UNHCR presents its 2024 Global Trends Report at INTEC in the framework of World Refugee Day
SANTO DOMINGO. - The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) presented its latest Global Trends Report on Forced Displacement at the Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo (INTEC), during an activity co-organized with the Center for Gender Studies from that university (CEG-INTEC) as part of World Refugee Day, which is commemorated on June 20 each year.
The event served as a space for collective analysis and reflection on the humanitarian and protection challenges faced by millions of displaced people around the world.
The 2024 report reveals that, for the first time in history, more than 120 million people They have been forced to flee their homes due to war, violence, persecution, climate crises, or human rights violations. This is a sustained increase, double the figures recorded a decade ago. Countries such as Syria, Venezuela, Afghanistan, South Sudan, and Myanmar continue to top the list of refugee origins.
“World Refugee Day is an opportunity to recognize the courage, resilience, and contributions of displaced people, as well as the fundamental role of the communities that host them. In the Dominican Republic, we work alongside various stakeholders to ensure that those fleeing find protection, dignity, and opportunities to rebuild their lives,” said Pablo Vizcaíno, head of UNHCR’s country office in the country.
During the event, which brought together students, faculty and members of civil society, the Center for Gender Studies of INTEC stressed the urgency of addressing forced displacement from an intersectional perspective, making visible the multiple forms of violence faced by women, girls and other historically excluded populations in contexts of human mobility.
“A gender and human rights approach is essential for designing comprehensive and sustainable responses. At CEG-INTEC, we are committed to critical and situated knowledge to transform the way we understand and respond to forced displacement,” said CEG Director Desireé del Rosario Sosa, who noted that CEG is developing the project “Forced Displacement Due to Climate Change in the Lives of Women and Girls,” sponsored by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC).
The session included first-person testimonies and a question-and-answer session where they addressed the report's regional implications for Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as the specific challenges facing the Dominican Republic as a transit and destination country.
UNHCR reiterated its commitment to continue working with the Dominican State, civil society organizations, the private sector and academia to ensure inclusive protection solutions, universal access to documentation and strengthening of livelihoods for people under its mandate, in line with the principle of leave no one behind.