Venezuela leads world in number of refugees
June 16 (UPI) -- Venezuela now leads the world in the number of refugees and people in need of international protection, according to the latest Global Trends report from the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.
A drop in Afghan refugee numbers and the return of nearly 2 million Syrians after the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad made Venezuela the country with the highest combined total of refugees and people in need of international protection in 2024 -- 370,200 and 5.9 million, respectively. The total marked a 2% increase from the previous year.
Most Venezuelans seeking refuge remain in Latin America. Colombia hosts the largest number, with 2.8 million -- making it the third-largest refugee-hosting country in the world. It is followed by Peru (1.1 million), Brazil (605,700), Chile (523,800) and Ecuador (441,600).
The UNHCR reported that Venezuelans were the second-largest group worldwide to request asylum in 2024, with 268,100 new claims.
The United States received 729,100 asylum applications in the first half of 2024, the most recent period for which data is available. Most came from Latin America and the Caribbean, led by Venezuelans (116,700), Colombians (79,300), Mexicans (54,000) and Haitians (46,600).
The UNHCR report also ranked Venezuela as the world's third-largest source of people living in exile, behind Afghanistan and Syria and ahead of Ukraine. The number of displaced Venezuelans rose from 5.4 million in 2023 to 6.1 million in 2024.
The government of President Nicolás Maduro rejected the report, calling it "manipulated data that confirms the total degradation of this U.N. agency."
In a statement, the Venezuelan government said the UNHCR reports "have become a propaganda tool used to justify aggression, raise funds and attack sovereign nations like Venezuela."
By the end of 2024, an estimated 123.2 million people worldwide had been forcibly displaced due to persecution, conflict, human rights violations, public disorder and other forms of violence -- an increase of more than 7 million people, or 6%, from the end of 2023.
While global displacement nearly doubled over the past decade, the growth rate slowed in the second half of 2024. By the end of April 2025, the total had declined by 1% to 122.1 million -- the first drop in more than a decade.
The UNHCR reports that 23 million displaced people are in the Americas, where the region is seeing "unprecedented mixed movements of refugees and migrants, often along deadly routes."
Still, the agency highlighted progress in adopting "solutions to ensure the protection, regularization and integration of displaced people."
The report cites Brazil, Colombia, Peru and Ecuador as countries "carrying out regularization programs for vulnerable refugees and migrants, ensuring documentation and access to services."
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Boston Globe
2 hours ago
- Boston Globe
‘Who speaks for the Jews?' The ADL, some say. Wrong, say others.
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Advertisement 'The Anti-Defamation League really is a bulwark' against hate My compliments to Colette A.M. Phillips for writing 'In defense of the Anti-Defamation League.' She is spot-on: Whatever the targeted group, violence can materialize from lack of education, prejudicial upbringing, or visceral hate, as shown, in the case of Jews, in Pittsburgh (mass shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue, Oct. 27, 2018); Boulder, Colo. (fire attack June 1 of this year on a group marching in solidarity with the hostages taken from Israel on Oct. 7, 2023); and Marietta, Ga. (the conviction in 1913, and subsequent lynching in 1915, of Leo Frank). The Anti-Defamation League really is a bulwark against people who have hate issues. It tries to raise awareness that there are better ways to bring respect and understanding for all people when there is division in society. 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It was painful to hear specifics of the slaughter of Jews and of the passivity of bystanders who knew but did not act in opposition. However, in studying the Holocaust in the context of these other atrocities, it was always clear that this particular history was part of a much larger pattern of cruelty and resistance. As Jews, our suffering was not something that made us 'special'; rather, it was a dramatic example of recurring human barbarism. The ADL's defense of fascist acts is a bitter irony. Those who claim Israel is not committing genocide in Gaza are willfully ignoring mass starvation and heartless slaughter. It feels excruciating, but we must be honest that Americans, Israelis, Jews, indeed all of us are capable of monstrous acts, and we must put aside our pride and act with determination to stop the horror. Julia Halperin Jamaica Plain
CNN
3 hours ago
- CNN
Under attack from all sides, armed clans try to protect aid coming into Gaza
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'As for our weapons, they are simple family-owned firearms, and we also carry sticks and batons.' Aid convoys are increasingly being attacked by armed looters seeking to resell the aid at exorbitant prices, as well as crowds of starving people who are just hoping to feed their families. The UN said this week that it was still struggling to deliver aid to where it is needed most, and blamed Israel for delaying convoys by making the procedures too cumbersome. While the World Food Program said on Sunday that Israel has agreed to streamline the process and allow the use of alternative routes, the UN says a large proportion of trucks are still being blocked. Faced with allegations of purposefully starving the Gaza population, Israel has in turn blamed the UN, saying it is not distributing the supplies properly, and Hamas, which it accused of stealing aid. In the absence of official security, the Abu Mughsaib clan and other groups are stepping in. A member of the clan told CNN that international organizations including the World Health Organization had asked for security in delivering their aid. 'After we succeeded, our family-based group was formally established to serve that purpose,' the clan member told CNN, adding that the family is part of the Tarabin tribe, a prominent Bedouin family. 