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UNHCR reports

BD 9th-highest refugee receiver

Jesmin Papri Diplomatic Correspondent |
Update: 2014-06-20 00:18:00
BD 9th-highest refugee receiver

DHAKA: A number of refugees, asylum-seekers, and internally displaced people worldwide have, for the first time in the post-World War II era exceeded 50 million people, UNHCR reported on World Refugee Day. 

The UN refugee agency said it in annual report which is based on data compiled by governments, non-governmental partner organizations, and from the organization’s own records released on Friday.

Bangladesh had the ninth-highest number of refugees in relation to its national economy, says UNHCR in its report.

In annual Global Trends report, it said developing countries such as Pakistan and Iran continued to host the vast majority (86 per cent) of refugees. In a proxy measure of the burden of hosting refugees, Bangladesh had the ninth-highest number of refugees in relation to its national economy. 

There are more than 30,000 refugees from Myanmar registered in two official camps in south-eastern Bangladesh, with an estimated 200,000 to 500,000 more unregistered outside the camps. 

In late 2013, Government of Bangladesh adopted a national strategy with regards to Myanmar refugees and undocumented Myanmar nationals. This strategy entails a plan to “list” the unregistered population from Myanmar which, if carried out in accordance with international standards, would be a positive step towards recognizing the existence of this population.  

To alleviate the stress and daily sufferings of registered refugees, the Bangladeshi government has recently agreed to improve the shelter and living conditions in the refugee camps. "We are happy that education in the camps is being extended to the secondary level," said Stina Ljungdell, UNHCR's Representative in Bangladesh.  

The report also shows that 51.2 million people were forcibly displaced at the end of 2013, fully six million more than the 45.2 million reported in 2012.

The Asia and Pacific region continued to host the most refugees, estimated at more than 3.5 million at the end of 2013. Afghanistan remained the top refugee-producing country in the world (with over 2.5 million refugees), with Myanmar in sixth spot (nearly 480,000 refugees).

This massive increase was driven mainly by the war in Syria, which at the end of last year had forced 2.5 million people into becoming refugees and made 6.5 million internally displaced. Major new displacement was also seen in Africa – notably in Central African Republic, and towards the end of 2013 in South Sudan too.  

“We are seeing here the immense costs of not ending wars, of failing to resolve or prevent conflict,” said UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres.

He also said “Peace is today dangerously in deficit. Humanitarians can help as a palliative, but political solutions are vitally needed. Without this, the alarming levels of conflict and the mass suffering that is reflected in these figures will continue.”

The worldwide total of 51.2 million forcibly displaced represents a huge number of people in need of help, with implications both for foreign aid budgets in the world’s donor nations and the absorption and hosting capacities of countries on the front lines of refugee crises. 

BDST: 1012 HRS, JUNE 20, 2014

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