Conflict and crisis in an interconnected world
Global displacement trends
As we entered 2023,
108,436,353
people were displaced by persecution and conflict.
War in the heart of Europe. A global food crisis. Climate-related drought and flooding. A record number of people fleeing their homes.
2022 was a significant year – not only because of the scale of the crises, but also because of their interconnectedness.
In 1972, the mathematician and meteorologist Edward Lorenz posed the now famous question: “Does the flap of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil set off a tornado in Texas?”
His question related to the difficulty of producing accurate weather models. But it anticipated both today’s highly interconnected world, and the crucial relationship between activity on earth and the climate that shapes all of our futures.
At the end of 2022, some 108 million people around the world were displaced from their homes by conflict, violence or persecution – the highest figure ever recorded.
Hunger levels are also on the rise. One in 10 people now go to bed hungry each night, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
The 2023 Global Report on Internal Displacement from the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre highlights the relationship between conflict and hunger. According to available data, some three quarters of countries facing serious food shortages also have displaced populations within their borders.
Food shortages are often related to climate factors. In the Middle East and in East Africa especially, climate change is leading to longer, more frequent and more severe droughts. The war in Ukraine has also had far-reaching consequences for global food supplies and economies. And conflict and hardship in the Global South are leading more people to attempt dangerous journeys across seas and through jungles.
In 2022, the amount of money pledged for humanitarian causes by the international community increased. This was mainly due to the crisis in Ukraine, which was unusually well funded.
However, the gap between needs and available funds is larger than ever. The global humanitarian appeal fell short by almost US$ 22 billion, and funding for many crises actually went down.
To solve these problems, we need a joined-up approach. We need to see the big picture.
Want more frequent updates on the global refugee situation? Subscribe to our newsletter.
Africa
Africa accounts for more than a third of the world’s displaced people. Conflicts both old and new are forcing people to flee their homes, while climate change is causing severe food shortages and competition for resources – compounded by a lack of humanitarian response.
Some of Africa’s crises, such as those in DR Congo, have existed for decades. Others, like the conflict in Burkina Faso, have arisen rapidly and are escalating at an alarming rate.
But funding is not keeping pace with needs. Total aid to Africa dropped by 7.4 per cent in 2022 compared to 2021, and the trend seems set to continue. The UK government decided to cut humanitarian funding to East Africa by GBP 13 million in May 2023 – a move described by Oxfam as “a betrayal of tens of millions of people in the region facing life-threatening food insecurity”.
Meanwhile, lasting change seems as far away as ever. There is little will among the international community to engage in peacebuilding and find political solutions to Africa’s conflicts.
As the world continues to focus its attention on Ukraine, millions in Africa are being ignored. In 2022, seven of the world’s 10 most neglected crises were on the African continent.
Many displaced people in the Sahel region are struggling to get enough to eat as armed groups control food supplies. Photo: Tom Peyre-Costa/NRC
Many displaced people in the Sahel region are struggling to get enough to eat as armed groups control food supplies. Photo: Tom Peyre-Costa/NRC
A closed school in Pama, eastern Burkina Faso. Six of the town’s eight schools were forced to close in 2022. Photo: Jacques Bouda/NRC
A closed school in Pama, eastern Burkina Faso. Six of the town’s eight schools were forced to close in 2022. Photo: Jacques Bouda/NRC
Sahel suffering continues to spread
The Sahel region is a belt of land to the south of the Sahara Desert, stretching from Senegal in the west to Ethiopia in the east. It is also home to one of the fastest growing but least-known crises in the world.
Armed conflict, political instability, climate change, food shortages and disease have all combined to create a mega-crisis spanning several countries. In 2023, more than 37.75 million people across Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Mali, Niger and Nigeria will need life-saving assistance. Worryingly, the violence is showing signs of spreading to previously peaceful coastal states such as Benin, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana.
In several parts of the Sahel, armed groups are targeting food and water supplies as a way of controlling vulnerable communities. Access for humanitarians to people in need is becoming increasingly difficult.
In Burkina Faso, 900,000 people are currently living under blockade by armed groups, cut off from the rest of the country. Last year in the blockaded city of Djibo, the situation became so desperate that families were forced to eat wild leaves to survive.
Children’s futures under threat
Unprecedented school closures are jeopardising the future of millions of children in Central and West Africa. In March this year, it was reported that some 13,371 schools across the region had been forced to shut as a result of conflict and insecurity. The region is home to a quarter of the world’s out-of-school children.
Many displaced people in the Sahel region are struggling to get enough to eat as armed groups control food supplies. Photo: Tom Peyre-Costa/NRC
Nowhere is the problem more acute than in Burkina Faso. Here, over a million children have been affected by school closures. As of February 2023, nearly one in four of the country’s schools were out of action, an increase of over 40 per cent on the previous year.
