Developing countries taking in most of the world’s displaced people — report
The overwhelming majority of the world’s displaced people, a burgeoning population fed by longterm conflicts, are hosted by developing countries, according to a report released yesterday by the World Bank.
About 65 million people, roughly one per cent of all humanity, now live in forced displacement, including refugees and the internally displaced, with populations fleeing war in Syria, Afghanistan, Somalia and Sudan, among others, the report said, noting that the current refugee crisis was the second- largest since World War II.
By the end of last year, 95 percent of this population was parked precariously in developing countries and fragile states, depressing hopes for local development in host countries and feeding social strife.
“Large movements of people are also furling xenophobic reactions, even in high- income countries, and this could threaten the consensus that i s underpinning global economic growth,” the report said.
While the northward movements of people in distress towards Europe from Syria and Afghanistan has driven media headlines in recent years, the story is much broader, the report said.
By the end of last year, three of Syria’s neighbours — Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan — hosted 27 per cent of all refugees while Pakistan and Iran were the new- found homes of another 16 per cent.
The report called for greater involvement from the world’s development sector in responding to the crisis, which it said was not traditionally a role for institutions and development agencies whose mission is to spur growth and eliminate poverty.
“Humanitarian agencies have been calling for development institutions to support new approaches that can produce sustainable solutions,” the report said. “The best results are likely to be achieved when humanitarian and development actors work together.”
Meanwhile, At least 235,000 migrants and refugees are on the coast of Libya waiting to cross the Mediterranean to Italy, a United Nations official has warned.
“We have on our li sts 235,000 migrants who are just waiting for a good opportunity to depart for Italy, and they will do it,” said Martin Kobler, the head of a UN mission that is seeking to bring peace and stability to the North African country, which is divided by rival governments, militias and Isis ( Islamic State).
The only way to stop the exodus is to bring together Libya’s competing factions and vanquish Isis in their stronghold in the coastal city of Sirte, he told La Stampa newspaper.
So far this year, more than 128,000 migrants have reached Italy from the North African coast.
Libya needs a strong army, police force and coast guard to be able to take on the smuggling gangs who make millions of dollars trafficking men, women and children across the sea to the shores of Italy.