One hundred million people were forced to leave their homes in 2022. The UN continued to help those in need in countless ways and promote more legal and safer ways for people to migrate.
The figure of 100 million, which includes those fleeing conflict, violence, human rights violations and persecution, was announced by the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) in May and described by Filippo Grandi, director of the agency, as “a record that should never have been set”.
The number is up from 90 million in 2021. Outbreaks of violence or protracted conflicts were key drivers of migration in many parts of the world, including Ukraine, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Syria and Myanmar.
Thousands of desperate immigrants looked to Europe as their preferred destination, placing their lives in the hands of human traffickers and undertaking perilous journeys across the Mediterranean.
Too often, these trips ended in tragedy.
An IOM worker distributes aid kits to newly displaced communities in Ma’rib, YemenWorsening conditions for migrants in Yemen
It has been more than seven years since the protracted conflict in Yemen began between a pro-government coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the Houthi rebels, along with their allies. It precipitated a humanitarian catastrophe and has forced more than 4.3 million people to flee their homes.
In May, the UN migration agency IOM and the European Union Humanitarian Aid wing (ECHO) announced that they were intensifying efforts to respond to the needs of more than 325,000 people displaced by the conflict, including those migrants and the communities that host them.
“The situation is also getting worse for migrants in Yemen, especially women, who live in dire conditions in Yemen with little control over their lives,” said Christa Rottensteiner, IOM Chief of Mission in the country.
Despite the dire situation in Yemen, it remains a destination and transit point for migrants leaving the countries of the Horn of Africa.
Upon arrival, travelers face perilous journeys, many heading north en route to the Gulf countries in search of work.
They are often forced to travel through local fronts, risking serious human rights violations including detention, inhumane conditions, exploitation and forced transfers.
A family living in an informal settlement in the north-eastern Syrian city of Raqqa.Few prospects for a safe return to Syria
In Syria, the war has been upending lives for 11 years: almost five million children born in Syria have never known the country at peace.
More than 80,000 Syrians call Jordan’s massive Za’atari camp home: many of them may have to stay outside their country for the foreseeable future.
“Prospects for return at the moment do not look rosy,” said Dominik Bartsch, UNHCR Representative in Amman, the Jordanian capital, in July. “We are not seeing an environment in Syria that is conducive to returns.”
Overall, Jordan hosts around 675,000 registered refugees from Syria, and most of them live in their towns and villages among local communities: only 17 percent live in the two main refugee camps, Za’atari and Azraq.
Rohingya continue to flee Myanmar
More than five years ago, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fled their homes in Myanmar after a military campaign of persecution. Nearly a million live in the vast Cox’s Bazar camp across the border in neighboring Bangladesh.
In March, the UN released its latest response plan, requesting more than $881 million for refugees and neighboring communities (more than half a million Bangladeshis), who are also heavily dependent on aid.
This year, the Rohingya continued to pour out of Myanmar, with many attempting to cross the Andaman Sea, one of the world’s deadliest water crossings.
When more than a dozen migrants, including children, died at sea off the Myanmar coast in May, Indrika Ratwatte, Asia-Pacific director for the UN refugee agency, said the tragedy demonstrated the sense of despair felt by the Rohingya who are still in the country. .
In Kharkiv, Ukraine, a man places his hand on the window of a train carriage.‘Double standards’ in the treatment of refugees from Ukraine
10 months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began on February 24 and looks likely to continue until 2023, figures from the UN refugee agency show that, in December, more than 7.8 million Ukrainian refugees were registered across Europe.
Soon after the conflict began, UN agencies moved in to provide support. UNHCR coordinated the refugee response together with sister UN agencies and partners, in support of national authorities.
In neighboring Poland, for example, staff supported the authorities in registering refugees and providing accommodation and assistance.
Filippo Grandi praised European countries for their willingness to welcome Ukrainians, most of whom have sought refuge in neighboring countries, but expressed regret for the country and its citizens.
‘torn’
“Families have been senselessly torn apart. Tragically, unless the war is stopped, so will many more,” he said.
However, this generosity of spirit was not always evident when it came to some members of minority communities. In March, Mr. Grandi spoke out about the discrimination, racism and violence they faced.
Speaking on the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Mr Grandi said the UN refugee agency had witnessed “the horrible reality that some Black and Latino people fleeing Ukraine, and other wars and conflicts around the world, they have not received the same treatment as Ukrainian refugees.
Mr. Grandi’s concerns were echoed, in July, by González Morales, the UN special rapporteur on the human rights of migrants. Mr. Morales alleged that there was a double standard in the way refugees are treated in Poland and Belarus, particularly when it comes to people of African descent and other racial and ethnic minorities.
‘Desperate situation’ in Ethiopian camps
In Ethiopia, millions remain displaced due to the armed conflict in the Tigray region, which began on November 3, 2020, between Ethiopian national forces, Eritrean troops, Amhara forces and other militias on one side, and loyalist forces. the Tigray People’s Liberation Front on the other. other.
At the end of this year, a fragile internationally brokered truce appeared to be holding as aid returned to beleaguered northern regions that had been inaccessible for months, along with many returning home to rebuild their shattered lives.
In January, the UN refugee agency issued a stark warning that deteriorating conditions meant refugees in the region were struggling to get enough food, medicine and clean water, and risked dying unless the situation will improve.
“The desperate situation in these camps is a stark example of the impact of lack of access and supplies affecting millions of displaced people and other civilians across the region,” UNHCR spokesman Boris Cheshirkov said.
Refugees also came under direct attack: in February, for example, thousands of Eritreans were forced to flee a camp in the Afar region after gunmen broke in, stole their belongings and killed residents.
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In August, UN agencies launched an urgent appeal for funding to help more than 750,000 people seeking refuge in Ethiopia. The World Food Program warned that unless it received the funds, many refugees would have nothing to eat.
African migrants wait to be rescued by the Sea Watch ship, in LibyaThousands die trying to reach Europe by boat
The number of people who died or went missing trying to reach Europe by boat doubled between 2022 and 2021, to more than 3,000. This grim statistic was published by UNHCR in April.
“Most of the sea crossings were made in overcrowded, unseaworthy inflatable boats, many of which capsized or deflated, causing loss of life,” UNHCR spokeswoman Shabia Mantoo told reporters at a briefing. periodical press in Geneva.
This did not deter many from taking considerable risk in attempting to cross the sea. In a single attempt, in March, at least 70 migrants were reported dead or missing off the Libyan coast, the starting point for many crossings.
In August, when a ship sank off the Greek island of Karpathos, there were dozens of reported deaths, and in September, more than 70 bodies were recovered after a shipwreck off the coast of Syria.
Hope for a better future?
Amid the tragedy and the hardships facing so many, there was at least one ray of light, he reported in December.
UNHCR stated that governments around the world had pledged a record $1.13 billion to provide a lifeline to people displaced by war, violence and human rights violations.
“As a result of the conflict, the climate emergency and other crises, displaced people around the world are facing unprecedented needs,” said Mr. Grandi. “Thankfully, UNHCR’s generous donors continue to support them during these terrible days, creating hope for a better future.”