As well as the generalised risk of violence, schools in some places are being directly targeted. “Teachers are threatened and parents are frightened. Children are paying the heaviest price,” said Sandra Lattouf, UNICEF’s representative in Burkina Faso.
In a 2022 survey of children in the Central Sahel, conducted by NRC, over half reported that they didn’t feel safe at school. Perhaps more disturbingly, almost two-thirds said they had little or no hope for their future – a poignant statistic in a region containing the country with the world’s youngest population, Niger.
The education crisis is having a disproportionate effect on girls. A study by Plan International revealed that girls are 2.5 times more at risk of being driven out of schools than boys in a crisis situation.
A closed school in Pama, eastern Burkina Faso. Six of the town’s eight schools were forced to close in 2022. Photo: Jacques Bouda/NRC
Sadly, emergency education in conflict zones tends to be severely under-funded. In Mali, 1 in 10 schools remained closed during the first quarter of 2022 due to a lack of infrastructure and school equipment. Mali’s national budget was unable to cover the needs, and education was scarcely funded in the humanitarian response, accounting for just 2 per cent of money received in 2022.
Want more frequent updates on the global refugee situation? Subscribe to our newsletter.
Violence and hunger go hand in hand in DR Congo
Increased conflict and a major hunger crisis combined to devastating effect in the Democratic Republic of the Congo last year.
The situation in DR Congo is highly complex. In the east of the country alone, there are more than 120 non-state armed groups. The largest of these, known as M23, resumed its attacks in November 2021 after an eight-year hiatus. The violence escalated significantly in March 2022 and intensified in the second half of the year, triggering more than half a million displacements.
Some of the violence in DR Congo was horrifyingly brutal and targeted the country’s most vulnerable people. In June 2022, we reported on a series of attacks on displacement camps. One male survivor, aged 28, gave heartbreaking testimony:
“They tore open the tents and they beheaded my daughter. I have no strength left. I can’t fight to find food for my children.”
Faustin lost his daughter in a violent attack. Photo: Hugh Kinsella Cunningham/NRC
By the end of the year, some 5.7 million people were living in displacement, the third highest figure in the world. DR Congo is also home to the largest number of acutely food-insecure* people worldwide. The two statistics are closely linked.
Many civilians have been forced from their land by conflict, leaving them reliant on aid to survive. In some areas, such as the town of Djugu in Ituri province, humanitarian access is highly restricted, leaving people out of reach of aid altogether.
Peace negotiations in Nairobi and Luanda, supported by other countries in the region, gave hope of progress. But the 27 million Congolese in need of assistance are yet to see any meaningful changes in their daily lives.
*Acute food insecurity is when a person’s inability to consume adequate food puts their lives or livelihoods in immediate danger. See the IPC website for details.
Conflict and climate catastrophe in Somalia
In East Africa, the climate crisis became a terrifying reality for millions of Somalis in 2022. On 11 August, the worst drought in 40 years reached unprecedented levels. For the first time, one million people were registered as having been displaced by the drought since it began in January 2021.
A mother displaced by the drought constructs a shelter on the outskirts of Baidoa town. Photo: Abdulkadir Mohamed/NRC
“This one-million milestone serves as a massive alarm bell,” said NRC’s country director in Somalia, Mohamed Abdi, at the time. “Starvation is now haunting the entire country.”
While analysts debated whether or not to declare a famine, Somalis were dying of hunger. According to a recent report by the Somalian government and UN agencies, the drought may have killed as many as 43,000 people in 2022 – half of them children under the age of five.
Conflict and insecurity in many parts of the country exacerbated the effects of the drought, making it harder for aid agencies to reach people in need. In addition, food prices rose steeply. Somalia used to rely on Russia and Ukraine for 90 per cent of its wheat, and was forced to find alternative, more expensive, food sources when war broke out in Ukraine.
Alarmingly, the situation in Somalia seems set to worsen in 2023. Between January and mid-May, a toxic mix of conflict, drought and floods had forced more than 1 million people to flee their homes – a record rate of displacement for the country.
“It’s a great tragedy to witness the impact on Somalia’s most vulnerable. They are the least responsible for the conflict and the climate crisis but are the hardest hit.”
