UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, has reported that despite record levels of worldwide forced displacement, just 4.7 per cent of global refugee resettlement needs were met in 2018
GENEVA, (Pakistan Point News - 20th Feb, 2019) UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, has reported that despite record levels of worldwide forced displacement, just 4.7 per cent of global refugee resettlement needs were met in 2018.
In 2019, it is estimated that 1.4 million refugees who are currently residing in 65 refugee hosting countries worldwide, will need resettlement.
This is according to data released this month on UNHCR-facilitated resettlement departures which shows that of the estimated 1.2 million refugees in need of resettlement in 2018, only 55,692 were actually resettled.
The largest number of UNHCR-facilitated resettlement departures were from major refugee-hosting countries, including Lebanon (9,800), followed by Turkey (9,000), Jordan (5,100) and Uganda (4,000).
Out of a total of 81,310 referrals, the largest number of referred refugees are from the Syrian Arab Republic (28,200), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (21,800), Eritrea (4,300) and Afghanistan (4,000).
Sixty-eight percent of submissions last year were for survivors of violence and torture, those with legal and physical protection needs, and women and girls at risk. More than half, 52 percent, of all resettlement submissions in 2018 were for children.
Resettlement, which involves the relocation of refugees from a country of asylum to a country that has agreed to admit them and grant them permanent settlement, is available only to a fraction of the world’s refugees. The UN agency says that typically, less than one per cent of the 19.9 million refugees worldwide under UNHCR’s mandate are ever resettled.
Resettlement and other complementary pathways for admission, is a key objective of the Global Compact on Refugees, to help reduce the impact of large refugee situations on host countries, the agency added.
Major resettlement needs this year include those for Syrian refugees currently hosted in countries across the middle East and Turkey (43 percent) and for refugees in countries of asylum and transit along the Central Mediterranean Route (22 percent), where movements towards Europe continue to take a devastating toll on human life.
The Global Compact on Refugees calls for States to offer more resettlement places, through expanding existing programmes or establishing new ones.
UNHCR is currently working with States and partners, to develop a three year strategy on Resettlement and Complementary Pathways to help increase the pool of resettlement places, encourage more countries to participate in global resettlement efforts, and increase access to complementary pathways for refugees.
