Global Christian bodies and NGOs are among 25 faith groups which have signed a statement calling for solidarity with refugees and underlining their commitment to address xenophobia.
Issued on World Refugee Day on Thursday, the statement – the signatories of which included the World Council of Churches, World Evangelical Alliance, Anglican Communion and NGOs like World Relief and World Vision International – says that refugees are often on the front line of intolerance, “sometimes accompanied by brutal violence”.
Three generations of displacement – Rohingya grandmother Rahima Khatun (centre), 55, stands outside her shelter in Kutupalong camp, Bangladesh, with her five children and seven grandchildren. Rahima was first made a refugee in 1978 at the age of 14, then again in 1992. On that occasion, her eldest daughter died of illness after the young family fled Myanmar. PICTURE: © UNHCR/Andrew McConnell
“Reinforcing the traditional role of faith communities in offering sanctuary to refugees, more than 25 faith-based actors express their further commitment to upholding the dignity of refugees through offering effective protection, access to social services and fulfilment of human rights and enhancing peacebuilding efforts,” the statement, issued in partnership with the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, reads.
“Based on their religious teachings, as well as on the experience that some of their communities have of being targeted themselves, faith-based actors seek to address xenophobia as one of their special responsibilities.”
UNCHR this week released its annual Global Trends report showing the number of people displaced around the world exceeded 70 million during 2018 – the highest figure the agency has seen in the 70 years of its existence.
The figure of 70.8 million people forcibly displaced – described as “conservative” with some crises, like that affecting Venezuela, only partly reflected in the figure – is more than double the level of 20 years ago. The number includes 25.9 million refugees, 3.5 million asylum seekers, and 41.3 million internally displaced people (those forced to leave their home but still living in their own country).
Some 13.6 million people were newly displaced during 2018, equating to 37,000 new displacements every day and 25 people every minute.
A breakdown of the figures shows that every second refugee was a child with more than 100,000 of them separated from their families. The data also shows that the world’s poorest countries host about a third of all refugees while high income countries host just 2.7 per 1,000 of population. Turkey hosted the largest number of refugees during the year – some 3.7 million.
Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said the figures are “further confirmation of a longer-term rising trend in the number of people needing safety from war, conflict and persecution”.
But he added that while language around refugees and migrants “is often divisive, we are also witnessing an outpouring of generosity and solidarity, especially by communities who are themselves hosting large numbers of refugees”.
“We are also seeing unprecedented engagement by new actors including development actors, private businesses, and individuals, which not only reflects but also delivers the spirit of the Global Compact on Refugees. We must build on these positive examples and redouble our solidarity with the many thousands of innocent people who are forced to flee their homes each day.”