Somalia is one of the world’s least polluting countries. By a cruel irony, it is also one of the countries that are most vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
Faustin lost his daughter in a violent attack. Photo: Hugh Kinsella Cunningham/NRC
Faustin lost his daughter in a violent attack. Photo: Hugh Kinsella Cunningham/NRC
A mother displaced by the drought constructs a shelter on the outskirts of Baidoa town. Photo: Abdulkadir Mohamed/NRC
A mother displaced by the drought constructs a shelter on the outskirts of Baidoa town. Photo: Abdulkadir Mohamed/NRC
Smoke rises above Khartoum after an aerial bombardment in May 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah/NTB
Smoke rises above Khartoum after an aerial bombardment in May 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah/NTB
A rescue operation in the Mediterranean, south of the Italian island of Lampedusa. Photo: AP Photo/Francisco Seco/NTB
A rescue operation in the Mediterranean, south of the Italian island of Lampedusa. Photo: AP Photo/Francisco Seco/NTB
From haven to hotspot: the tragedy of Khartoum
For the last decade, Khartoum has been a safe haven for people fleeing violence. Almost a million refugees from countries such as South Sudan, Ethiopia and Syria had found safety and protection there, along with a million people fleeing violence in other parts of Sudan.
Smoke rises above Khartoum after an aerial bombardment in May 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah/NTB
But on 15 April 2023, everything changed. Today, Khartoum is a place that people flee from.
On that shocking day, brutal violence erupted in the heart of Sudan’s capital city. Two rival factions of the military government, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), attacked each other with tanks, airstrikes and snipers. Bullets and missiles thundered into homes, hospitals and shops. Water and electricity supplies were cut as facilities were hit.
The violence spread far beyond the capital. In West Darfur, days of intensive fighting led to the destruction and burning of property and displacement sites, forcing many people to flee for their lives. Multiple ceasefires were violated and failed to stop the fighting.
Two months on, hundreds of civilians had been killed and thousands injured. A million people had been newly displaced by the conflict. Many of them are refugees who are now forced to flee towards already overcrowded camps, sometimes with no choice but to return to the country they once fled.
Even before the latest conflict, 15.8 million people in Sudan were in need of assistance. The number of people facing hunger had risen for three years in a row. Yet, humanitarian funding remained inadequate, and most bilateral aid was frozen due to the October 2021 military coup.
Today, the number of people in need of assistance has risen to 24.7 million and the humanitarian response is facing unprecedented new challenges. Many organisations have been forced to suspend their operations in the country following deadly attacks on aid workers.
The immediate outlook for Sudan looks bleak. Displacement and hardship seem set to increase, and the country’s humanitarian crisis will likely reach catastrophic levels as state systems fall apart.
The world’s deadliest crossing is getting deadlier
In North Africa, there has been a sharp increase in the number of people crossing the Mediterranean during the first three months of 2023, compared to the same period in 2022. Libya remains both a transit and destination point for people on the move. It is estimated that over 700,000 migrants and refugees, representing at least 44 different nationalities, are currently in the country.
Recent figures show that Tunisia has overtaken Libya as the main departure point for migration towards Europe. More than half of the 36,000 arrivals to Europe by mid-April 2023 disembarked from Tunisia.
The increase is linked to the rapidly deteriorating economic situation in North Africa. Libya, Tunisia and Egypt were highly dependent on wheat imports from Ukraine. Disasters and climate change are having an effect, too. Parts of the region are becoming unliveable, with traditional livelihoods such as farming, herding and fishing being increasingly hard to sustain.
There are also political obstacles. Across North Africa, people on the move find it difficult to get residency, work permits or a legal status. Many have limited opportunities in the countries hosting them and see no other option than to embark on a dangerous sea journey.
A rescue operation in the Mediterranean, south of the Italian island of Lampedusa. Photo: AP Photo/Francisco Seco/NTB
The number of deaths has risen in parallel with the increase in crossings. The Institute Organization for Migration (IOM) documented 441 deaths in the first quarter of 2023, the deadliest first quarter since 2017.
The central Mediterranean has long been known as the deadliest migration route in the world. In total, more than 26,000 dead and missing people have been recorded on the route since 2014. Europe, meanwhile, is showing little sign of adopting a more welcoming approach.
It’s estimated that the crisis in Sudan will bring 350,000 new refugees to Egypt. They will need humanitarian assistance and support to deal with the traumas they have experienced while escaping the conflict.
Middle East
and Asia
In the Middle East, there was little change in the number of displaced people during 2022. However, this apparent status quo should not be mistaken for stability.
Despite a period of relative calm in Syria, the long-term effects of the conflict are being felt across the region. Syria and Iraq are struggling financially, while in Lebanon, economic decline is tipping over into hunger and public unrest. Humanitarian funding is largely inadequate, with many refugee-hosting countries struggling with donor fatigue.
Disasters also continue to afflict the region. Iraq saw a second consecutive year of drought, with temperatures hitting a blistering 50C. In Türkiye and Syria, a major earthquake caused devastation in February 2023.
On the political front, negotiations in Syria and in Yemen gave cause for cautious optimism. Meanwhile in the occupied Palestinian territory, the election of a hardline government in Israel is threatening Palestinian rights.
Want more frequent updates on the global refugee situation? Subscribe to our newsletter.
In Syria, disaster, devastation … and diplomatic hope?
