Painting a gloomy picture of the refugee problems confronting Africa, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Mahamat, on Tuesday warned that the total number of displaced and stateless persons in Africa has drastically increased from 10.2 million to approximately 18 million between 2011 and 2016.
In a message to mark the World Refugee Day, celebrated on 20 June every year, Mahamat said the figure will continue to increase in 2017 due to persistent conflicts and insecurity in South Sudan, Somalia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic and effects of Boko Haram insurgency in the Lake Chad region affecting Cameroon, Chad, Nigeria and Niger.
“We are commemorating the 43rd World Refugee Day at a time when Africa is facing the challenge of hosting around 18.8 million forcibly displaced persons. The number of displaced persons on the continent is rapidly growing as some countries continue to face the challenge of conflicts and insecurity,” he said.
He said that the majority of displaced populations are women and children who face the greatest risk of violence, exploitation, harassment and even human trafficking, adding that in particular, children carry the additional burden of separation from their families, abuse, neglect and forced conscription to armed forces and terrorist groups.
According to Mahamat, “With the forced displacement of people, we continue to witness the increasing number of migration flows, mostly of Africans attempting dangerous and deadly journeys across the Sahara desert, the Mediterranean Sea and the Gulf of Aden to Europe.”
He said that the increase in figures is because of the increasingly restrictive border control measures in regions of origin, transit and destination, many falling prey to criminal networks with trafficking along the main migratory routes, and abuse of human rights.
Photo credit: African Union
Source PANA
