As migrant numbers surge, and pressure mounts on the EU’s borders, a new report issued by the Norwegian Refugee Council has spotlighted the ten most neglected displacement crises in the world.
Centering on the forgotten conflict zones that have helped fuel Europe’s refugee crisis, the report can be interpreted as a stark call to action.
“As the world’s attention ebbs and flows around new crises and conflicts, an unsettling trend is emerging,” it warns. “Neglect of the protracted displacement crises featured in this report is becoming the new normal. Displacement numbers are rising, and needs are spiraling out of control. Yet funding, media attention and political engagement remain inadequate.”
Describing the ranking as “a race to the bottom”, researchers analyzed every crisis that had resulted in the displacement of over 200,000 people, thirty-nine in all, before editing that list down to a grim Top Ten.
Sudan placed tenth (down from fourth last year) and was preceded by five new entrants: Chad in ninth, the Central African Republic in eighth, South Sudan in seventh, Honduras in sixth, and Niger in fifth.
Mali climbed from seventh last year to fourth in 2023; rounding out the list, DR Congo was ranked third and Cameroon second. Maintaining its ranking as the world’s most neglected crisis zone was Burkina Faso in first.
Damning finds
“With a record-high 707,000 new displacements within the country’s borders, the humanitarian crisis continued unabated in 2023, while hundreds of thousands of people were cut off from aid,” said the report.
Continuing, the report painted a bleak picture of the situation in the West African country: “The number of people killed in violence doubled last year, with over 8,400 deaths. Meanwhile, the number of Burkinabè refugees seeking safety in neighboring countries almost tripled, reaching a total of 148,317 according to UNHCR figures. An unprecedented 42,000 people suffered catastrophic levels of food insecurity and up to 2 million civilians were trapped in 36 blockaded towns across the country by the year’s end.”
Engulfed in a brutal conflict since 2019, over 3.6 million people now live without access to healthcare in Burkina Faso, and it is estimated that a staggering 6.3 million will require humanitarian assistance in 2024.
The report further highlighted the $32 billion shortfall in aid budgets, a figure that left 57% of global humanitarian needs unmet in 2023. “The funding gap means humanitarian organizations struggling to reach those most in need, selective allocation of aid, and compounding crises,” it said.
“This means that when severe climate disasters hit, people will not be prepared to withstand potentially disastrous consequences. Neglect is also fuelling rising hunger levels across all countries on our 2023 list,” it added.
Basing their findings on three criteria, the Norwegian Refugee Council measured each crisis zone on the amount of humanitarian aid it received, the amount of international press it garnered, and the international community’s “willingness to contribute to political solutions” to help each country in question.
Rather than registering even the mildest of improvements, the situation in the impacted crisis nations has become markedly worse. “The majority of the crises in this year’s report have featured repeatedly, and yet still more crises are now falling into a vicious cycle of neglect,” it said.
“Scores that would have placed a country third on last year’s list leave it outside this year’s top ten due to an overall race to the bottom across the three criteria used by NRC to measure neglect. International political neglect, limited media coverage, donor fatigue, and ever-deepening humanitarian needs are contributing to a wider pattern of neglect.”
Mired in a hopeless web, the report notices several common strands shared by the nations that have been listed. “Most of today’s humanitarian crises are protracted in nature and involve multiple parallel crises. Across the countries featured in this report, a disastrous combination of conflict and violence, intercommunal tensions, displacement, and recurring disasters induced by climate change is making humanitarian needs all the more severe,” it noted.
Moreover, many were inter-connected with a ripple effect often triggering broader regional instability.
The next steps
Damning as the report is, it does offer hope with a string of conclusions and recommendations aimed at turning the tide. For UN member states, these include prioritizing diplomatic engagement, fostering high-level political engagement, helping humanitarian organizations secure safe and unimpeded access to hard-to-reach areas and removing bureaucratic and administrative impediments.
The report also calls on UN member states to “ensure that counterterrorism measures and sanctions do not unintentionally prevent humanitarian organizations working in difficult operating environments from trying to reach those most in need quickly and safely.”
The general public, meanwhile, is urged to hold politicians to account regarding displacement related policies, to read up on forgotten conflicts, and to give generously to crises that are far from the media spotlight.
“Society finds itself in a state of crisis fatigue,” states the report, before appealing for a more enlightened outlook. “We must not give up hope and allow ourselves to become numbed by the ceaseless barrage of crises. We need a reboot of global compassion and a refocus on where needs are greatest.”
