U.N. Reveals 1 in Every 122 People Worldwide Suffers from Forced Displacement La Prensa
go to original December 19, 2015

Mexico's ongoing drug war is notorious for its tens of thousands of murders and disappearances. But there are many other victims we hear little about, those who are forced from their homes as they flee the violence. (France 24)

One in every 122 people in the world is currently a victim of forced displacement due to conflicts and persecution, the United Nations said on Friday.

Forced displacements that occurred this year certainly broke all records, whether in relation to the number of refugees, asylum seekers or displaced within the country, the U.N. Agency for Refugees, or UNHCR, pointed out when releasing their overall statistics of the first half of 2015.

In that period, the number of refugees exceeded 20 million for the first time since 1992, while asylum applications, which are very close to a million, increased 78 percent, compared to the same period last year.

Internally displaced persons, or IDPs, those who have fled their homes to seek safety within their own country, reached 34 million people midyear, two million more than a year earlier.

This figure only takes into account IDPs to whom the UNHCR is mandated to provide protection, but considering all people forcibly displaced, the number now exceeds 60 million for the first time since the start of records.

Read the rest at La Prensa

Related: Thousands of Forcibly Displaced Persons Are Helpless in Wake of Mexico Drug War (La Jornada)

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