the source of the world’s largest refugee crisis, with 13.8 million people displaced necessarily inside and outside the country at the end of 2023, due to the civil war that began 12 years ago.

A key factor behind this year’s rise in global numbers has been the civil war in sudanwhere almost 11 million people had fled their homes by the end of 2023.

Last year, more than 6.4 million people fled Afghanistan in search of a better life after the Taliban take power in 2021.

In Venezuela, more than 7 million people have left the country after the collapse of the national economy under the mandate of socialist president Nicolás Maduro, who has been in power since 2013.

“It is a very complex situation, an economic, political, security, human rights and health crisis that has affected that country for several years now,” William Spindler, spokesperson for the UNHCR in Geneva, told BBC Mundo.

The most recent figures they handle are 7.7 million Venezuelans who have left for very different reasons, the spokesperson said.

The vast majority of them are found in ColombiaUnited States, Spain, Ecuador and other Latin American countries.

The impact in those countries, particularly in Colombia, has been massive. However, they have generally been well received, have been able to work, have access to services and the opportunity to regularize their situation.

Furthermore, says Spindler, Your stay in the host countries has been positive.

“This is not heard many times, but it is proven by these studies that these people also bring with them a wealth and an education that also allows them to contribute… through taxes, opening small businesses, etc.”

On the other side of the world, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues, the number of Ukrainian refugees stood at 6 million by the end of 2023according to UNHCR data.

Furthermore, the current war in Gaza has displaced up to 1.7 million people (the 75% of the population) in the Strip, often several times, according to UNRWA (the United Nations Palestine Refugee Agency).

Of the 120 million forcibly displaced people in the world, 23 million are in the American continent.

This is 19%, almost a fifth of all displaced people, highlights William Spindler. But “contrary to what many people believe, the vast majority of these people are in Latin America, not in the United States.”

In addition to Venezuela, another worrying situation is occurring in Central America, particularly with displaced people from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala, who are fleeing conflicts, war and violence.

However, Spindler points out that many of these people move within their own country. “It is a phenomenon that happens both at the level of the Americas and at the global level. The displacement is generally more internal“, it states.

Those who go abroad go to Mexico, both to settle there and on the way to reach the United States.

This has created a special situation in Mexico, as a country of origin, transit and, particularly, destination of displaced communities.

“It is one of the countries that receives the most asylum requests, not only from the Americas, but from all over the world,” indicates the spokesperson for the refugee agency.

He adds that Mexico has had a very generous reception policy that has also caused pressure from the US to restrict the movements and attempts to enter its territory of displaced people across the border they share.

It is a quite difficult situation for Mexico, so UNHCR has a project in coordination with local authorities and private companies to alleviate the concentration of migrant refugees in regions with less economic development, and transfer them to more prosperous areas where there are better possibilities of employment and integration.

Another crisis that is being followed is that of Haiti, due to the perennial political instability, poverty and gang violence, which have taken over large parts of the country.

In terms of forced displacement, the case of Haiti is specialexplains William Spindler.

Some 690,000 Haitians have fled, but many did so years or decades ago, after the devastating 2010 earthquake and other natural disasters, and settled in South America, especially Chile and Brazil.

With the impact of the pandemic, many of these people lost their livelihoods and decided to move to the United States. crossed the Darien jungle on occasionssometimes with children who were born in Brazil, Chile and other South American countries.

Now, with the current internal convulsions, most Haitians cross into the neighboring Dominican Republicsome with the intention of reaching the US by sea.

“However, the majority of Haitians displaced by violence are within their own country,” says Spindler.

A refugee is a person who has been forced to flee their home country due to war, persecution, or a natural disaster.

The BBC uses the term migrant to refer to all people on the move who have not yet completed the legal process of applying for asylum.

This group includes people fleeing war-torn countrieswho are likely to be granted refugee status and people seeking work and a better life, and who governments are likely to consider economic migrants.

The movement of people arriving at the borders of the US or the European Union is an issue that has been used by many political parties to win votesexacerbating the population’s fear against migration.

Although Spindler acknowledges that these countries have no obligation to receive them, “when we are talking about refugees, that is, people who are persecuted in their country, the legal situation is very different,” says the UNHCR spokesperson.

“These people have the right to request asylum and the countries that receive them have the obligation to give them protection,” he explains, because if they are returned they may run serious risks of violations of their human rights, torture, prison and, in some cases, death. .

It also reiterates that “the vast majority of displaced people in the world are within their own country or in neighboring countries.”

ensures that 75% of all refugees and displaced people in the world are in low or middle income countriesand not so much in the US, Canada and Western Europe.

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