Center for Gender Studies of INTEC and UNHCR present report on forced displacement in the world

At a meeting, the preliminary results of a study on displacement due to climate change in the Dominican Republic were presented

SANTO DOMINGO. -  Last year, forced displacement reached historic levels around the world, according to the UN Refugee Agency's (UNHCR) main statistical report: “Global Forced Displacement Trends.”

This report was presented during the activity organized by the Center for Gender Studies of the Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo (INTEC) together with UNHCR within the framework of World Refugee Day, in which students from different careers, teachers and administrative staff of the university participated.

“For twelve consecutive years there have been increases in the global figures of forced displacement. The most recent increase, which brings the total number of forcibly displaced people to 120 million, according to data from May 2024, is due both to the consequences of new conflicts and the lack of political solutions to protracted crises,” commented Thais Moraes. , Head of the UNHCR National Office in the Dominican Republic.

At the end of 2023, the Americas region was hosting 23 million people in forced displacement, who deserve protection by the host countries, in collaboration with civil society organizations, including academia: “These alliances are useful for INTEC because it allows us to offer our educational community a new analysis of the climate crisis and points out how it increasingly and disproportionately affects forcibly displaced people,” commented Dalul Ordehi, Dean of the Social Sciences and Humanities area of ​​the INTEC.

A determining factor in the increase in numbers has been the devastating conflict in Sudan: by the end of 2023, a total of 10,8 million Sudanese people had been displaced. Likewise, UNRWA estimates that, by the end of 2023, around 1,7 million people in the Gaza Strip (75 percent of the population) were forced to move due to catastrophic levels of violence in this region. Likewise, Syria remains the world's largest displacement crisis, with 13,8 million people forcibly displaced inside and outside the country.

“Behind these stark figures, which continue to rise, countless human tragedies are hidden. But there are also stories of solutions and solidarity to guarantee the protection, access to rights and integration of people in situations of displacement,” Moraes declared.

The report presented during the joint activity between INTEC and UNHCR shows that, around the world, more than 5 million internally displaced people and one million refugees voluntarily returned to their homes in 2023; These figures show some progress towards longer-term solutions. Another positive fact is that resettlement opportunities reached 154.300 refugees in 2023, a higher figure than in previous years.

The countries of the Americas are playing an important role in resettlement and other solutions. According to the report, the United States of America received the largest number of resettled refugees globally, in 2023, with 75.100 people, followed by Canada, with almost 51.100 refugees. Additionally, Brazil, Colombia, Peru and Ecuador are carrying out vast regularization programs for vulnerable refugees and migrants, guaranteeing documentation and access to services. By the end of 2023, countries in the region were also hosting the majority of refugees and migrants from Venezuela. Additionally, in Latin America, Colombia leads efforts to implement innovative solutions for internally displaced people.

Part of this reality was shown in the documentary “The Journey that Has No End,” which puts a face to those stories and solidarity with Venezuelan people in the region of the Americas. “Refugees and the communities that host them need solidarity and a helping hand. All of them can contribute to society, and in fact they do, when there is inclusion,” said the Academic Coordinator of the Area of ​​Social Sciences and Humanities, Irene Machado.

In the activity, the INTEC research professor, Sheila Baez, presented preliminary data on a study on forced displacement due to climate change in the Dominican Republic carried out by the CEG.

The Center for Gender Studies (CEG-INTEC) is a specialized entity in the Area of ​​Social Sciences and Humanities that, through the production of knowledge, seeks to promote cultural, political and social transformations, contributing to the consolidation of a national gender agenda of mobilization, and the development of leadership committed to the reduction of gender-based hierarchies. It is dedicated to higher education, research and advocacy on public policies from a gender perspective.

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is a global organization dedicated to protecting the rights and building a better future for refugees, forcibly displaced communities and stateless people. As part of the United Nations System, UNHCR implements the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals, a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and improve the lives and prospects of people around the world. , leaving no one behind.