World Refugee Day: more than 50 million people displaced

World Today

A sobering milestone marks World Refugee Day. For the first time since World War Two, the number of refugees has exceeded 50 million people. Liling Tan reports from the UN Headquarters in New York.

Persisting conflicts and emerging crises in the Central African Republic, the Sudan-South Sudan borders, Syria, Iraq, Colombia and Myanmar have led to the highest number of world refugees on record, according to the latest UN report. The top three refugee producers as of the end of 2013 are Afghanistan, Syria and Somalia, accounting for nearly 11 million displaced people.

The Syrian crisis was the primary cause of outflows. According to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, half of Syria’s population has been displaced. The number of Syrian refugees registered by the UN agency is about 3 million people.

The UN says the large number of displaced people means more is required from donor nations in foreign aid and from countries taking in the displaced. Humanitarian organizations face daunting funding issues in the face of multiplying crises.

However, the UNHCR also pointed to the political failure of leadership of the international community to address crises, saying that the only way to solve the problem is to stop conflict. Ban said the international community has lost much of its capacity to prevent and solve conflicts.

World Refugee Day: over 50 million displaced

Liling Tan joins us live from the UN. For the first time since World War Two, the number of refugees has exceeded 50 million people. A sobering milestone marks World Refugee Day.

 

T. Kumar, the International Advocacy Director for Amnesty International USA joins us today to talk about his thoughts on the World Refugee Day.

He’s served as a human rights monitor in many countries around the world as well as worked as director of several refugee camps.

INTV- WORLD REFUGEE DAY

T Kumar, the International Advocacy Director for Amnesty International USA joins Elaine Reyes on the World Refugee Day Topic.