Refugee resettlement at a record low in 2020 – UNHCR

The COVID-19 pandemic along with low quotas put forward by states has resulted in the lowest refugee resettlement numbers the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has witnessed in almost two decades.

The UNHCR said despite an estimated 1.44 million refugees in urgent need of resettlement globally, only 22,770 were resettled through the Agency last year.

It called on developed nations to “step-up” and offer places to save lives, easing the burden of least-resourced countries that are hosting the majority of the world’s refugees.

“We can only hope that 2020 will be an extreme anomaly for refugee resettlement,” said UNHCR’s Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, Gillian Triggs, releasing the annual refugee resettlement statistics.

“We urgently call on governments to boost their programmes this year, offer more places, expedite the processing of cases and help us save lives of those most in need and at greatest risk.”

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Refugees particularly hit hard

“Last year was an extremely challenging one for people across the globe, but even more so for so many refugees who are already living on the margins, struggling to survive,” Triggs pointed out.

The coronavirus pandemic impacted negatively on the numbers of refugees able to be resettled in 2020, but the UNHCR said it’s encouraged by the fact that 20 countries still continued with their programmes of receiving and processing refugees throughout the year.

Triggs said many of these states implemented innovative and flexible ways to process cases throughout the pandemic.

“We have seen that refugee resettlement can be managed, even during a global health emergency, as long as there are proper and adequate health and safety protocols in place.”

Syria, DRC and Myanmar

The largest numbers of resettled refugees in 2020 originated from Syria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Myanmar, the UNHCR said.

More information on UNHCR’s resettlement data for 2020 is available here.

Resettlement is a tangible way in which states can better protect refugees, demonstrate solidarity, and support host countries, the UN refugee agency said.

It added that facilitated family reunions, as well as labour and education pathways, are other avenues through which countries can support refugees.

These are key objectives of the Global Compact on Refugees as envisaged in a joint three-year resettlement and complementary pathways strategy launched by governments, NGO’s, and the UNHCR.

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