By Audrey Lenga
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, “refugees are people who have fled war, violence, conflict or persecution and have crossed an international border to find safety in another country”. Nowadays, climate change is pushing people to flee their countries, becoming climate refugees. When fleeing, they leave their culture, possessions, livelihoods, family and friends.
By the end of 2017, they were 25.4 million refugees registered globally. In June 2021, at least 82.4 million people worldwide were displaced including children, women, and men. Nearly 26.4 million among them are refugees, approximately half of whom are youth under the age of 18 (UNHCR).
Refugees are people for whom hopes and dreams are a luxury. They are in a constant battle and go through numerous struggles and uncertainties. This situation was exacerbated due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Refugees’ inclusion has to become a must now. Inclusion is the practical way forward to protect refugees.
There is a critical need to be more inclusive and to guarantee equal rights to refugees, irrespective of their legal status, origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability or any other ground.
At PeaceX, we think that refugee rights are human rights and we, therefore, stand with Refugees!
Reference
https://www.unhcr.org/figures-at-a-glance.html