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In the first half of 2014, 5.5 million people in the world were forced to leave their homes. This gave rise to the number of refugees and IDPs, a new report by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has said, APA reports.
The document says in mid-2014 the number of IDPs increased by 46.3 million people. About 13 million refugees and 26 million IDPs are currently under protection of the UNHCR.
The report also notes that for the first time Syrians are now in the lead on global refugee numbers. According to reports released in late June of 2014, over 3 million Syrians became refugees, making up 23 percent of the world’s current refugees, whereas Afghanistan had topped the list for the last 30 years. There are 2.7 million Afghan refugees today in the world. In the list, Syria and Afghanistan are followed by Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar and Iraq.
In the first half of 2014, Pakistan hosted the highest number of refugees, giving shelter to 1.6 million Afghans. Lebanon and Iran too are among the countries that accepted large numbers of refugees; 1.1 million in Lebanon, and 982,000 in Iran.
During the presentation of the report, UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres called on the world community to offer aid to refugees and communities accepting them.
We will have to continue to deal with dramatic humanitarian consequences as long as the international community is unable to find a political solution to the current conflicts and prevent new ones,” he said.
Apa.az
