By Asmau Ahmad
Conflict, hunger and climate change led to a record number of displaced people in 2022, according to a report released by the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) on Wednesday.
The agency said by the end of 2022, the number of people displaced stood at a record 108.4 million, up a record 19.1 million on a year earlier.
The agency said the upward trend showed no sign of slowing in 2023 as conflict in Sudan had pushed the global total to an estimated 110 million by May.
The figures showed that some people are “far too quick to rush to conflict, and way too slow to find solutions,” the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said.
“The consequence is devastation, displacement, and anguish for each of the millions of people forcibly uprooted from their homes,” he added.
Of the global total, 35.3 million were refugees, people who crossed an International Borders to find safety, while 62.5 million people were displaced in their home countries due to conflict and violence.
The war in Ukraine was the top driver of displacement in 2022, the agency said.
The number of refugees from the country soared from 27,300 at the end of 2021 to 5.7 million at the end of 2022 – representing the fastest outflow of refugees anywhere since World War II.
Grandi said people around the globe continued to show “extraordinary hospitality” for refugees.
However, more international support and more equitable responsibility sharing was needed.
“Above all, much more must be done to end conflict and remove obstacles so that refugees have the viable option to return home voluntarily, safely and with dignity,” he said.
