Refugees in Jordan.
The six richest countries in the world, who make up almost 60% of the world's economy, are hosting less than 9% of the total number of refugees in the world, a July 18 report by British charity Oxfam found.
The analysis showed that the United States, Germany, France, China, Japan and Britain, which together make up 56.6% of the global gross national product, host just 2.1 million refugees combined.
Refugees in Jordan.
The six richest countries in the world, who make up almost 60% of the world's economy, are hosting less than 9% of the total number of refugees in the world, a July 18 report by British charity Oxfam found.
The analysis showed that the United States, Germany, France, China, Japan and Britain, which together make up 56.6% of the global gross national product, host just 2.1 million refugees combined.
“It is shameful so many governments are turning their backs on the suffering of millions of vulnerable people who have fled their homes and are often risking their lives to reach safety,” Winnie Byanyima, Oxfam International executive director said.
“Poorer countries are shouldering the duty of protecting refugees when it should be a shared responsibility, but many richer countries are doing next to nothing.”
The numbers are not even distributed equally between those rich countries. Germany alone hosts a third of those refugees, or about 735,000 people, while the remaining 1.4 million are split between the other five countries.
Meanwhile, more than half of the world's refugees, which is about 12 million people, are hosted by Jordan, Turkey, Palestine, Pakistan, Lebanon and South Africa. These countries make up less than 2% of the world's economy.
The report also said that more than 65 million people have fled their homes because of conflict, persecution and violence — the highest level since records began. Byanyima called on the international community, and in particular its richest nations, to do more in the face of one of the greatest refugee crises in history.
“The international displacement we are seeing is an unprecedented and complex challenge requiring a coordinated global response,” she said, adding that the “richest countries need to be part of the solution and do their fair share by welcoming and protecting more refugees”.
One of the main drivers of the refugee crisis has been the conflict in Syria, however Oxfam said that “people are also fleeing violence in South Sudan, Burundi, Iraq and Yemen, and elsewhere.”
Also most of those who fled due to conflicts — about 40 million people — have been internally displaced.
“Too many people who have taken treacherous journeys to reach safety end up living in degrading situations littered with abuse, hostility and discrimination, and too few governments are doing anywhere near enough to help or protect them,” said Byanyima.
“We must stand as one with the millions of people who have been forced to flee as they need our help.”
[Reprinted from TeleSUR English.]
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