The United Nations announced on Wednesday that there are 110 million people in the world today who have been forced to flee their homes, stressing that the total number of refugees fleeing their countries or displaced within them has never reached such a high level.

The recent conflict in Sudan has exacerbated an already exceptional situation in 2022 due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in its annual report that the total number of refugees fleeing their country or internally displaced has never reached such a high level.

The UNHCR stated in its annual report that the number of displaced persons or refugees reached 108.4 million at the end of last year, an increase of 19.1 million from the number at the end of 2019, which is an unprecedented increase.

The organization added that fighting between rival factions in Sudan pushed the total number of refugees and displaced persons to about 110 million people in May.

"This is where we are today (...) We have 110 million people who have fled conflict, persecution, discrimination and violence, often with other drivers - in particular the impact of climate change," UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi told a press conference in Geneva.

He added that this constitutes "a condemnation of the state of our world."

The UNHCR said that 35.3 million people are refugees and 62.5 million are displaced out of the total number registered in 2022. It indicated 5.4 million asylum seekers and 5.2 million others who need international protection.

The High Commissioner said that all these people face "an even more hostile environment, in particular refugees, almost everywhere".
"Real leadership is convincing our public opinion that there are people who deserve international protection," he added.

He noted that three-quarters of the refugees fled to low- or middle-income countries.

Grandi welcomed the EU's recent progress on migration policy reform, calling it a good attempt to balance tensions around these issues and "relatively fair".

The reform provides for a system of solidarity between member states in the care of refugees and rapid examination of asylum claims for some migrants at the border. It is supposed to be ratified by the European Parliament before it can be implemented.

The High Commissioner said dealing with the influx of migrants seeking to come to Europe must start very early in their long journey. But at the same time he stressed that in Europe, the United Kingdom and the United States, "the door must remain open" for asylum seekers.

Grandi stressed that "asylum seekers should not be sent to prison," stressing that "asylum is not a crime." He especially condemns London's plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda and is concerned about US policy in this field.

Grandi acknowledged that the organization he leads "wasn't in a good financial position this year" like many other humanitarian organizations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The global economic situation and inflation are affecting calls for donations.

For Sudan, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has only 16 percent of its need for funds.

This percentage drops to 13 percent of refugee assistance needs in receiving countries due to the explosion of violence in Sudan.

Last year, more than 339,000 refugees from 38 countries returned to their homes, while 5.7 million displaced people were able to return to their homes.

The countries hosting the largest number of refugees are Turkey (3.6 million), Iran (3.4 million), Colombia (2.5 million), Germany (2.1 million) and Pakistan (1.7 million).