THERE ARE 65 MILLION REFUGEES IN THE WORLD TODAY
Every minute, 24 people around the world are forced to flee their homes. That’s 34,000 people a day who leave everything behind in the hope of finding safety and a better tomorrow. Today there are 65 million refugees in the world.
Who is a refugee?
A refugee is someone who has been forced to flee his or her country because of persecution, war, or violence. A refugee has a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group. Most likely, they cannot return home or are afraid to do so. War and ethnic, tribal and religious violence are leading causes of refugees fleeing their countries.
Right now, nearly 5 million people have fled the conflict in Syria, and there is no end to the crisis in sight.
Who is an internally displaced person?
An internally displaced person (IDP) is a person who has been forced to flee his or her home for the same reason as a refugee, but remains in his or her own country and has not crossed an international border. Unlike refugees, IDPs are not protected by international law or eligible to receive many types of aid. For example South Sudan, where a humanitarian crisis grips the world’s newest country, and Yemen, where more than 2.5 million people have been displaced by ongoing violence.
Who is an asylum seeker?
When people flee their own country and seek sanctuary in another country, they apply for asylum – the right to be recognized as a refugee and receive legal protection and material assistance. An asylum seeker must demonstrate that his or her fear of persecution in his or her home country is well-founded.
Who is a stateless person?
A stateless person is someone who is not a citizen of any country. A person can become stateless due to a variety of reasons, including sovereign, legal, technical or administrative decisions or oversights.
Who is not legally recognized as a refugee?
People who leave their homes and cross international borders due to natural disasters, climate change or environmental factors are not considered refugees. In addition, people who leave their homes and cross international borders due to severe situations, such as a lack of food (including famine), water, education, health care and a livelihood, are not legally-recognized refugees.
All of these emerging trends pose enormous challenges for the international humanitarian community. The threat of continued massive displacement is real, and the world must be prepared to deal with it. The crisis are Food, safe environment, shelter, clean water, health services, medicine, vaccinations, education, schools, and it continues.
ICHR calls on the international world community to take serious actions to address these issues and help the refugees, displaced people, asylum seekers, and stateless people to start their life’s over.