1 person displaced every 3 seconds: UN refugee report

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A new UN refugee report on Sunday reveals 2016 marked a historic high in refugee numbers worldwide, with almost one person becoming newly displaced every three seconds.

The annual Global Trends report by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said by the end of 2016, due of war, violence and persecution, 65.6 million people had been forcibly displaced globally, some 300,000 more than a year earlier.

Migrants and refugees block the highway near the town of Polykastro to protest the opening of the Greek-Macedonian border on April 2, 2016, after thousands of them are stranded by the Balkan border blockade. /VCG Photo

The world's refugee population reached the highest ever at 22.5 million, with the ongoing conflict in Syria remaining the biggest cause of displacement. The biggest new refugee producer in 2016, however, was South Sudan where the disastrous breakdown of peace efforts in July led to the outflow of 1.87 million so far.

A total of 40.3 million people were displaced inside their own countries, primarily in Syria, Iraq, and Colombia. The rest were 2.8 million asylum seekers who fled their countries.

A total of 10.3 million people were newly displaced, translating to one person being forced from their home every three seconds.

A woman and her daughter protect themselves with a blanket aboard the rescue ship "Aquarius", on May 25, 2016, a day after a rescue operation of migrants and refugees off the Libyan coast. /VCG Photo

Children, who make up half the world's refugees, continue to bear a disproportionate burden of the suffering, mainly because of their greater vulnerability. Tragically, 75,000 asylum claims were received from children traveling alone or separated from their parents. The report says even this number is likely to underestimate the true figure.

"By any measure this is an unacceptable number, and it speaks louder than ever to the need for solidarity and common purpose in preventing and resolving crises," said UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi. "We have to do better for these people. For a world in conflict, what is needed is determination and courage, not fear."

(Source: Xinhua)