U.S COMMITTEE FOR REFUGEES AND IMMIGRANTS
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USCRI Statement on Forced Displacement Reaching Record Level

June 14, 2023

The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) is dismayed at the findings in today’s report from the United Nations Refugee Agency detailing record rates of forced displacement from conflict and violence worldwide.

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) on June 14 released its flagship annual report Global Trends in Forced Displacement 2022, which found that 108.4 million people were displaced worldwide by war, persecution, violence, and human rights abuses at the end of 2022. The crisis in Sudan and other sources of insecurity have pushed the global total to an estimated 110 million displaced by May 2023.

“Another record-breaking milestone in forced displacement is a heartbreaking and sobering reminder of the challenges facing the world’s most vulnerable populations,” USCRI President and CEO Eskinder Negash said. “The global community must scale up its efforts to address root causes of displacement, ensure adherence to international humanitarian law, and expand durable solutions for displaced people everywhere.”

UNHCR attributed the sharp increase in forced displacement by conflict, persecution, violence, and human rights abuses to the outbreak of full-scale war in Ukraine, as well as upward revisions of displaced Afghans and Venezuelans in nearby countries.

About 29,000 refugees were resettled in the United States in 2022—second only to Canada. Despite positive trends in resettlement since the height of the pandemic, third-country resettlement arrivals in 2022 were only 7 percent of the 1.5 million people in need of resettlement globally.

“The United States and others must do more to bolster their ability to welcome refugees and ease their transitions in their new countries,” Negash said. “Pathways like the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program hold promise in responding to mass displacement worldwide—but only with adequate support.”

USCRI is joining others later this month in observing World Refugee Day on June 20—recognizing the importance of maintaining and expanding protections for forcibly displaced persons around the world.

“We must not draw our attention to displacement only after the emergence of a crisis or passing of a milestone,” Negash said. “Care for forgotten and abandoned displaced populations is an essential duty in our shared humanity where the international community continues to fall short.”

USCRI, founded in 1911, is a non-governmental, not-for-profit international organization committed to working on behalf of refugees and immigrants and their transition to a dignified life.

For press inquiries, please contact: [email protected].


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