Twelve years of brutal conflict. Half a million people dead, half the population displaced from their homes. Droughts and water shortages, an economy in freefall, and a drastic decline in basic services. With a record-high 15.3 million people in need of humanitarian assistance at the start of 2023, it seemed that Syria’s long-suffering population had experienced every horror imaginable.
A destroyed building in Aleppo, Syria. The earthquake of February 2023 displaced thousands of families. Photo: Tareq Mnadili/NRC
But unbelievably, worse was to come. On 6 February 2023, in the early hours of the morning, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck the border area between Türkiye and Syria. It was followed a few hours later by another quake of similar magnitude.
The earthquakes devastated an area the size of Germany. Almost 60,000 people lost their lives, and millions more were left homeless – including half a million Syrians. Many of those displaced in Syria had previously been displaced by conflict (in some cases, multiple times).
Four months on, thousands of people remain in collective shelters with no prospect of returning to their destroyed homes. Thousands more have taken the risk of going back to houses with cracked walls and ceilings.
The outlook for many Syrians is as bleak as ever. However, there have been some small but encouraging signs on the diplomatic front. For the first time, the governments of Syria and Türkiye have been discussing a political settlement to years of conflict in the north. And some states eased their sanctions regimes for six months, allowing aid agencies to reach those affected by the earthquakes.
Climate change pushes Iraq’s temperatures past 50C
In neighbouring Iraq, 2022 saw a second consecutive year of drought and record low levels of rainfall. In a country where more than a million people are still living in informal settlements, temperatures reached a blistering 50C in the summer – disrupting crop cycles and leading to acute water shortages.
A farmer in Iraq inspects the remains of his crops, after a brutal drought devastated farmland. Photo: Ahmed Kaka/NRC
The Norwegian Refugee Council’s survey of households across five different governorates in August 2022 revealed a 90 per cent decrease in wheat production as a direct result of water shortages. Buffalo herders in the Mesopotamian marshes reported that they had lost up to a quarter of their herds.
Iraq also suffered a financial scare, after the Iraqi dinar dropped to a historic low against the US dollar at the start of 2023. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank have since offered “technical and advisory” support to the Iraqi government to help stabilise the currency.
Lebanon is sliding towards malnutrition
In December 2022, Lebanon registered a tragic first. For the first time in its history, it received an IPC Acute Food Insecurity Analysis in response to the growing hunger crisis in the country. The analysis predicted that some 2.26 million people – including 800,000 refugees – would be in need of urgent assistance in the first half of 2023.
The country is sliding towards chronic malnutrition, and worse may yet be to come. Lebanon is still without a president, several months after Michel Aoun’s term of office came to an end. The government has not managed to stop the rapid decline of the Lebanese currency, which hit an all-time low against the US dollar earlier this year.
A young Syrian refugee in Lebanon. Refugees and Lebanese alike are increasingly struggling to make ends meet. Photo: Zaynab Mayladan/NRC
Despite the economic problems, the country has not yet implemented the reforms demanded by the IMF in order to qualify for a financial aid package. Meanwhile, calls are growing for Syrian refugees to return home, with many people blaming them for the country’s desperate economic situation.
Worryingly, Lebanon has been slipping down the global news agenda. There is a sense of fatigue among the world’s media, and a feeling that the hyperinflation numbers are so massive that they have almost ceased to be meaningful.
A destroyed building in Aleppo, Syria. The earthquake of February 2023 displaced thousands of families. Photo: Tareq Mnadili/NRC
A destroyed building in Aleppo, Syria. The earthquake of February 2023 displaced thousands of families. Photo: Tareq Mnadili/NRC
A farmer in Iraq inspects the remains of his crops, after a brutal drought devastated farmland. Photo: Ahmed Kaka/NRC
A farmer in Iraq inspects the remains of his crops, after a brutal drought devastated farmland. Photo: Ahmed Kaka/NRC
A young Syrian refugee in Lebanon. Refugees and Lebanese alike are increasingly struggling to make ends meet. Photo: Zaynab Mayladan/NRC
A young Syrian refugee in Lebanon. Refugees and Lebanese alike are increasingly struggling to make ends meet. Photo: Zaynab Mayladan/NRC
Ashraf Al-Amour and his children in their cave home in Masafer Yatta, where many Palestinians have been threatened with eviction. Photo: Ahmad Al-Bazz/NRC
Ashraf Al-Amour and his children in their cave home in Masafer Yatta, where many Palestinians have been threatened with eviction. Photo: Ahmad Al-Bazz/NRC
A container ship docked at the port of Hodeidah, where fuel and other commercial goods are now arriving. Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah/NTB
A container ship docked at the port of Hodeidah, where fuel and other commercial goods are now arriving. Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah/NTB
Seven-year-old Salma faces an uncertain future, along with millions of women and girls in Afghanistan. Photo: Ingebjørg Kårstad/NRC
Seven-year-old Salma faces an uncertain future, along with millions of women and girls in Afghanistan. Photo: Ingebjørg Kårstad/NRC
Another blow for Palestinian rights
For those living in the occupied Palestinian territory, the most significant event of 2022 took place in neighbouring Israel. The election of a hardline government, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, ushered in a new era of uncertainty and anxiety for many Palestinians.
