For the first time, more than 100 million people have had to flee their homes, cities and countries, from conflict, violence, human rights violations and persecution. The data published by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees highlights that the crisis in Ukraine and other conflicts in the world contributed to overcoming this turning point.

“One hundred million is a staggering figure, both sober and alarming. This is a record that should never be broken,” said Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees. “This should serve as a wake-up call to resolve and prevent devastating conflict, end the persecution, and address the root causes that are forcing innocent people to flee their homes,” he said.

According to the United Nations agency, the number of forcibly displaced people worldwide has risen to 90 million by the end of 2021, due to new waves of violence or protracted conflicts in countries such as Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Myanmar, Nigeria, Afghanistan. Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Also, the war in Ukraine has displaced 8 million internally this year, and more than 6 million refugee movements from Ukraine have been registered.

Today only the Syrian crisis surpasses the influx of refugees from Ukraine. However, if the war continues, it is estimated that the rate will be exceeded between June and July.

But the global crisis goes far beyond Ukraine and is directly related to the international community’s inability to end armed conflicts that, once begun, rarely lead to a sustainable peace agreement.

“The total number of people with more than 1% of the world’s population equals the 14th most populous country in the world,” says the UN.

It includes 100 million registered refugees and asylum seekers, and 53.2 million people displaced by conflict within its borders.

“The international response to people fleeing the war in Ukraine has been extraordinarily positive,” said Grandi. “Compassion is alive and we need a similar mobilization for all crises around the world. But ultimately, humanitarian aid is a palliative, not a cure,” he said.

“The only answer to reverse this trend is peace and stability so that innocent people are not forced at home to play between acute danger or precarious escape and exile.”