UN refugee agency warns about humanitarian crises that go beyond Ukraine

“Don’t forget the others”, said the head of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in an interview with AFP in Paris, where he discussed with French President Emmanuel Macron the humanitarian responses to the various conflicts that cause displacement.

The temporary protection that the European Union (EU) grants to people fleeing the Russian offensive in Ukraine, the hospitality of the Europeans and the unanimity in their welcome “demonstrated that it can be done. Let’s do it then,” he said.

When Western public opinion, “which is always considered hostile to refugees, understands the link between war, violence, exile and flight, it becomes much easier to accept that refugees need protection”, he adds.

The cases are countless, according to Grandi, who cites the increasingly “complex and multifactorial” conflicts that generate millions of displaced people in Afghanistan, the Horn of Africa region or Yemen.

“This does not mean that Ukrainians should receive less. Everyone understands why they run away. But there are also other refugees fleeing the bombs”, said the Italian, who calls for “additional efforts for others”.

“The terror they experience, the suffering that war inflicts on civilians, the violations of human rights have the same impact in Ukraine, Syria, Yemen or elsewhere,” said the 65-year-old high commissioner.

In addition to Ukraine, Grandi, who received a new mandate as head of the UNHCR in September, expressed concern about the lack of resources to face other crises this year and in 2023, such as in South America or in Myanmar with the Rohingya.

And he warned about climate change, the consequences of which are felt “in its most extreme manifestations, such as the floods in Pakistan that left tens of millions displaced”.

Angelina Jolie calls for more help for flood victims in Pakistan; see the video

Hollywood star Angelina Jolie visited flood victims in Pakistan, where she asked for more help and said that this phenomenon should alert the world to the consequences of climate change. “I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Angelina, emissary of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), on Wednesday (21). The American actress had already visited Pakistan during the 2005 earthquake and the 2010 floods.

O planet warming makes the situation much more complicated, said Grandi, for whom “the link between climate change and conflicts” is worrying.

“This mix of causes will undoubtedly increase the displaced population”, he added.

(To AFP)

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