Statistics released by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in its 2014 Global Trends indicates that the rate at which people are rendered homeless in their countries worldwide is alarming.
It estimates that “there are over 59.5 million ordinary persons living in extraordinary times.”
Speaking to the report at the celebration of this year’s World Refugee Day celebration at Agyeikrom Refugee Camp in the Central Region, the UNHCR representative in Ghana, Miss Chansa Kapaya indicated that “region after region, the number of refugees and internally displaced people is on the rise.”
[contextly_sidebar id=”GVLpBzAN7ouuFgt6w6UOCXBAYFpA7CBC”]She said “in the past five years 15 conflicts have erupted.
Eight in Africa alone, three in the middle East, one in Europe and three in Asia.
In 2014 alone 13.9 million persons became newly displaced with more than half of the world’s refugees being children.”
This 10th edition of UNHCR’s Global Trends estimates that, “the 59.5million refugees worldwide would have been the 24th largest country if they were a nation.”
Out of this figure, Ghana is currently hosting some 21,088 refugees and asylum seekers most of whom are from neighboring Ivory Coast.
The UN resident Coordinator Madam Christine Evans-Klock also called on all countries to protect persons fleeing conflict.
She said “many of these people had to leave behind their homes, possessions, families and friends. And many of these persons are in desperate quest for sanctuary…The recent tragedies in the Mediterranean Sea, where over 1,000 refugees and migrants drowned, are a stark reminder of the dangers some people are willing to go through in order to seek freedom and safety.”
Madam Evans-Klock added that “sadly, thousands more will try their luck against death-defying odds, cramming into overloaded vessels along the North African coast. This is the time for countries to take action to prevent tragedies like these happening in the future.”
For his part, the deputy Interior minister James Agalga pledged the governments continuous support for refugees and admonished them to respect the laws of the country and the traditions of host communities for peaceful coexistence.
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By: Obrempong Yaw Ampofo/citifmonline.com/Ghana