NEW YORK, June 20 (RIA Novosti) – Conflicts in Syria and other war-torn nations have pushed the global number of refugees and asylum seekers above 50 million people for the first time since the second world war, according to a UN tally.
The Global Trends report of the UN’s refugee agency, UNHCR, said 51.2 million people were forcibly displaced at the end of 2013, six million more than the 45.2 million that had been forced from their homes in 2012.
“We are seeing here the immense costs of not ending wars,” said Antonio Guterres, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. “Peace is today dangerously in deficit. Humanitarians can help as a palliative, but political solutions are vitally needed.”
The increase has been driven by the ongoing violence in Syria, where fighting between Islamists, rebels and government troops has forced 2.5 million people from their homes. Conflicts in the Central African Republic and South Sudan have also boosted the totals.
The UK-based rights group Amnesty International blamed deadlock in the UN Security Council for allowing violence to spiral out of control in such hotspots as Syria, South Sudan, the Central African Republic and Iraq.
“Apathy, political alliances and point-scoring must cease trumping human rights concerns when it comes to decision-making at the Security Council,” said Sherif Elsayed-Ali, head of the group’s refugees and migrants program.
