UN: The Number of Displaced People Worldwide Has Reached 117 Million

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) announced on Thursday, June 14, that the number of people who have been forcibly displaced has reached 117.3 million by the end of last year, warning that this figure may increase if significant political changes do not occur globally. According to Reuters, Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, stated: "These individuals include refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced persons, and those driven away due to conflict, persecution, torture, or various forms of complex violence." The UNHCR reported that over the past 12 years, the annual number of forcibly displaced individuals has increased. The UNHCR estimates that forced displacement will continue to rise in the first quarter of 2024, likely pushing the number of displaced people beyond 120 million by the end of April (1403 in the Iranian calendar). Grandi pointed to the risk of new conflicts, saying: "Unfortunately, as long as there is no change in international geopolitics, we will see this number increase." The conflicts causing displacement include the war in Sudan, which Grandi described as "one of the most catastrophic" conflicts, despite receiving less attention compared to other crises. Grandi noted that over 9 million people have been displaced internally, and another 2 million have fled to neighboring countries, including Chad, Egypt, and South Sudan. In Gaza, Israeli bombing and ground operations have caused about 1.7 million people, nearly eighty percent of the Palestinian population, to be internally displaced multiple times. Grandi warned that the potential crossing of Gazan refugees through the border city of Rafah in southern Egypt to escape the Israeli military attack would be catastrophic. He stated that given there is no guarantee that people will be able to return to Gaza one day, "another crisis at a catastrophic level will occur."