On June 16, 2009 I attended the 2009 United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees 2009 annual report. The UNHCR Annual report is a yearly update of refugee statistics and global trends. The forum, which was led by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres, reported that there are 42 million persons displaced worldwide. According to the UNHCR a “person of concern,” or someone who falls into the refugee category are asylum seekers, internally displaced persons, returned refugees, returned IDP’s and stateless persons.
Sudanese Refugees
(photo courtesy of Radu Sigheti)
There are a reported 2 million internally displaced persons in Darfur, Sudan and thousands of people have found refuge in Chad and other neighboring African nations. During the forum the high commissioner also mentioned several other noticeable trends in refugee displacement including the significant decrease in refugees since 2007, however as conflicts develop and become more intense those numbers can rise.
The opinions expressed here are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Save Darfur Coalition.
Tags: Annual Report, Refugees, UNHCR
