Venezuelan migrants, between the crisis and the 2:17 pandemic
(CNN Spanish) -
Venezuela is the second country with the largest number of displaced persons and refugees worldwide after Syria, and Colombia is the second country hosting the largest refugee population in the world, according to a United Nations Agency for Refugees (UNHCR) in its most recent report.
More than 68% of refugees and displaced persons worldwide come from five countries:
Syria - 6.7 million
Venezuela - 4 million
Afghanistan - 2.6 million
South Sudan - 2.2 million
Myanmar - 1.1 million.
According to UNHCR, in 2020 1% of humanity is displaced, a figure that represents double that of ten years ago, when the total was less than 40 million.
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The situation in Venezuela
From 2019 to 2020, the population of refugees and displaced Venezuelans rose by 8%, according to UNHCR, reaching 4.6 million only in American countries.
"The main reasons for this increase were the continuous displacement of Venezuelans, especially to Brazil, Mexico and Peru, as well as modified estimates of Venezuelans displaced abroad in Peru," the report says.
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Colombia is one of the countries that has suffered the most from the Venezuelan exodus, since, being a border country, it welcomed more than 1.7 million displaced people across its borders, or 7% of the global number of displaced persons, according to UNHCR.
However, the numbers of immigrants have decreased in Colombia.
"For the first time in five years, the number of Venezuelans in Colombia decreased, as some 124,600 returned to their country due to the difficulties presented by the pandemic and its economic impact," says the report.
Venezuelans were also the ones who filed the most asylum applications in the US (147,100) above Afghanistan, Syria, Honduras, Guatemala and Colombia.
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Global displacement trends
Displacement decreased due to the pandemic
In 2020, a year marked by the pandemic, there was a decrease in arrivals of refugees and asylum seekers, according to the report, which warns that the impact of the covid-19 pandemic on displacement is still unclear.
'UNHCR data show that arrivals of new refugees and asylum seekers fell dramatically in most regions (around 1.5 million fewer than would have been expected in a situation without the influence of the covid-19), and reflect the situation of helplessness of many of the people seeking international protection in 2020, "says the report.
And due to the pandemic, the situation for the displaced and refugees were more difficult: "More than 160 countries had closed their borders, 99 of which made no exceptions for people who wanted to request protection," the report says.
Colombia, the country with the most internally displaced persons in America
While millions of people crossed borders, many more were forced to move within their countries of origin.
“Driven primarily by the crises in Ethiopia, Sudan, the Sahel countries, Mozambique, Yemen, Afghanistan and Colombia, the number of internally displaced people grew by more than 2.3 million.
And while Colombia has a large number of internally displaced people, it is also one of the most displaced people.
The country is the second to host the most refugees (1.7 million) worldwide after Turkey, which was the country that hosted the most displaced people, with 3.7 million.
Children
The situation of displaced children around the world is critical, according to UNHCR.
“Girls and boys under the age of 18 represent 42 per cent of all forcibly displaced people.
It is a particularly vulnerable population, especially when crises drag on for years.
Recent UNHCR estimates show that nearly one million children were born as refugees between 2018 and 2020. Many of them may remain refugees for many years.
Unhcr's call to governments
Unhcr called on world leaders to redouble their efforts to promote peace, stability and cooperation, warning of a growing trend of increasing displacement driven by violence and persecution.
Despite the pandemic, the number of people fleeing wars, violence, persecution and human rights violations in 2020 rose to almost 82.4 million people, according to UNHCR's latest annual Global Trends report released today in Geneva "UNHCR said this Friday in a statement.
According to the UNHCR report, 2020 was the ninth year of uninterrupted increase in forced displacement worldwide, with 20.7 million refugees registered under UNHCR's mandate by the end of 2020, including 5.7 million Palestinian refugees and 3.9 millions of Venezuelans displaced abroad.
“Behind each number is a person expelled from their home and a story of displacement, dispossession and suffering.
They deserve our attention and support not only with humanitarian aid, but to find solutions to their difficult situation, ”said the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi.
- With information from CNN's Nada Bashir in London.
World Refugee Day