New Alert: Refugee Numbers Outpace Resettlement Spots

Congolese refugee (Bora, second from right) arrives at Cape Town International Airport with her friends. She is being relocated to France with her children under a UNHCR scheme to resettle the most vulnerable refugees. Credit: UNHCR/James OtawayBy IPS World DeskROME, Jun 13 2017 (IPS)Against the backdrop of increasing refugee numbers around the globe, fuelled by crisis and insecurity, and an ever-widening gap in places to resettle them, the top United Nations official dealing with refugee issues has called on governments to “step up” and deliver places for refugees in line with the commitments they have made. “The fact is global resettlement needs today far outweigh the places made available by governments by a factor of 13 to one, despite more countries taking part in the programme and an increase in private sector and community involvement,” on June 12 said Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) at the opening of the UN agency’s annual resettlement consultations in Geneva, Switzerland.Close to 1.2 million refugees need resettling globally, but only 93,200 places in resettlement countries are expected to be available this year – 43 per cent fewer than in 2016. For refugees from sub-Saharan Africa the situation is especially acute – with just 18,000 available places for more than half a million refugees.“The New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants was a milestone in global solidarity with refugees and the mainly developing cou...

Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - June 13, 2017 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: IPS World Desk Tags: Aid Armed Conflicts Democracy Featured Global Headlines Health Human Rights Humanitarian Emergencies IPS UN: Inside the Glasshouse Migration & Refugees Peace Poverty & SDGs TerraViva United Nations Source Type: news