UN Refugee Agency Says Record 117 Mln People Forcibly Displaced in 2023

A displaced Syrian woman Rudaina al-Salim runs errands for her family at a tent encampment in the village of Harbnoush, in Idlib province, Syria, Monday, May 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)
A displaced Syrian woman Rudaina al-Salim runs errands for her family at a tent encampment in the village of Harbnoush, in Idlib province, Syria, Monday, May 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)
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UN Refugee Agency Says Record 117 Mln People Forcibly Displaced in 2023

A displaced Syrian woman Rudaina al-Salim runs errands for her family at a tent encampment in the village of Harbnoush, in Idlib province, Syria, Monday, May 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)
A displaced Syrian woman Rudaina al-Salim runs errands for her family at a tent encampment in the village of Harbnoush, in Idlib province, Syria, Monday, May 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)

The United Nations refugee agency on Thursday said the number of people forcibly displaced stood at a record 117.3 million as of the end of last year, warning that this figure could rise further without major global political changes. "These are refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced people, people being forced away by conflict, by persecution, by different and increasingly complex forms of violence," said Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
"Conflict remains a very, very deep driver of displacement”, he added according to Reuters.
In its report on global trends in forced displacement, UNHCR said that there had been a yearly increase in the number of people forcibly displaced over the last 12 years.
UNHCR estimates that forced displacement has continued to increase in the first four months of 2024, and that the number of those displaced is likely to have exceeded 120 million by the end of April.
"Unless there is a shift in international geopolitics, unfortunately, I actually see that figure continuing to go up," Grandi said, referring to the risk of new conflicts. The conflicts that have driven displacement include the war in Sudan, which Grandi described as "one of the most catastrophic ones" despite garnering less attention that other crises.
More than 9 million people have been internally displaced and another 2 million have fled to neighboring countries including Chad, Egypt and South Sudan, Grandi said.
"People are arriving in the hundreds every day," he said, referring to the influx of people seeking safety in Chad.
In Gaza, Israel's bombardment and ground campaign have caused around 1.7 million people – nearly 80% of the Palestinian enclave's population – to become internally displaced, many of them multiple times.
Grandi warned that the possible crossings of Gazans into Egypt from the southern border town of Rafah to escape Israel's military offensive would be catastrophic.
"Another refugee crisis outside Gaza would be catastrophic on all levels, including because we have no guarantee that the people will be able to return to Gaza one day," Grandi said.



IAEA Chief Says Time Running Out to Reach Iran Nuclear Deal

 Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), attends a joint media briefing with Director General of Russia's State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom following their talks in Moscow on February 7, 2025. (AFP)
Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), attends a joint media briefing with Director General of Russia's State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom following their talks in Moscow on February 7, 2025. (AFP)
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IAEA Chief Says Time Running Out to Reach Iran Nuclear Deal

 Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), attends a joint media briefing with Director General of Russia's State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom following their talks in Moscow on February 7, 2025. (AFP)
Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), attends a joint media briefing with Director General of Russia's State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom following their talks in Moscow on February 7, 2025. (AFP)

Time is running out to secure an accord to rein in Iran's nuclear program as Tehran continues to accelerate its enrichment of uranium to near weapons grade, UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi said on Friday.

Iran has stepped up nuclear work since 2019, after US President Donald Trump in his first term abandoned a 2015 agreement reached under predecessor Barack Obama.

With nuclear diplomacy stalled, the spotlight has turned on Trump and how he intends to handle the dossier.

So far there has been little clear policy on the issue, and Iran has continued to advance its nuclear program, accelerating enrichment of uranium to up to 60% purity, close to the roughly 90% of weapons grade.

"I think we are running out of time, but it doesn't mean that we can't do it fast," International Atomic Energy Agency chief Grossi said in an interview on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.

"The IAEA is there and has all the information and elements, but when it comes to the policy it's up to the countries."

Grossi said Iran was in the process of increasing around sevenfold its monthly production of uranium enriched to up to 60%.

He said Iran would likely have about 250 kg of uranium enriched to up to 60% by the time of the agency's next report in the coming weeks.

That is enough in principle, if enriched further, for six nuclear bombs, according to an IAEA yardstick

"It's clearly a sign that should be taken very seriously. So this is why I believe that we shouldn't be wasting more time. I hope that we can refocus on Iran," he said.

IAEA 'EAGERLY' AWAITS ENVOY'S APPOINTMENT

Highlighting the challenges, Trump has yet to appoint a dedicated team or envoy to handle the Iran dossier, leaving allies, including Britain, France and Germany, who are part of the 2015 deal, unclear on how to proceed.

The European powers had hoped to convince Iran to begin negotiating new restrictions on its nuclear activities with a view to having a deal by the summer.

That would give enough time to implement new limits on Iran's program and lift sanctions before the 2015 accord expires in October 2025.

"We are eagerly waiting for a US envoy on Iran to be appointed so we can start exchanging views and seeing what the next steps will be," Grossi said. "We are in contact, but we haven't been able to have a political conversation with someone who is implementing the policies of the president."

At the request of the Europeans, the IAEA's 35-nation Board of Governors passed a resolution in November ordering Iran to urgently improve cooperation with the agency and requesting a "comprehensive" report by spring aimed at pressuring Iran into fresh nuclear talks.

Asked whether the report could be ready by the next board meeting in March, Grossi said there would be "very little added value" to what the agency had already reported and that it would be better once there had been some progress with Iran.

"It will come. It could be by March, but most likely a bit later," Grossi said.