DRC Has Highest Number of People Internally Displaced by Conflict
Violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo left more people internally displaced than any other country in the world last year, according to a global study by the Norwegian Refugee Council’s Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC).
In all, 31.1 million people were displaced inside their countries last year. Around 6.9 million of them were escaping conflict and violence and the remainder fled natural disasters, the IDMC said, while noting that some displacement is caused by the interplay of disaster and violence, such as drought in unstable parts of sub-Saharan Africa.
The largest internal displacement due to conflict was in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where 922,000 fled their homes last year, predominantly after fighting between armed groups in the eastern North and South Kivu provinces. The level of internal displacement was 50 percent higher than 2015.
Already this year, some 1 million people have fled violence in the southern province of Kasai. In total, 3.7 million people have been displaced by violence in DRC. “DRC is the world’s most forgotten crisis,” said the Norwegian Refugee Council’s Ulrika Blom.
After DRC, the largest internal displacement as a result of violence was seen in Syria (824,000), Iraq (659,000), Afghanistan (653,000), Nigeria (501,000) and Yemen (478,000), according to the report.
The IDMC warned that the lack of international attention to internal displacement in comparison to refugees who flee their countries’ borders would hamper the U.N.’s goal to reduce internal displacement by half by 2030.
“Each year, IDMC provides robust, compelling evidence on internal displacement. Each year, the evidence fails to elicit a response commensurate with the scale of the problem,” the report concluded. “Why? Because of international indifference, lack of accountability and state failure to protect.”
More Than 5,000 People Rescued in Mediterranean Sea
More than 5,000 people were found at sea between Libya and Italy over two days, including a six-week-old boy.
Some 2,900 people were rescued on May 18 in international waters and brought to Italy, while 580 others were picked up by the Libyan coastguard and brought back to the country.
The following day, a further 2,100 people were rescued, including a baby boy who was showing signs of dehydration, the Associated Press reported. At least 17 rescue operations were conducted by Italian coast guard vessels, a Spanish navy ship, cargo ships and NGO boats.
The body of one man who had drowned was also recovered at sea. At least 1,222 people have died attempting the crossing already this year.
Macron Calls on E.U. to Heed Italian Warnings and Enact Asylum Reform
New French president Emmanuel Macron said the E.U. must have a more integrated approach to refugee arrivals and asylum policy after meeting with Italian prime minister Paolo Gentiloni.
Gentiloni, whose country is the first port of arrival for boat-bound refugees fleeing to Europe, called on the E.U. to establish a common migration policy.
“We did not quite hear the warnings that Italy sent us,” Macron said. “I want us to address a real reform of the right of asylum and of our current regulations to better protect those countries most subject to this migratory pressure.”
Recommended Reads:
- The Guardian: Tensions Rise as Uganda Refugee Policy Is Pushed to Breaking Point
- Human Rights Watch: Migrant Children Denied an Education
- Buzzfeed: How Dallas Became One of America’s Most Refugee-Friendly Cities
- RMMS: Drought: A Contributing or Limiting Factor in Migration?
- Michael Ignatieff: The Refugee as Invasive Other