The election sparked protests in Israel itself, mostly related to a proposed overhaul of the justice system. For Palestinians, it meant more restrictions, more raids, more Israeli settlements and more violence.
Ashraf Al-Amour and his children in their cave home in Masafer Yatta, where many Palestinians have been threatened with eviction. Photo: Ahmad Al-Bazz/NRC
Gaza and the West Bank have already seen waves of unrest, and the number of killings keeps rising. During Ramadan this year, Israeli forces raided the Al-Aqsa Mosque, sparking widespread anger.
In the West Bank, Israel has continued to displace communities by demolishing homes and civilian structures. Last year’s displacement figures were the highest since 2016, and the trend has continued into 2023. In the first four months of the year, more than 400 Palestinians were forced from their homes as a result of Israel’s operations.
Yemen’s truce brings hope
After seven years of brutal conflict, a long-awaited truce was announced in Yemen on 2 April 2022. The parties to the conflict agreed to suspend hostilities for two months, which was later extended to six months.
A container ship docked at the port of Hodeidah, where fuel and other commercial goods are now arriving. Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah/NTB
Although the agreement officially lapsed in October, the terms of the truce continued to hold. Fighting and related civilian casualties decreased, and hundreds of detainees were released. Fuel and other commercial goods increasingly flowed into the port of Hodeidah. Speaking in April 2023, the UN’s Special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, said: “Yemen is experiencing the longest period of relative calm yet in this ruinous war”.
However, the de facto truce is a fragile one and the needs are still huge. The conflict has left Yemen with a rapidly worsening economy and a public infrastructure in disarray, with fewer than half of the country’s health facilities reported to be functioning. A staggering three-quarters of Yemen’s population are now in need of humanitarian assistance.
A pledging conference in February 2023 fell well short of expectations. Erin Hutchinson, NRC’s country director in Yemen, shared her dismay: “The international community today showed it has abandoned Yemen at this crucial crossroads, with a mere quarter of the amount needed to support the millions of Yemenis who require urgent assistance.”
The international community has a unique chance to capitalise on the momentum created by the truce. It must not miss the opportunity.
Afghanistan’s devastating ban on female aid workers
2022 was another year on the brink of survival for the people of Afghanistan. The nation struggled with a faltering economy, devastating earthquakes and droughts, as well as political and economic isolation.
Seven-year-old Salma faces an uncertain future, along with millions of women and girls in Afghanistan. Photo: Ingebjørg Kårstad/NRC
On 24 December, the situation reached a critical low point. The Taliban authorities issued a country-wide decree banning Afghan women from working for NGOs. As a result, many organisations were forced to pause their operations because they could no longer carry out principled humanitarian assistance.
Wherever humanitarian agencies operate, female staff are indispensable in ensuring that both men and women receive the assistance they need. Afghanistan is no exception. Using male-only teams to provide aid to families headed by women could have serious consequences for the women involved.
“This is one of the biggest shocks of my life. However, I have learned from previous shocks that nothing can stop me from working with others, from speaking up, and from learning.”
In April 2023, the ban was extended to Afghan women working for the United Nations (UN). The move threatens to jeopardise all humanitarian work and funding to the country, leaving millions at risk. More than 28 million Afghans now rely on humanitarian aid to survive, including 6 million who are one step away from famine.
After months of negotiations, NGOs (including NRC) slowly managed to find ways to resume principled humanitarian work with women in many places, based on agreements with local authorities. Many Taliban officials acknowledge that female aid workers are needed to reach women in Afghanistan. However, the rumoured national guidelines were still in draft format in May 2023.
The increasingly bleak prospects have seen Afghans continue to leave the country in search of a safer and better future. Thousands cross the borders each day. Many, however, are sent back to Afghanistan, despite the advice of the UN refugee agency, which has called for a bar on forced returns of Afghan nationals.
After five years, the Rohingya crisis has reached a tipping point
Since fleeing deadly violence in Myanmar in August 2017, a million Rohingya refugees remain completely dependent on aid in neighbouring Bangladesh. They are spread across 33 settlements in Cox’s Bazar, collectively known as the largest refugee camp in the world.
A Rohingya refugee looks out over Cox’s Bazar refugee camp in Bangladesh. Photo: Jessica Wanless/NRC
Almost half of the refugee population are children and young people. They are at grave risk of becoming a “lost generation” – unable to access education or get work. An NRC survey of young Rohingya refugees in 2022 found that a staggering 95 per cent were unemployed and suffering from high levels of anxiety and stress.