'We coordinate with a few other families and handle the securing of aid deliveries,' he said, adding that unlike other groups, the Abu Mughsaib are not working with either Israel or Hamas. A spokesperson for WHO said the organization works with 'various community elders' and the health ministry in Gaza to ensure that 'when critical aid is passing through… communities are informed and understand the items are lifesaving medical aid.' Accompanying the trucks is a risky business. The clan sent one video to CNN, which it said shows its members escorting a convoy of 10 trucks delivering aid. It shows armed men – some of whom are masked and some wearing high-vis vests – sat on top of the vehicles speeding along the Salah al-Din road in Deir al-Balah, shooting in the air. People can be seen running alongside the road, but nobody tries to intercept the convoy. The clan also said it has partnered with a third-party transport company in Gaza, which it claimed moves aid for humanitarian groups including the World Central Kitchen. A spokesperson for the World Central Kitchen said the organization does not work with the Mugaiseb Clan. The clan member who spoke to CNN said that while they do receive payments from some groups, they sometimes provide protection for free. 'Like with the World Health Organization, when it involves medicine or infant formula, we work on a voluntary basis. For private sector shipments and commercial goods, we are paid in return for the risks we take. Some organizations also provide small payments to cover fuel, ammunition, and similar costs,' he said. The UN said that the time-consuming approval process to get aid into Gaza often leaves trucks stuck in one location for a long time, attracting large crowds of people. Olga Cherevko, from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), was accompanying one such convoy as it tried to deliver aid from the Kerem Shalom border crossing earlier this week. She said the convoy was held for two and half hours at an Israeli checkpoint. 'By the time we were allowed to pass, we were met on the road by tens of thousands of hungry and desperate people who directly offloaded everything from the backs of our trucks,' Cherevko said. According to its own data, the UN and its partners have offloaded 2,134 trucks of aid at Gaza crossings since May 19, when Israel partially lifted a blockade that was imposed in March. While the UN said a vast majority of them, some 2,010 trucks, had been collected, only 260 arrived at their intended destinations. More than 1,750 were intercepted – either peacefully by hungry people or forcefully by armed gangs. Israel has accused Hamas of stealing aid, but an internal US government review found no evidence of widespread theft. More than 1,060 people have been killed and 7,200 injured while trying to access food in Gaza since May, according to the United Nations. Most died in the vicinity of distribution points set up by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a controversial private venture backed by the United States and Israel. Far too little aid is reaching those most in need, according to humanitarian agencies. Eyad al-Masri, a 31-year-old father of two with a third child on the way, used to buy food from people who got it at the notoriously dangerous aid distribution points. The prices were high, but still lower than at the market. But on Saturday, with no money left, he decided to go to the point near Netzarim in central Gaza himself. His is a common story. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a UN-backed initiative said Tuesday that 'worst-case scenario of famine' is unfolding in Gaza. The health ministry in the territory also said on Tuesday that 900,000 children are going hungry, and 70,000 already show signs of malnutrition. 'I felt I had no other choice,' al-Masri told CNN. 'When the trucks arrived, I was shocked by the number of armed thieves, some carrying knives, others with firearms, operating in large groups.' Al-Masri managed to get a box of food, and was overjoyed at the prospect of giving his children and pregnant wife at least some of what they so desperately needed. 'But as I was leaving the area, a man armed with a knife came at me and tried to take the box by force,' Al-Masri said. He offered to split the contents, but the attacker insisted on taking the entire thing. 'When I refused, he stabbed me multiple times in the head,' he said. Running after the thief, al-Masri didn't realize he was bleeding. He was focused on getting at least some of the food back – which he eventually managed with the help of others. 'There are starving people who come to these distribution areas, but they can't get anything because of the armed groups,' he said. The Abu Mughsaib clan member said attacks against his group are coming from all sides – from other families, organized gangs of looters, Hamas and the Israeli army. He said that in July, a member of the escort team was shot dead by Hamas, who later said the killing was a mistake. 'A month ago, (the Israeli army) opened fire on a vehicle carrying members of our escort team, injuring two of our men,' he added. He added, however, that the group will continue to provide security for as long as necessary. 'Vulnerable people urgently need food and medicine. We are not an alternative to any authority, nor do we aim to replace anyone,' he said. But he admitted the group's power only goes as far. 'We are under strict instructions not to harm any civilians. … Even if they manage to seize a truck in such cases, we let them take it without confronting them.' CLARIFICATION: This story has been updated to reflect the World Central Kitchen's statement that it does not work with the Mughsaib clan.
CNN
5 hours ago
- CNN
U.S. Envoy Visits Gaza As Hunger Crisis Deepens - The Source with Kaitlan Collins - Podcast on CNN Podcasts
U.S. Envoy Visits Gaza As Hunger Crisis Deepens The Source with Kaitlan Collins 46 mins President Trump says he has been briefed by his special envoy Steve Witkoff about what he saw as he spent several hours inside of Gaza today. He was given a highly choreographed tour of an aid site operated by a U.S. backed organization. They visited one of three controversial aid sites where the United Nations has alleged the Israeli military has killed hundreds of Palestinians trying to get food.
