Earlier this week, UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency, announced that more than 100 million people are now uprooted worldwide. People forced to flee conflict, violence, human rights violations and persecution. This staggering figure is fuelled by new waves of conflict and protracted crises in countries such as Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Myanmar, Nigeria, Afghanistan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The refugee and IDP population is equivalent to more than 1% of the population and would be among the 15 largest states if it were a country.  

With the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, the list of people who have gone into exile has grown even longer. To date, more than 8 million people are displaced within Ukraine's borders, and more than 6 million refugees from Ukraine have been counted in other countries  

Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said :   

This figure of 100 million uprooted people should serve as a warning to us to do more to promote peace and address all causes of forced displacement. It is a figure that should never have been reached.

UNHCR continues to seek durable solutions for refugees and displaced families around the world - from the moment they set out on the road to exile, to the moment they can safely return home - helping them rebuild their lives in dignity.  

The road ahead is not easy, and humanitarian aid alone is not enough. We are convinced that with a collective effort and political will, we can give the world's 100 million forcibly displaced people a more stable and peaceful future.      

As Filippo Grandi explains :   

Humanitarian aid is only a palliative, not a cure. To reverse the trend, the only answers are peace and stability, so that innocent people are no longer forced to gamble between the acute danger of conflict and precarious flight and exile.

There is no refugee crisis. There is a political crisis that world leaders can solve together.