Posted in: 16/06/2022 – 13:20
Geneva (AFP) – If the world fails to stem the acute food crisis caused by the Russian war in Ukraine, the record number of displaced people of 100 million will rise dramatically, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi has warned.
“What is being done in order to respond to the food security crisis (…) is of critical importance to avoid an increase in the number of displaced people,” Grandi said during a press briefing.
Presenting the 2021 annual report of the organization he leads, he indicated that he did not know how many there would be, “but it would be large”.
The Russian-led war is starving the world of grain and fertilizer, driving up prices and threatening millions of people around the world with starvation.
Grandi warned that “the impact of this, if not addressed quickly, will be devastating… It is already devastating.”
This upcoming disaster casts a shadow over the Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization held in Geneva, the Human Rights Council and the highest bodies of the United Nations.
At the end of 2021, the world numbered 89.3 million refugees and internally displaced persons, more than double what it was 10 years ago, including 53.2 million internally displaced persons and 27.1 million refugees.
But the Russian invasion pushed between 12 and 14 million Ukrainians to seek refuge elsewhere, in their country or abroad, a human influx that, in May, crossed the threshold of 100 million displaced people in the world.
“During the past decade, the numbers have been increasing every year. Either the international community moves to confront this human tragedy, end conflicts and find lasting solutions, or this dramatic trend will continue,” Grandi said.
Contradiction
Ukrainians across Europe have been greeted with a huge amount of solidarity, in contrast to the treatment often received by refugees from other countries at war, such as Syrians or Afghans.
The High Commissioner recalled how European leaders insisted “their countries are saturated” when asked to take in more refugees from those conflicts.
“I am not naive, I understand the context and am aware of the fact that it cannot always be this way, but it proves an important point… The arrival of refugees to the shores of rich countries or to their borders is something that can be dealt with,” he added.
Garandy further noted the role of politicians who helped the population take in Ukrainians rather than insisting that “these people come to steal your jobs, threaten your security, and destroy your values.”
With regard to the financial assistance available, the contradiction is the same. Grandi spoke of the speed with which huge funds became available to respond to the Ukraine crisis, while countries insisted that their coffers were empty when called on to provide more aid during other crises.
“We cannot get a disproportionate response,” he said.
Filippo Grandi took the opportunity to reiterate his “great concern” about the Horn of Africa and the Sahel, two regions where there are all the factors driving people to flee: conflict, insecurity, mismanagement and the severe effects of climate change.
“The Sahel is a perfect example of how these things happen,” he explained, “a vicious cycle made up of many factors.” He warned that at the moment people are fleeing within their own countries or to neighboring countries, “but I wouldn’t be surprised if food insecurity is what drives people to leave the area.”
permanent consequences
According to Grandi, the invasion of Ukraine “dealed a strong blow to international cooperation”.
Even if the conflict ended soon, which he ruled out, “the divisions between the West and Russia and even among the main members of the Security Council are so serious that it will take a long time to return to the way they were.”
“If (the divisions) are not dealt with, I don’t know how we will manage this crisis,” the High Commissioner asked.
© 2022 AFP