ISLAMABAD: The UN Refugee Agency UNHCR revealed on Friday that almost one million children were born as refugees between 2018 and 2020 and called for greater efforts to prevent and end conflicts. Failing to do so will result in children continuing to live as refugees for years to come.
According to a newly released Global Trends report by UNHCR, it is estimated that the number of people fleeing wars, violence, persecution and human rights violations in 2020 rose to nearly 82.4 million people, by 4 percent increase on top of the already record-high 79.5 million at the end of 2019.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi called for greater political will to address conflicts and persecution that force people to flee. Turkey hosts the largest refugee population worldwide with 3.7 million refugees, followed by Colombia with 1.7 million, and Pakistan with 1.4 million Afghan refugees. According to the statistics, 1 per cent of humanity is displaced, and there are twice as many forcibly displaced people than in 2011, when the total was just under 40 million.
The 2021 World Refugee Day theme is: Together we heal, learn and shine. In Islamabad, UNHCR, together with the Government of Pakistan, organized a virtual event to express solidarity with refugees and the communities that generously hosted them.
The online event was attended by the UNHCR Representative in Pakistan, Ms. Noriko Yoshida, the Commissioner for Afghan Refugees Islamabad Headquarters, Farid Ullah Jan, other government officials, representatives from diplomatic missions, UN agencies, partners, civil society and refugees, said in a press release issued here.