Conditions in the camp itself are extremely challenging. Flimsy shelters have been constructed on loose, sandy soil, making them vulnerable to landslides. A series of floods and fires have devastated large areas of the camp, leaving dozens of people dead and thousands homeless.
According to the Bangladesh defence ministry, there were 222 fire incidents in the Rohingya camps between January 2021 and December 2022. With every incident, the refugees lose not only their homes and belongings, but also what little sense of security they have.
On a visit to Cox’s Bazar in August 2022, NRC Secretary General Jan Egeland said: “The Rohingya refugee community in Bangladesh is almost at the point of no return. They must be helped out of displacement now or it will be too late.”
In May 2023, the community suffered another blow when the World Food Programme announced it was cutting food rations due to funding shortages. Camp residents will now receive just US$ 8 in food vouchers per month, down from US$ 12 earlier in the year. At less than 9 cents per meal, the new ration amount could have dangerous consequences for the health and wellbeing of the refugee population.
Record storm adds to suffering in Myanmar
Within Myanmar itself, unrest continued to spread in the wake of the military takeover in February 2021. What began as a series of protests quickly escalated into nationwide violence.
Cyclone Mocha makes landfall near the border between Bangladesh and Myanmar in May 2023. Photo: EPA/STR/NTB
By the end of 2022, some 1.5 million people were displaced within Myanmar, more than double the 2021 figure. Humanitarian needs have risen correspondingly, with 17.6 million people expected to need assistance in 2023 – almost one in three people.
Extreme weather is also taking its toll. On 14 May 2023, Cyclone Mocha made landfall on the west coast of Rakhine state. Winds of up to 280kmh, alongside heavy rain and storm surges, devastated coastal areas, leaving thousands of people homeless with the monsoon just weeks away.
Displaced people were particularly severely affected. In some of the worst-hit camps, 85 per cent of shelters are thought to have been destroyed. Further inland, severe flooding affected more than 120,000 people, while in neighbouring Bangladesh there were mass evacuations along the country’s south-eastern coastline.
In response, a UN Flash Appeal was launched on 23 May 2023. The appeal aimed to raise US$ 333 million to support 1.6 million people in the worst-affected areas.
Cyclone Mocha was registered as the joint-strongest storm on record in the North Indian Ocean. In an area that is especially vulnerable to the effects of climate change, it serves as a chilling warning of things to come.
A Rohingya refugee looks out over Cox’s Bazar refugee camp in Bangladesh. Photo: Jessica Wanless/NRC
A Rohingya refugee looks out over Cox’s Bazar refugee camp in Bangladesh. Photo: Jessica Wanless/NRC
Cyclone Mocha makes landfall near the border between Bangladesh and Myanmar in May 2023. Photo: EPA/STR/NTB
Cyclone Mocha makes landfall near the border between Bangladesh and Myanmar in May 2023. Photo: EPA/STR/NTB
America
Venezuela’s most vulnerable seek solutions elsewhere
Despite some encouraging signs on the diplomatic front, the refugee and migrant crisis in Venezuela continued to deepen in 2022, as more than 1 million Venezuelans left their homeland. In total, some 7.2 million people have fled the country in recent years in search of protection and a safer and better life.
However, many refugees and migrants have not found the opportunities they expected in countries like Colombia, Ecuador, Peru or Chile. So many Venezuelans are on the move again, this time through dangerous routes towards the United States.
Faride López supports her four grandchildren alone. Their mother left Venezuela in 2020 in search of opportunities for her family. Photo: Ingrid Prestetun/NRC
Within Venezuela itself, close to 20 million people needed humanitarian assistance in 2022, according to the Humanitarian Needs Overview. Almost a third of the population faced food shortages. Despite the huge scale of need, the international community only provided 36 per cent of the humanitarian funding required.
Nevertheless, there were some positive developments. Diplomatic relations between Venezuela and neighbouring countries improved in 2022. Bilateral ties with Colombia were re-established after 20 years and the two countries agreed to reopen their borders. The Venezuelan economy also showed signs of recovery. According to government figures, the yearly inflation rate dropped from 686 per cent in 2021 to 234 per cent in 2022.
The improvements, however, have yet to trickle down to vulnerable Venezuelans, who increasingly resorted to high-risk journeys. In Panama alone, the number of refugees and migrants arriving from Venezuela increased to over 150,000, some 50 times more than the 2021 figure.
