The coronavirus pandemic threatens to disproportionately harm more than 70 million people who have been forcibly displaced by wars and violent crises.
WASHINGTON (AN) — The global coronavirus pandemic threatens to disproportionately harm more than 70 million people worldwide who have been forcibly displaced by wars and violent crises, Refugees International said on Monday.
Healthcare systems in even the most advanced countries are being overwhelmed by the pandemic, the global advocacy organization emphasized. Among the most vulnerable are refugees, asylum seekers and internally displaced people struggling to meet basic needs.
Conflict, climate, environmental degradation and uneven development are major factors in the US$7.9B appeal.
Some 52% of all refugees and others who needed international protection came from Afghanistan, Syria and Ukraine.
Amy Pope will become the first woman to serve as director general of the International Organization for Migration.
The figures show an 'intolerable' loss of life amid more reports of government-led rescue delays and obstacles to NGOs' search and rescue efforts, the U.N. migration agency said.
The chair of the talks called for optimism despite divisions among plastic-producing nations and those urging restraints.
The group of organizations that reviewed the U.N. agency recommends several ways of strengthening its neutrality.
The wars in Europe and the Middle East, climate change and soaring national debts hung over the annual talks.
The humanitarian nightmare and attacks on civilians in Gaza dominated the U.N. Security Council's quarterly open debate.
