22nd October, 2012

DAVID ADAMS

More than 72 million people around the world have been forcibly displaced from their homes, according to a report released last week by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

The 2012 World Disasters Report shows that more than one in every 100 people on earth have been forced into migration by a series of complex factors including conflicts, disasters, political upheaval and large scale development projects. The cost to the international community is estimated at $US8 billion.

Of the 72 million people, an estimated 20 million are living in what the report calls "prolonged displacement". The report shows that as many as 15 million have been displaced by development - the same figure as those displaced by technological or natural disasters, while 43 million have been displaced due to conflict or violence.

The report also shows that 49 per cent of forced migrants are female and 46 per cent are under 18 years of age. Most people are forcibly displaced within their own countries.

The report - in what is the 20th time it has been released - notes that there is "growing resistance" to supporting those forced to flee their homes among politicians and citizens and suggests this is the main impediment to providing better humanitarian and long-term support to those in such situations.

“(Many) states have effectively decided that the misery of excluded forced migrants is an unfortunate price worth paying to avoid having to confront the difficult political questions,” the report says. ”(There) is no shortage of innovative approaches that could help to alleviate the trauma of extended exile...The difficulty lies not in the new ideas, but in escaping the old ones.”

Bekele Geleta, secretary general of the IFRC, says the report backs the Red Cross Red Crescent’s ongoing call for governments to ensure that migrants, regardless of their legal status, have access to the support that they need and are treated at all times with respect and dignity.

“Last November, at our International Conference, 164 governments agreed to this principle and indeed they passed a resolution to this affect. That was an important step, but it was just a step,” said Mr Geleta.

“Governments need to adopt new policies and strategies that recognise the rights of migrants and that help them become productive members of communities, and not social pariahs.”

The report shows that in 2011, 336 "disaster events" cost countries $US365.5 billion with more than half of the costs registered in Japan where the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami caused $US210 billion in damage.

For more from the report, follow this link.

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