Faride López supports her four grandchildren alone. Their mother left Venezuela in 2020 in search of opportunities for her family. Photo: Ingrid Prestetun/NRC
Faride López supports her four grandchildren alone. Their mother left Venezuela in 2020 in search of opportunities for her family. Photo: Ingrid Prestetun/NRC
Children from an indigenous community in the west of Colombia. Photo: Alejandro Camelo/NRC
Children from an indigenous community in the west of Colombia. Photo: Alejandro Camelo/NRC
The Darién Gap crossing between Colombia and Panama, dubbed “the world’s most dangerous jungle”. Photo: Ingrid Prestetun/NRC
The Darién Gap crossing between Colombia and Panama, dubbed “the world’s most dangerous jungle”. Photo: Ingrid Prestetun/NRC
Can Colombia’s new president bring “total peace”?
Six years on from a historic peace deal, internal conflict continued to torment the people of Colombia in 2022. Entire communities were displaced, while armed groups forcibly confined over 100,000 people to their homes or neighbourhoods. Afro-Colombian and indigenous communities in remote rural areas were particularly affected. The violence has even expanded over the border into Ecuador.
Children from an indigenous community in the west of Colombia. Photo: Alejandro Camelo/NRC
The election of a new president, Gustavo Petro, in August 2022 brought hope of positive change. In his inaugural speech, Petro outlined his vision for “total peace”, with promises of social equalisation, a new drug policy, and investment in the climate. But Colombia’s challenges are complex and there are no easy solutions.
In total, almost 5 million people are still displaced within Colombia. Others have sought refuge in neighbouring countries such as Ecuador and Panama. The country is also struggling to support the 2.4 million Venezuelan refugees and migrants who now live within its borders, as well as those who pass through.
Colombia’s status as a transit country came under scrutiny in 2022. People from Venezuela and elsewhere were increasingly attempting the notorious Darién Gap crossing from Colombia into Panama, in a bid to reach the United States. Often referred to as “the world’s most dangerous jungle”, the Darién Gap contains many hazards such as harsh terrain, high temperatures, humidity and dangerous animals. Greatest of all is the human danger: in this lawless region, sexual assaults, robberies and deadly violence are common.
The Darién Gap crossing between Colombia and Panama, dubbed “the world’s most dangerous jungle”. Photo: Ingrid Prestetun/NRC
In April 2023, the governments of Colombia, Panama and the United States announced a new plan to restrict the number of crossings. In a joint statement, they vowed to use “new lawful and flexible pathways for tens of thousands of migrants and refugees as an alternative to irregular migration”. The details of how this would be achieved, however, remained unclear.
War-like violence in North Central America
Extreme levels of violence are shattering lives in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. Armed gangs, drug traffickers and criminal organisations are fuelling corruption and violence across the region.
“The kinds of stories people have been telling me are similar to those from people in war zones like Syria, Yemen or Ukraine,”
Almost one in three people in North Central America are now in urgent need of aid. But despite the UN launching its first humanitarian response plans for El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras in 2021, the world continued to overlook the situation. International donors provided a mere 27 per cent of the funding required in El Salvador in 2022, making it one of the most underfunded crises worldwide.
A large family group arrives at the migrant transit centre in Danli, Honduras. Photo: Ed Prior/NRC
The region is also vulnerable to extreme weather events. Two years after the devastating hurricanes Eta and Iota, El Salvador was again hit by severe flooding in 2022, caused by Hurricane Julia.
Desperate migrants – some from as far away as Africa and Asia – trek through these dangerous areas in search of protection and opportunities in North America. Many are disappointed. Almost 200,000 people were deported from Mexico and the United States to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras over the course of the year.
Gangs take over Haiti’s capital
Insecurity in the region was not confined to the mainland. In Haiti, violence triggered 106,000 displacements during 2022. This was a five-fold increase compared to 2021 and the highest figure ever recorded for the country.
A protester carries a piece of wood simulating a weapon during a protest in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, in October 2022. Photo: AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph/NRC
Crime-related violence has risen significantly since the assassination of the country’s president in July 2021. Incidents of violence nearly doubled in 2022 compared to the previous year, as gangs gained control of 60 per cent of the country’s capital, Port-au-Prince.
A large family group arrives at the migrant transit centre in Danli, Honduras. Photo: Ed Prior/NRC
A large family group arrives at the migrant transit centre in Danli, Honduras. Photo: Ed Prior/NRC
A protester carries a piece of wood simulating a weapon during a protest in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, in October 2022. Photo: AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph/NRC
A protester carries a piece of wood simulating a weapon during a protest in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, in October 2022. Photo: AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph/NRC
Europe
A European war with global consequences
After eight years of low-level hostilities, the conflict in eastern Ukraine exploded into full-scale war on 24 February 2022. Within a matter of weeks, millions of Ukrainians had fled their homes in search of safety.
Despite initial hopes of a swift resolution, the fighting continued to ebb and flow. Six months passed, then a year. Throughout the winter, the Russian Federation attacked critical energy infrastructure, causing blackouts across cities. Thousands of people were left with no heating, water or gas. Many urban residential buildings were also targeted, killing and injuring civilians.
