TWR News Brief October 2024
Overview
Currently there are over 123M people forcibly displaced, globally. Of these, 25M are in the Americas, 25M in Europe, 15M in the Middle East and 15M in the Far East and Pacific area. But by the far the greatest are across the continent of Africa, totally about 50M. Close to 70 per cent of all refugees are hosted in countries neighbouring their own. Most refugees want to return to their countries – voluntarily and in dignity – when conditions allow.
25,000 people have fled Sudan in the last week and crossed the border into Chad, to add to the 1.2M already seeking safety there. In the last 18 months 9M have been displaced within Sudan, and 2M fled to Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, The Central African Republic and South Sudan. The situation in the Lebanon and Gaza continues to be dire, with over 1M already displaced in Lebanon and over one quarter of a million fleeing over the border into Syria. 70% of those crossing the border are returning Syrians, of the 5.3M still in refugee camps on the country’s borders. The continued bombing of key infrastructures in Ukraine, many will be in need over the coming winter. Currently, UNHCR is involved in offering emergency shelters, legal assistance for land ownership disputes, and house repair. In Afghanistan, the economic situation remains unstable, and as Pakistan is still implementing its ‘Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan’ many Afghans are being forced to return home. Meanwhile, 226 UNRWA staff have been killed since the hostilities began in Gaza.
On the positive side, UNHCR are expecting to resettle 200,000 refugees during 2024, which is the highest number placed in any one year. The key host countries continue to be USA, Australia, Canada and Germany.
Ref: UNHCR News and Stories 14th Oct 2024,
UK Asylum Applications
Government statistics for the quarter ending June 2024 indicate that 75,658 asylum applications were made in the last 12 months (relating to 97,107 people). Of applications processed in that time, 57% of the initial decisions resulted in protection being awarded. Meanwhile, there were still 118,329 people awaiting an initial decision, of whom nearly 30,000 were living in hotel accommodation.
Ref: Refugee Council Oct 2024, The Migration Observatory 1st July 2024
Fatal Boat Crossings
The cross-channel route appeared to have become more deadly since 2022, with more deaths despite fewer crossings. So far this year, 52 people have died on the route. In 2019, there were 11 people per boat, according to Home Office figures. This year, the average was 53. This may be explained by smugglers using bigger boats – but evidence suggests smugglers are packing each boat with more and more people.
Ref: BBC Verify 9th Oct 2024
UNHCR Global Alliance to End Statelessness
On 14th October 2024 more than 100 states, civil society organizations, stateless-led entities, academics and others have united to form a new Global Alliance to End Statelessness, committing to address the grave inequity faced by millions of people around the world denied a nationality. Over the last decade there has been real progress with citizenship being awarded to more than 32,000 stateless people in recent years, but this new Global Alliance will now take the cause further. Currently, there are a least 70,000 people who are stateless. The vision is simple: a world where no-one is deprived of their fundamental human right to a nationality.
Ref: UNHCR News and Stories 14th Oct 2024
Mental Health Care and Provision in Afghanistan
According to the 2024 Afghanistan Humanitarian Needs Response Plan (HNRP), psychological distress is affecting more than half of all Afghans, with one in five individuals suffering from more severe mental health issues. UNHCR has been sponsoring 55 Afghan counsellors working in 19 provinces. So far this year, more than 35,000 individuals have participated in individual and group mental health and psychosocial activities. For instance, Farzana holds group counselling sessions on specific topics, ranging from anxiety to stress and insomnia. She also runs one-on-one counselling sessions. At a group counselling session in Bamyan, in the Central Highlands, some 20 women sit together, learning about stress management. Another participant, Najiba, 25, started attending counselling sessions after becoming so depressed and fearful that she dropped out of her midwifery studies, one of the few opportunities left for women. She has now returned to her classes.
Ref: UNHCR Global Focus Oct 2024
LM Oct 2024