Millions of people around the world have been forced to flee their homes because of armed conflict, violence or human rights abuses. They often have no choice but to rebuild their lives in a new country, where they hope to find work and safety. The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, supports them with food, water, shelter and medical care. It also tries to help them return home or settle elsewhere in the world. But many refugees can’t go back, and too few are resettled in their countries of origin.
Conflict, political upheaval, gang violence, poverty and climate change all lead people to leave their homes. But most of them don’t fit the legal definition of a refugee. But they still need international protection because they are fleeing serious situations that could put their life, safety and well-being at risk if they returned home.
World leaders should make sure that every refugee and migrant gets the help they need to build a better future. They should investigate and prosecute trafficking gangs that exploit them. They should put people’s lives before politics and build safe, orderly, efficient systems of asylum processing. They should stop putting obstacles in the way of people trying to reach safety, including erecting fences that block access to land routes and stopping search and rescue operations. They should stop blaming refugees and migrants for economic problems and instead combat all forms of xenophobia, which stirs up hatred and fear that fuels violence against them.