- Title: UNHCR chief praises refugees 'resilience', host countries on World Refugee Day
- Date: 20th June 2017
- Summary: BIDI BIDI, YUMBE DISTRICT, UGANDA (FILE) (REUTERS) GENERAL VIEW OF BIDI BIDI RESETTLEMENT CAMP HUTS AT CAMP REFUGEES AT CAMP WATER CONTAINERS ON GROUND / WOMAN CARRYING CONTAINER ON HER HEAD BOY DRINKING WATER FROM WATER TAP
- Embargoed: 4th July 2017 11:58
- Keywords: World Refugee Day UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi UNHCR asylum seekers
- Location: BIDI BIDI CAMP AND PALABEK CAMP, UGANDA/ GENEVA, SWITZERLAND/ KHAZER CAMP, NEAR ERBIL, IRAQ/ LA TECNICA, GUATEMALA
- City: BIDI BIDI CAMP AND PALABEK CAMP, UGANDA/ GENEVA, SWITZERLAND/ KHAZER CAMP, NEAR ERBIL, IRAQ/ LA TECNICA, GUATEMALA
- Country: Switzerland
- Topics: Asylum/Immigration/Refugees,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA0016M31IRR
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:The world's 65 million displaced people deserve praise for their resilience and courage and those who receive them should be recognized for welcoming them into their communities, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said in a statement to mark World Refugee Day on Tuesday (June 20).
This week, UNHCR said a record 65.6 million people worldwide were forced from their homes due to conflict or persecution by the end of 2016.
The number of refugees is an increase of 300,000 over the previous year. This included 22.5 million refugees, 40.3 million uprooted within their countries and 2.8 million asylum seekers.
Children under 18 make up just over half the refugee population.
Grandi said more than half of refugees globally come from three countries: Syria, Afghanistan and South Sudan, which have been war-torn for years.
The fastest growing refugee population was spurred by the crisis in South Sudan while nearly two-thirds of Syrians have been forced to flee their homes.
There were 2 million new asylum claims in 2016. Germany received the highest number, followed by the United States, Italy and Turkey. Unaccompanied or separated children - mainly Afghans and Syrians - lodged some 75,000 applications in 70 countries in 2016. But this is thought to be an underestimate as the data is incomplete.
Developing countries host 84 percent of the world's refugees, according to UNHCR figures. - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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