EDITORIAL: In its latest report “Global Trends in Forced Displacement” the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, highlights appalling affects of wars, civil strife and climate change on millions of people worldwide.
The number of refugees forced to seek shelter abroad and those displaced within their own countries has risen to unprecedented level, says the report. At the end of last year, 108.4 million people were displaced.
The ongoing conflict in Sudan has triggered further displacement, pushing the global total to an estimated 110 million by May last. “We have 110 million people who have fled because of conflict, persecution, discrimination and violence, often mixed with other motives – in particular the impact of climate change,” the UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi told a news conference in Geneva on Wednesday.
He aptly termed it “quite an indictment on the sate of our world.” For the most part, it is an indictment of Western powers that imposed wars on Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria and are now busy waging a proxy war in Ukraine.
They refuse to take responsibility for the human misery they have caused, shutting their doors on people uprooted by their adventurism.
Since the US is unapproachable for such asylum seekers and Europe within reach, in 2016 the EU struck a deal with Turkiye providing that those attempting to enter Western Europe via Greece would be swiftly returned, and those waiting could have chance to get asylum – a very small number has since been accepted, mostly by Germany – in exchange for 6 billion Euros to deal with the humanitarian situation.
As per the UN report, 3.6 million refugees are still stuck in Turkiye. Millions of others have taken shelter in neighbouring countries such as Pakistan, Iran, Lebanon and wherever.
Similarly, most of those displaced by the civil strife in Myanmar have gone to Bangladesh, and those forced out by the internal conflict in Sudan to Egypt. All these hosts of refugees, including 43.3 million children, are developing countries, putting pressure on their limited resources and social services, making local communities resentful.
Further exacerbating the problem is climate change caused by the industrialised nations. Pakistan has just 0.8 percent carbon footprint in the global greenhouse emissions, yet it is among the 10 most climate-stressed countries. Last year’s heavy monsoon rains submerged a third of the country under water rendering one-seventh of its population climate refugees.
Armed conflicts over resources or nationalism are not going to stop, driving more and more people out of their homes and livelihoods. Nor the target of keeping global warming to 1.5 C above the preindustrial level by 2030 seems achievable given the flip-flopping by the major emitters of greenhouse gases.
The least they can and must do at this point in time is urgent action, as UNHCR chief advocated, to alleviate the impact of displacements. Industrialised nations must provide financial and technical assistance to countries most vulnerable to disastrous effects of global warming at huge fiscal and human costs so that they are better able to undertake adaptation and mitigation measures.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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