At time of writing, the conflict remains active yet unpredictable. Over 5 million people are displaced inside Ukraine, while 5.7 million more are scattered across Europe. This represents the largest mass displacement in Europe since World War Two.
The impact of the war has been felt far beyond Ukraine’s borders. Ukraine’s neighbours in particular have taken in large numbers of refugees, with Poland alone hosting almost a million people. The Republic of Moldova, meanwhile, is among the countries hosting the highest number of Ukrainian refugees per capita, including many of the most vulnerable groups such as the Roma community.
The conflict has also contributed to a rise in energy prices, leading to a cost-of-living crisis across Europe and beyond. Global trade, still fragile from the Covid-19 pandemic, has been deeply affected. Russia and Ukraine are major producers of basic food commodities such as wheat and sunflower oil. The war has led to shortages and import restrictions, causing food prices to soar as far afield as Central Asia, the Middle East and Africa.
Sonia, 8, and her mother Victoria, 29, were forced to flee their homes in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, during the early days of the war. Photo: Ingrid Prestetun/NRC
Perhaps most worryingly, the sudden outbreak of a major war in the heart of Europe has brought uncertainty, anxiety and a sense that the world is a less stable place.
Ukraine continues to be one of the world’s better funded crises. Indeed, the generosity of the international community has stood in sharp contrast to its lack of support for other, less visible crises around the world.
Even so, this generosity may have limits. Other major crises, such as Syria and Yemen, have shown that support from both institutional and private donors tends to dwindle over time. As the war in Ukraine becomes more protracted, humanitarians are bracing themselves for a steady reduction in funding.
Want more frequent updates on the global refugee situation? Subscribe to our newsletter.
“Fortress Europe” continues to resist new arrivals
Further south, Europe maintained its hard line on migrants crossing the Mediterranean. As NGO-funded rescue vessels patrolled the sea looking for survivors, potential disembarkation countries such as Italy and Malta were reluctant to receive them.
Migrants wait to disembark the Geo Barents rescue ship in Bari, Italy, in March 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Darrin Zammit Lupi/NTB
Survivors were often prevented from disembarking for long periods, at a severe cost to their wellbeing. Many had experienced trauma and physical injury, and needed urgent medical care. In November 2022, some 573 survivors were kept at sea for several weeks on board four rescue ships – prompting civil society organisations to demand that European states provide a place of safety as a matter of urgency.
In April 2023, the Italian government declared a six-month state of emergency on immigration. The measure is designed to reduce congestion at migrant shelters and quickly repatriate people who are not allowed to stay in Italy.
“Let it be clear, we are not solving the problem; the solution can only depend on responsible intervention by the European Union,” said Civil Protection Minister Nello Musumeci. As the number of crossings continues to increase in the first half of 2023, sustainable solutions seem as far away as ever.
Europe’s Mediterranean countries are struggling to deal with the consequences of a lack of responsibility-sharing across the EU. There are still almost no safe migration routes to Europe. As a result, refugees and migrants are being forced into the hands of people smugglers and exposed to ever more dangerous journeys.
Sonia, 8, and her mother Victoria, 29, were forced to flee their homes in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, during the early days of the war. Photo: Ingrid Prestetun/NRC
Sonia, 8, and her mother Victoria, 29, were forced to flee their homes in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, during the early days of the war. Photo: Ingrid Prestetun/NRC
Migrants wait to disembark the Geo Barents rescue ship in Bari, Italy, in March 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Darrin Zammit Lupi/NTB
Migrants wait to disembark the Geo Barents rescue ship in Bari, Italy, in March 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Darrin Zammit Lupi/NTB
What needs to happen
In the last decade, the number of people displaced by conflict, violence and persecution has more than doubled.
“Every year, the world watches the number of displaced people increase, and then does too little to protect and assist the displaced. There is a reason for the dramatic increase in refugees and internally displaced people: we fail to prevent war and violence, and national and international leaderships fail in conflict resolution where we have protracted emergencies,” said Jan Egeland in a recent statement.
But solutions are possible. We live in an interconnected world, where collaboration is the key to tackling global problems.
So how do we solve the refugee crisis? To begin with, wealthy countries must:
- work together to share the responsibility for protecting refugees
- increase support for people in conflict-stricken countries
- protect asylum seekers by not returning them to countries where they are at risk
- help tackle the root causes of displacement and conflict through diplomatic and political means
And here’s what you can do to help:
- Use your vote! Elect political parties that have humane refugee policies and that want to be part of the solution for displaced people and refugees.
- Become a donor. Contribute to real and lasting change for millions of people forced to flee their homes.
- Spread the word. By sharing information about the refugee cause, you can challenge “fake news” and do your part to encourage more understanding and collaboration.
Built with Shorthand