More than 100 million uprooted people in the world, according to the UN

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has pushed the number of uprooted people worldwide above the 100 million mark for the first time, the United Nations warned on Monday (23 May).

Read alsoThe keys to understanding Ukrainian refugees in Europe

“

“, writes the High Commissioner for Refugees in a press release.

“

,” said UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi.

"To turn the tide, the only answers are peace and stability, so that innocent people are no longer forced to choose between the immediate danger of conflict and difficult flight and exile."

Filippo Grandi, head of UNHCR

"

," he said. on guard.

The situation was already serious, as revealed by UNHCR statistics.

By the end of 2021, the number of uprooted people worldwide had reached 90 million, due to new waves of violence or protracted conflicts in countries such as Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Myanmar, Nigeria, Afghanistan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Then on February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of neighboring Ukraine, throwing new millions of people on the roads to flee the fighting and reach less exposed regions or another country.

Magnitude phenomenon

Europe had not seen such a rapid influx of refugees since the end of the Second World War.

Almost 6.5 million Ukrainians have left the country, mostly women and children, with men of fighting age expected to stay in the country.

And the UN estimates that they could be 8.3 million by the end of the year.

In Ukraine itself, some 8 million people are estimated to be internally displaced.

Prior to the Russian invasion, Ukraine had 37 million people in areas under its government's control.

This figure excludes Crimea (South), annexed in 2014 by Russia, and the eastern regions controlled by pro-Russian separatists.

These 100 million uprooted people represent more than 1% of the world's population, and only 13 countries in the world have a population greater than this number, recalls the UNHCR, to give a better idea of ​​the extent of the phenomenon.

"

," said Filippo Grandi.

“

”, he underlined.

"The world is falling apart"

But the outpouring of generosity and a mobilization of public aid for Ukraine contrasts sharply with the much more mixed reception given to refugees from other theaters of war such as Afghanistan or Syria.

Also, the boss of the HCR recalls that “

”.

"

", he insists.

On Friday, he criticized the twenty countries which, more than two years after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, continue to close their borders to asylum seekers in the name of health security.

He suspects them of using it as an excuse not to reopen them.

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A report by two NGOs, published on May 19, counted almost 60 million people internally displaced worldwide last year, many of them due to natural disasters.

The situation in the world "

", observed the general secretary of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), Jan Egeland.

“

,” he insisted.