The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has welcomed a $60 million contribution from the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief) to help meet the urgent food needs of the most vulnerable in famine-risk Yemen. The contribution, signed by WFP Executive Director David Beasley and KSrelief’s Supervisor-General Dr Abdullah Al Rabeeah on the side-lines of the G20 development ministers meeting in Brindisi, southern Italy, comes as WFP battles to sustain its life-saving operations in Yemen as the ongoing conflict, economic decline, and the impact of COVID-19 makes life harder for millions in Yemen. “We are currently witnessing an alarming deterioration of the food security situation in Yemen that goes beyond any levels seen before, with 5 million people just a step away from famine”, said Beasley. “We are grateful to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for this urgently needed contribution to WFP’s life-saving operation, without which our large-scale and complex humanitarian response in the country cannot be sustained” he added. With the contribution from Saudi Arabia through its aid arm, KSrelief, WFP will be able to close critical gaps in our life-saving food assistance programme over the next few months, which supports a total of nearly 13 million people. WFP will procure wheat grain or flour and vegetable oil, staple elements of the monthly food basket provided to families. This will assist 4.9 million severely food insecure people across 15 governorates. WFP has increased food assistance in all famine-risk areas since the start of the year as additional funds have become available. Yet around 3 million people WFP supports are still receiving food assistance on alternate months as funding remains uncertain. Around 50,000 people in Yemen are living in famine-like conditions, the first time such critical levels of hunger have been identified in two years. Over 16.2 million people are forecast to be living with acute levels of food insecurity (IPC3+) by mid-2021, requiring immediate humanitarian intervention to survive. This support comes as Yemen struggles with rising food prices – up to 200 percent above pre-war levels – and a deadly second wave of COVID-19 sweeping across the country and putting pressure on the healthcare system. Emergency food assistance is a lifeline for millions. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has contributed US$858 to WFP’s response in Yemen since 2018, including US$380 million in 2019 that helped WFP scale-up operations to reach 13 million people - pulling Yemen back from the brink of famine and saving lives.   #                    #                   # For more information please contact: Zeina Habib, WFP/Dubai, Tel. +971 52 472 4971 Annabel Symington, WFP/Yemen, Tel. +967 739 888 251 Abeer Etefa, WFP/Cairo, Tel. +20 106 6634352

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is today urging world leaders to step up their efforts to foster peace, stability and cooperation in order to halt and begin reversing nearly a decade-long trend of surging displacement driven by violence and persecution.

Despite the pandemic, the number of people fleeing wars, violence, persecution and human rights violations in 2020 rose to nearly 82.4 million people, according to UNHCR’s latest annual Global Trends report released today in Geneva. This is a further four per cent increase on top of the already record-high 79.5 million at the end of 2019.

The report shows that by the end of 2020 there were 20.7 million refugees under UNHCR mandate, 5.7 million Palestine refugees and 3.9 million Venezuelans displaced abroad. Another 48 million people were internally displaced (IDPs) within their own countries. A further 4.1 million were asylum-seekers. These numbers indicate that despite the pandemic and calls for a global ceasefire, conflict continued to chase people from their homes.

“Behind each number is a person forced from their home and a story of displacement, dispossession and suffering. They merit our attention and support not just with humanitarian aid, but in finding solutions to their plight.”

“While the 1951 Refugee Convention and the Global Compact on Refugees provide the legal framework and tools to respond to displacement, we need much greater political will to address conflicts and persecution that force people to flee in the first place,” said the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi.

Girls and boys under the age of 18 account for 42 per cent of all forcibly displaced people. They are particularly vulnerable, especially when crises continue for years. New UNHCR estimates show that almost one million children were born as refugees between 2018 and 2020. Many of them may remain refugees for years to come.

“The tragedy of so many children being born into exile should be reason enough to make far greater efforts to prevent and end conflict and violence,” said Grandi.

