Number of refugees being resettled has plummeted during Covid-19 crisis
The world is set to hit a record low for resettling refugees this year, the UNHCR, the refugee branch of the United Nations, has warned.
Figures show only 15,425 refugees had been resettled by the end of September, compared to 63,726 for the whole of 2019. In 2016 the number was eight times higher, at 126,291.The low numbers are down to the Covid-19 pandemic forcing border closures, resettlement pauses and flight cancellations.
Gillian Triggs, the UNHCR’s assistant high commissioner for protection, said: “We are dealing with a disappointingly low resettlement ceiling to begin with – a quota of less than 50,000 for the entire year – and this was further impacted by Covid-19 delaying departures and pausing some states’ resettlement programmes.”
Publication: The Telegraph
Writer: Harriet Barber