An unprecedented 79.5 million people, or 1% of the world's population, were recorded as forcibly displaced as of the end of 2019, UNHCR reported.
GENEVA (AN) — An unprecedented 79.5 million people, or 1% of the world's population, were forcibly displaced from their homes as of the end of 2019 after escaping wars or persecution, the U.N. refugee agency reported on Thursday.
Some 40%, or 30 million to 34 million of the 79.5 million people uprooted from their homes, were children younger than 18 years of age.
Conflict, climate, environmental degradation and uneven development are major factors in the US$7.9B appeal.
Some 52% of all refugees and others who needed international protection came from Afghanistan, Syria and Ukraine.
Amy Pope will become the first woman to serve as director general of the International Organization for Migration.
The figures show an 'intolerable' loss of life amid more reports of government-led rescue delays and obstacles to NGOs' search and rescue efforts, the U.N. migration agency said.
The humanitarian nightmare and attacks on civilians in Gaza dominated the U.N. Security Council's quarterly open debate.
Climate scientists have warned for decades about bleaching of coral reefs, which are nurseries for commercial fisheries.
This year and next mark the countdown to a 2025 deadline for governments to strengthen their carbon-cutting plans.
A new U.N. report shows how prioritizing debt over services like health care and education plagues the developing world.
