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Over 65 million people displaced in 2015

"...we feel this must be a year to take collective responsibility and action to end the conflicts which force people to flee and also to help the millions of people whose lives have been destroyed by this violence." said UNHCR commissioner Filippo Grandi

 

Twenty four people  were force to flee their country every minute in 2015, a UNCHR  Global Trends report on refugees has revealed.

This is four times higher than a decade ago when it was estimated that six people fled their countries every minute.

As the world marks Refugee Day, the UN Refugee Agency  released its Global Trends report on Monday to show the level of human suffering in the word.

According to the report an overwhelming 65.3 million people were displaced by the end of 2015.

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Of the  65.3 million people 21.3 million are refugees. 40.8 million are internally displaced people and 3.2 million are asylum seekers.

It also revealed that 1 out of 113 people was displaced from their homes  by conflict or persecution.

“At sea, a frightening number of refugees and migrants are dying each year. On land, people fleeing war are finding their way blocked by closed borders.” UNHCR  Commissioner  Filippo Grandi said.

The data for the report was  collated from UNHCR's own reporting, governments and partner agencies.

The study said half the world's refugee are produced by "Syria at 4.9 million, Afghanistan at 2.7 million and Somalia at 1.1 million".

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The countries with the highest numbers of internally displaced people are Colombia at 6.9 million,  Iraq at 4.4 million and Syria at 6.6 million.

Though these figures are the highest ever the UNHCR observes " the rate at which solutions are being found for refugees and internally displaced people has been on a falling trend since the end of the Cold War, leaving a growing number in limbo."

Grandi said 2016 is a " watershed moment for the refugee cause". He said world leaders cannot sit unconcerned in a world where wars have spiraled out of control.

"...we feel this must be a year to take collective responsibility and action to end the conflicts which force people to flee and also to help the millions of people whose lives have been destroyed by this violence."

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