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.
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The International Rescue Committee responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing, and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC is at work in over 40 countries and over 20 U.S. cities helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future, and strengthen their communities. Learn more at www.rescue.org and follow the IRC on Twitter & Facebook.