New York, NY, June 18, 2021 — The International Rescue Committee responds to UNHCR’s release today of 2020 displacement figures.
David Miliband, President and CEO of the International Rescue Committee, said, “The numbers are clear: Five people were newly displaced every minute last year alone, or one every 12 seconds.* This is a testament to unabated drivers of migration - be they climate change, ongoing conflict, or growing needs due to COVID-19. This “triple threat” is driving the worst humanitarian crises in the world - and the largest global displacement to date. Today’s staggering estimate is nothing short of an alarm bell: world leaders must step up to the plate of global cooperation and solidarity now - including aid commitments, refugee resettlement slots and the sharing of excess vaccines- lest the scale of human suffering grow even larger next year.”
*There were 2.9 million people newly displaced in 2020, and there are 525,600 minutes in a year.