EDITORIAL: The numbers are shocking. According to a report released by the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, some 120 million people are living as forcibly displaced persons by war, violence and persecution. The number is up from 110 million a year ago and has been rising for 12 consecutive years, nearly tripling since 2012 amid a combination of new and mutating crises and the failure to resolve long-standing ones, says the report. The global displaced population is now equivalent to that of Japan. Although some internal conflicts in countries like Myanmar and Sudan forced many people to seek refuge in other countries, the number registered with the refugee agency started mounting in the early 1980s with the advent of America’s first proxy war in Afghanistan against the erstwhile Soviet Union, followed by invasion and occupation of Iraq and then occupation of Afghanistan. Apparently, military interventions in Syria, Libya, and Yemen account for most of the 68.3 million internally displaced persons.
As the UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi noted, “the way conflicts are conducted ... in complete disregard of international law and often with specific purpose of terrorising people is a powerful contributor to more displacement”. Those who flee conflicts hoping to live in peace and decent conditions often end up in camps, without proper access to such essential amenities as clean water, toilets and washrooms. More often than not, they are resented by local communities, limiting their chances of finding jobs to support their families, leaving their children deprived of education and vulnerable to abuse and exploitation. Those who move to safer places within their own countries, too, face joblessness, marginalisation and other issues. Displacement of people whether internally or externally is a serious humanitarian challenge. The UNHC chief aptly described the situation as “a terrible indictment on the state of the world.” Expressing his frustration at the constantly swelling displacement statistics, he said “unless there is a shift in international geopolitics, unfortunately, I actually see the figure continuing to go up.”
The key factors driving geopolitics toward armed conflicts, namely competition over resources, nationalism and religion, have never changed nor can be expected to change. In fact, ever new weapons are being manufactured to kill more and more people. At present, two wars are raging, a genocidal campaign waged by Israel in Gaza backed by Western countries - self-styled torchbearers of human rights - and the other in Ukraine, also fuelled by the same powers. Wars are not going to stop, what can and must be done is to mitigate the suffering of civilians who get uprooted from their homes and livelihoods because of big major powers urge to impose their economic and political dominance on others.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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