To read the full report, click here.
“As the world’s attention ebbs and flows around new crises and conflicts, an unsettling trend is emerging,” it warns. “Neglect of the protracted displacement crises featured in this report is becoming the new normal. Displacement numbers are rising, and needs are spiraling out of control. Yet funding, media attention and political engagement remain inadequate.”
Describing the ranking as “a race to the bottom”, researchers analyzed every crisis that had resulted in the displacement of over 200,000 people, thirty-nine in all, before editing that list down to a grim Top Ten.
Sudan placed tenth (down from fourth last year) and was preceded by five new entrants: Chad in ninth, the Central African Republic in eighth, South Sudan in seventh, Honduras in sixth, and Niger in fifth.
Mali climbed from seventh last year to fourth in 2023; rounding out the list, DR Congo was ranked third and Cameroon second. Maintaining its ranking as the world’s most neglected crisis zone was Burkina Faso in first.
Damning finds
“With a record-high 707,000 new displacements within the country’s borders, the humanitarian crisis continued unabated in 2023, while hundreds of thousands of people were cut off from aid,” said the report.
Continuing, the report painted a bleak picture of the situation in the West African country: “The number of people killed in violence doubled last year, with over 8,400 deaths. Meanwhile, the number of Burkinabè refugees seeking safety in neighboring countries almost tripled, reaching a total of 148,317 according to UNHCR figures. An unprecedented 42,000 people suffered catastrophic levels of food insecurity and up to 2 million civilians were trapped in 36 blockaded towns across the country by the year’s end.”
Engulfed in a brutal conflict since 2019, over 3.6 million people now live without access to healthcare in Burkina Faso, and it is estimated that a staggering 6.3 million will require humanitarian assistance in 2024.
The report further highlighted the $32 billion shortfall in aid budgets, a figure that left 57% of global humanitarian needs unmet in 2023. “The funding gap means humanitarian organizations struggling to reach those most in need, selective allocation of aid, and compounding crises,” it said.
“This means that when severe climate disasters hit, people will not be prepared to withstand potentially disastrous consequences. Neglect is also fuelling rising hunger levels across all countries on our 2023 list,” it added.
Basing their findings on three criteria, the Norwegian Refugee Council measured each crisis zone on the amount of humanitarian aid it received, the amount of international press it garnered, and the international community’s “willingness to contribute to political solutions” to help each country in question.
Rather than registering even the mildest of improvements, the situation in the impacted crisis nations has become markedly worse. “The majority of the crises in this year’s report have featured repeatedly, and yet still more crises are now falling into a vicious cycle of neglect,” it said.
“Scores that would have placed a country third on last year’s list leave it outside this year’s top ten due to an overall race to the bottom across the three criteria used by NRC to measure neglect. International political neglect, limited media coverage, donor fatigue, and ever-deepening humanitarian needs are contributing to a wider pattern of neglect.”
Mired in a hopeless web, the report notices several common strands shared by the nations that have been listed. “Most of today’s humanitarian crises are protracted in nature and involve multiple parallel crises. Across the countries featured in this report, a disastrous combination of conflict and violence, intercommunal tensions, displacement, and recurring disasters induced by climate change is making humanitarian needs all the more severe,” it noted.
Moreover, many were inter-connected with a ripple effect often triggering broader regional instability.
The next steps
Damning as the report is, it does offer hope with a string of conclusions and recommendations aimed at turning the tide. For UN member states, these include prioritizing diplomatic engagement, fostering high-level political engagement, helping humanitarian organizations secure safe and unimpeded access to hard-to-reach areas and removing bureaucratic and administrative impediments.
The report also calls on UN member states to “ensure that counterterrorism measures and sanctions do not unintentionally prevent humanitarian organizations working in difficult operating environments from trying to reach those most in need quickly and safely.”
The general public, meanwhile, is urged to hold politicians to account regarding displacement related policies, to read up on forgotten conflicts, and to give generously to crises that are far from the media spotlight.
“Society finds itself in a state of crisis fatigue,” states the report, before appealing for a more enlightened outlook. “We must not give up hope and allow ourselves to become numbed by the ceaseless barrage of crises. We need a reboot of global compassion and a refocus on where needs are greatest.”
To read the full report, click here.
Source: Norwegian Refugee Council
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