The world’s refugee crisis continues to grow, with conflict and violence driving people from their homes. People are forced to flee from wars and other armed conflicts, gang-related and gender-based violence, poverty and food insecurity exacerbated by climate change, and the loss of their homes due to natural disasters like flooding or wildfires.
The plight of displaced people has long been one of the world’s major political issues. The first refugees – called ‘displaced persons’ (DPs) – were the Jews of Germany and Eastern Europe who fled the advancing Soviet army during the Second World War; later, decolonization produced millions of refugees in Africa and Asia; and in this century, civil wars, armed intervention and religious persecution have displaced countless people across the globe.
Most refugee crises are the result of protracted armed conflicts between states. When these displaced people are hosted in another country, their rights are protected by the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. This is in contrast to internal displacement triggered by disasters, which is rarely covered by existing refugee law instruments.
A successful humanitarian response to refugee crises addresses both the underlying causes and the consequences of displacement, by providing safe shelter, water, health care and education for children. It also allows refugees to rebuild their lives and integrate into communities in host countries. This is a complex task, since host governments can choose to respond in different ways depending on their own interests. Those who have security concerns in the region are more likely to view the refugee population in strategic terms, while those with little interest in the area may ignore the refugee crisis altogether.
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