A record 114 million forcibly displaced around the world represents a “crisis of humanity”, UN refugee agency (UNHCR) chief Filippo Grandi said on Wednesday as the Global Refugee Forum got underway in Geneva.
As refugee numbers approach 26 million, heads of state, top UN diplomats, powerful figures from the private sector and civil society are heading to Geneva to agree on “bold, new” ways to help, at the first ever Global Refugee Forum, which got underway on Monday.
A new UN refugee data centre will improve the way humanitarian agencies support “some of the most dramatically vulnerable people in the world”, UN chief António Guterres said on Thursday.
With 24.2 million Africans forced from their homes in 2017 ̶ 4.6 million more than the previous year ̶ the UN is hosting a three-day event at UN headquarters, focusing on finding durable solutions to the problem, which is a growing burden on the continent’s economy, environment and communities which host those displaced.
Recognizing Latin American and Caribbean countries as “pioneers” in the protection of refugees and asylum seekers, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees urged the region to bolster its standards even further given the global increase in number of people being driven from their homes.