The report also notes that at the peak of the pandemic in 2020, over 160 countries had closed their borders, with 99 States making no exception for people seeking protection. Yet with improved measures - such as medical screenings at borders, health certification or temporary quarantine upon arrival, simplified registration procedures and remote interviewing, more and more countries found ways to ensure access to asylum while trying to stem the spread of the pandemic.

While people continued to flee across borders, millions more were displaced within their own countries. Driven mostly by crises in Ethiopia, Sudan, Sahel countries, Mozambique, Yemen, Afghanistan and Colombia the number of internally displaced people rose by more than 2.3 million. Over the course of 2020, some 3.2 million IDPs and just 251,000 refugees returned to their homes –a 40 and 21 per cent drop, respectively, compared to 2019. Another 33,800 refugees were naturalized by their countries of asylum. Refugee resettlement registered a drastic plunge - just 34,400 refugees were resettled last year, the lowest level in 20 years – a consequence of reduced number of resettlement places and Covid-19.

“Solutions require global leaders and those with influence to put aside their differences, end an egoistic approach to politics, and instead focus on preventing and solving conflict and ensuring respect for human rights,” said Grandi. UNHCR 2020 Global Trends Report – key data: 82.4 million people forcibly displaced globally (79.5 million in 2019) – a 4 per cent increase 26.4 million refugees (26.0 million in 2019) including: 20.7 million refugees under UNHCR’s mandate (20.4 million in 2019) 5.7 million Palestine refugees under UNRWA’s mandate (5.6 million in 2019) 48.0 million internally displaced people (45.7 million in 2019) 4.1 million asylum-seekers (4.1 million in 2019) 3.9 million Venezuelans displaced abroad (3.6 million in 2019) 2020 is the ninth year of uninterrupted rise in forced displacement worldwide. Today, one per cent of humanity is displaced and there are twice as many forcibly displaced people than in 2011 when the total was just under 40 million. More than two thirds of all people who fled abroad came from just five countries: Syria (6.7 million), Venezuela (4.0 million), Afghanistan (2.6 million), South Sudan (2.2 million) and Myanmar (1.1 million). Vast majority of world’s refugees – nearly nine in 10 refugees (86 per cent) – are hosted by countries neighbouring crises areas and low- and middle-income countries. The Least Developed Countries provided asylum to 27 per cent of the total. For the seventh year in a row, Turkey hosted the largest refugee population worldwide (3.7 million refugees), followed by Colombia (1.7 million, including Venezuelans displaced abroad), Pakistan (1.4 million), Uganda (1.4 million) and Germany (1.2 million). Pending asylum applications globally remained at 2019 levels (4.1 million), but States and UNHCR collectively registered some 1.3 million individual asylum applications, one million fewer than in 2019 (43 per cent less). Additional information / supporting multimedia materials:
UNHCR’s Global Trends report and an accompanying package of multimedia assets are available on our media page. The report is subject to a worldwide embargo of no use before 0500 GMT on 18 June 2021.

Note:
UNHCR’s Global Trends report is released in parallel with its annual Global Report, which reports on UNHCR programmes and activities to address the needs of all who are forced to flee, as well as the world’s known stateless populations. For more information on this topic, please contact:

Media contacts – worldwide
For a country specific list of spokespersons, visit our media centre.  

