Global Trends: Forced Displacement in 2019

At least 100 million people were forced to flee their homes during the last 10 years, seeking refuge either within or outside the borders of their country. Forced displacement and statelessness remained high on the international agenda in recent years and continued to generate dramatic headlines in every part of the world.

As we approach two important anniversary years in 2021, the 70th anniversary of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and the 60th anniversary of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, it is clear these legal instruments have never been more relevant.

Several major crises contributed to the massive displacement over the past decade, and the numbers include people who were displaced multiple times. These crises included but are not limited to the ones listed here:

• the outbreak of the Syrian conflict early in the decade, which continues today
• South Sudan’s displacement crisis, which followed its independence
• the conflict in Ukraine
• the arrival of refugees and migrants in Europe by sea
• the massive flow of stateless refugees from Myanmar to Bangladesh
• the outflow of Venezuelans across Latin America and the Caribbean
• the crisis in Africa’s Sahel region, where conflict and climate change are endangering many communities
• renewed conflict and security concerns in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Somalia
• conflict in the Central African Republic
• internal displacement in Ethiopia
• renewed outbreaks of fighting and violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
• the large humanitarian and displacement crisis in Yemen.