The 2020s have not been kind. The decade began with the COVID-19 pandemic and has since seen numerous climate disasters and brutal conflicts that have affected millions around the world. 2023 was particularly grim. The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said Friday in a new report that it responded to the highest number of humanitarian emergencies in a decade last year.
In 2023, the analysis recorded 43 emergency declarations in 29 countries. Driven by the deadly February earthquakes in Turkey and Syria and Cyclone Mocha that tore through Myanmar and Bangladesh in May, and the eruption of internal armed conflict in Sudan in mid-April, UNHCR said new crises, plus the deterioration in old unresolved situations, have stretched its capacity to respond.
“Whether sparked by conflict, human rights violations, natural disasters or extreme weather events, these emergencies have resulted in a surge of displacement, leaving countless individuals and families in desperate need of humanitarian assistance and protection,” said Dominique Hyde, UNHCR Director of External Relations.
“The scale of human suffering is unmeasurable and a stark reminder of the imperative for collective action and solidarity.”
Globally, there were a record 114 million refugees and displaced people, as of September 2023. The number is expected to grow to 130 million at the end of this year. UNHCR says despite raising more than US$5 billion last year, including US$4.6 billion for emergencies and protracted crises, a US$400 million shortfall by year-end prevented it reaching everyone targeted for assistance.
The sheer scale of the emergencies is staggering. In Turkey and Syria, nearly 24 million people were affected by last February’s earthquakes. In Libya, 900,000 people across five provinces were directly affected by flash floods. In Bangladesh and Myanmar, more than 10 million were impacted by Cyclone Mocha in May while Sudan has become the world’s largest internal displacement crisis, with more than 7.7 million people forced to flee the fighting that erupted in mid-April.
Afghans also faced new challenges in 2023. More than 100,000 were left in need of humanitarian assistance after two powerful earthquakes struck the Herat Province in October. That same month, Pakistan’s government announced it would deport all undocumented Afghans living in the country. Some had been there for decades. UNHCR says nearly 500,000 returned to Afghanistan between mid-September and the end of December.
In Central and South America, more than a half million refugees and migrants crossed the dangerous Darien passage. More than 60 percent of those, who moved towards Central and North America, were from Venezuela. As of December, there were over 7.7 million Venezuelans outside their country. More than 6.5 million Venezuelan refugees and migrants reside in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Old unresolved disputes also resulted in emergencies last year. More than 100,000 Armenians fled the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan, when fighting erupted between the two countries over the disputed territory. In the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), more than 7 million people were affected by fighting between the military and armed groups.
The ongoing impacts of the climate crisis in the Horn of Africa severely affected millions of refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs) and their host communities. Barely months after the longest and most severe drought in recorded history came to an end, heavy rains and severe floods hit Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya - the worst impacted countries - causing displacement and widespread destruction across a region also hard hit by conflict.
The UN Refugee Agency said it launched a rapid response to these and other crises last year, reaching nearly 17 million vulnerable and needy people with essential shelter supplies and other relief items.
“With the upward trajectory of emergencies in 2023 poised to persist in 2024 and the number of forcibly displaced people expected to rise to 130 million by the end of the year, the need for solidarity and support for people forced to flee has never been as important as it is today”, UNHCR said.
Some information for this report provided by VOA.
Further information
Full text: UNHCR Emergency Preparedness and Response in 2023, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), report, published January 19, 2024
https://reporting.unhcr.org/unhcr-emergency-preparedness-and-response-2023