In collaboration with UN Global Compact, UN in Saudi Arabia, today, convened a virtual CEO roundtable to exchange best practices and knowledge around sustainability, challenges and opportunities during times of crisis, resilience and recovery. This first of its kind CEO roundtable aimed to unravel the influence of business to inspire innovation and leadership and bring us closer to the Saudi Vision 2030 and UN 2030 Agenda.  The year 2020 has shown that businesses can’t operate in isolation. Businesses need to unite to contribute towards the umbrella of ‘corporate sustainability’ to support workers, communities and companies affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and providing guidance and support to companies everywhere. A coordinated subnational approach involving the business sector will be critical in efforts to support people and companies affected, limit further disruption to the economy and facilitate business continuity for a swift recovery. The CEO Roundtable, kicked-off by Mr. Ayman Afghani, Deputy Minister, who urged the CEOs to advance sustainable development through the investments they make, the solutions they develop, and the business practices they adopt. Followed by H.E. Dr. Khalid Al Yehya, Secretary-General of the Council of Saudi Chambers, who discussed the role of the Council of Saudi Chambers in achieving the plans and initiatives of the Saudi Vision 2030. Mr. Majid Al Asfoor, General Manager for strategy and alignment of Ministry of Economy and Planning, opened the floor for the CEO discussion by presenting the priority SDGs in the Kingdom and explained how the private sector can support the government in the national SDG processes and the Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs). Finally, Ms. Sanda Ojiambo, CEO & Executive Director of UNGC, in her closing remarks encouraged all companies to join the UN Global Compact and to take greater action on the SDGs. Influential CEOs from prominent companies joined the roundtable discussion to talk about their journey towards sustainability. Among the participating companies:   Dr. Abdullah Hamad Al Fozan, Chairman, KPMG   Mr. Paddy Padmanathan , President and CEO, ACWA Power Mr. Patrick Chalhoub, Group President, Chalhoub Group   Mr. Rayan Fayez, Managing Director & CEO, Banque Saudi Fransi   Mr. Turki Al Shehri, Chief Executive Officer, Engie Mr. Yassin Al Suroor, President and CEO, A’amal Group  Ms. Bedor Al Rashoudi, Chief Executive Officer, Jazan Energy and Development     The UNRC, Ms. Nathalie Fustier noted during her opening remarks: “The challenges in our world today are more integrated. In order to overcome fragmented responses we need to fully understand that the three dimensions of sustainable development — economic, social and environmental — call for a fully integrated approach. Partnerships are a critical driver of progress across the full agenda. Governments, the UN, and a diverse range of stakeholders from both private sector, academia and civil society must all commit to a more coordinated and integrated approach.”   Interested to join the UN Global Compact Initiative? Get in touch with UN RCO Partnerships Consultant Sarah Issa: sarah.issa@one.un.org  

In preparation of the Fifth Session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-5) taking place on the 22nd and 23rd of February, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Regional Office for West Asia convened a high-level meeting of senior officials from environment authorities, permanent representatives to UNEP, League of Arab States, Secretariat of the Gulf Cooperation Council and Major Groups and Stakeholders. Representatives were briefed on the Medium-Term Strategy 2022-2025 of UNEP and roadmap to the United Nations Environment Assembly. Countries discussed environmental challenges in the region and priority regional actions to address them. The outcome of the meeting will guide UNEP Regional Office in aligning its work programme in support of regional and countries’ priorities. “This medium-term strategy has been developed based on the latest science that confirms the convergence of climate, nature and pollution crises affecting the world's ability to eradicate poverty, achieve the goals of sustainable development and the Paris Agreement on climate change, making the environmental agenda more important than ever,” stated Sami Dimassi, the Regional Director and Representative of UNEP West Asia during his opening statement and on the strategic objectives for UNEP’s action on climate, nature and chemicals and pollution. “This is the second time that senior officials from West Asian countries and partners come together to debate environmental challenges, most of which are common across countries, facing the region and what actions are needed to address these challenges. We were encouraged by the success achieved in the first West Asia Environment Ministerial Meeting held in August last year on the impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on the environment. Such progress in inter-governmental regional cooperation is welcome, and I am confident that we will see more of these meetings and interactions in the future” added Mr. Dimassi. UNEP West Asia re-committed it’s dedication to serve its member states through this Midterm Strategy, bringing about a transformative change towards sustainable development, enhancing climate resilience, living in harmony with nature and aspiring towards a planet free of pollution, contributing to a greener post-COVID recovery.