‘1 in every 124 people is a refugee, IDP’
Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has said recent statistics indicate that one out of every 124 people are either refugees or internally displaced.
Vice President of the ECOWAS Commission, Edward Singhatey disclosed this while speaking at the 2017 World Refugee Day commemoration at the ECOWAS Commission Secretariat in Abuja on Tuesday.
Quoting the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)’s report, he said 65 million out of the 8 billion worldwide population are refugees, asylum-seekers, or internally displaced persons.
He said the African region represented about 30 percent of the total number of refugees worldwide with a record 18 million refugees as at 2016.
Singhatey said displacement in West Africa was being driven by conflicts and other natural and human made causes, adding that the commemoration of the Refugee Day had provided an opportunity to address the situation of people who were forced to flee their homes to escape conflict, war or persecution.
While commending humanitarian actors for choosing the theme: “We stand together #WithRefugeesandIDPs”, he said it is in line with ECOWAS vision 2020 predicated on realization of a space within which every ECOWAS citizens and residents experience unbroken peace and participate in the development of their society.
He warned that failing to address the situation of refugees and other persons of concern amounts to inviting adverse consequences for the environment.
“Clearly the success of our efforts in addressing humanitarian concerns as a region have an important and direct impact on the overall human security outcomes of the region”, he stressed.
