UNHCR Urges Global Community to Respond to Growing Number of Syrian Refugees

The UNHCR released a report on Thursday that outlines the asylum application statistics for 2014. The organization explained the need for a global response to the dramatic Syrian refugee problem. The Syrian conflict has driven more than 10 million individuals out of their homes. The number of asylum applications for 2014, according to the report, is the highest in 22 years.

Five years have passed since the Syrian conflict began, and the conflict has affected Syria, Iraq, its neighbors, and other nations around the globe. 3.9 million people have been made refugees; 2 million of them are children. Poor living conditions in refugee camps have lead to sickness and severe health concerns; these conditions have caused 150,000 Syrian and 68,000 Iraqi refugees to seek asylum in 2014 alone. A total of 866,000 asylum applications were made this past year.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, released a statement on Thursday that compared the refugee situation to the Balkan wars. “In the 1990s, the Balkan wars created hundreds of thousands of refugees and asylum seekers. Many of them found refuge in industrialized countries in Europe, North America and elsewhere,” he said.

Guterres then stressed the need to help the victims of the Syrian conflict. “Today, the surge in armed conflicts around the world presents us with similar challenges, in particular the dramatic situation in Syria. Our response has to be just as generous now as it was then – providing access to asylum, resettlement opportunities and other forms of protection for the people fleeing these terrible conflicts,” said the Commissioner.

Some industrialized nations increased their intake of asylum seekers. Germany received the most number of asylum applications at 173,000 while the United States received 121,200. The UNHCR reported that the total number of asylum applications has increased, but not all industrialized nations have responded to the growing need. Conflict, persecution, and human rights violations have displaced 51.2 people around the world. Though not all industrialized nations have increased their amounts of aid, the United States and the European Union have already contributed billions of dollars in humanitarian aid to Syria.