Every person has the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge, having fled violence, persecution, war or disaster at home.
In 2018, 71 million people were forcibly displaced as a result of persecution, conflict, violence, or human rights violations. This means that every minute, 25 people were forced to flee. On top of that, children below 18 years of age constituted about half of the total refugee population and 111,000 of those children were unaccompanied. This means that they were alone, without any parents or family.
Conflicts in these areas contributed to the massive rise of refugees, included but are not limited to, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Ethiopia, Venezuela, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and South Sudan, as well as the large flow of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar to Bangladesh.
Aside from being hosted by a country, resettlement in a new country that is neither the country of origin nor the country of asylum, remains a life-saving tool to ensure the protection of refugees most at risk. Last year, Canada resettled 28,100 individuals, which has placed us at the top for resettlement among 25 other countries.
So today we recognize the struggles and celebrate the contributions of millions of refugees. As well as, thank and appreciate all the organizations, partners, funders, volunteers and staff that continue to support the resettlement of refugees in Canada.
To learn more about why refugees are good for Canada, visit the link below.
To learn more about refugees around the world, visit the UN Global Trend report below.
