World Refugee Day is June 20. War and refugees go together like omelets and broken eggs. Refugees are supposed to be protected under international law, but that depends on (a) international institutions having sufficient resources to respond and (b) states being willing to provide asylum for refugees.
Conditions for asylum-seekers are becoming tougher in many countries because of fears of terrorist attacks, the UN refugee agency has warned.
Speaking on World Refugee Day, UNHCR head Antonio Guterres said some nations had curbed immigration to the point where refugees were being excluded.
He told the BBC that refugees were not terrorists, but the victims of terror.
After a five-year fall, the number of refugees is rising again because of violence in Iraq and Somalia.
The UN estimates that nearly 44m people have left their homes because of violence or persecution.
It says that some are forced abroad, many others are displaced within their own countries.
“The international community is not paying attention and is not giving enough support,” UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres said.
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