Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputies Wallace and Clare Daly for raising the United Nations report on the international refugee crisis. This year's Global Trends report, which was released today by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, provides a sobering update on the status of the 42.5 million people forcibly displaced worldwide as a result of persecution, conflict, generalised violence and human rights violations. Of particular concern is the increase in the total number of displaced people across the world from 42.5 million at the end of 2011 to 45.2 million at the end of 2012. The increase in overall numbers reflects the ongoing challenge faced by the international community in preventing and resolving conflicts. Of these 45.2 million people, 15.4 million are refugees, 937,000 are asylum seekers and some 28.8 million are people forced to flee within the borders of their own countries. The report makes clear that war remains the dominant cause of displacement, with 55% all refugees listed in the report coming from just five war affected countries, namely, Afghanistan, Somalia, Iraq, Syria and Sudan. The report also charts major new displacements from Mali, from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and from Sudan into South Sudan and Ethiopia.

As stated by the High Commissioner, Mr. Antonio Guterres, these are alarming numbers and they reflect individual suffering on a huge scale. In 2012, an average of 23,000 people were forced to leave their homes every day to seek protection elsewhere. The number of new refugees and internally displaced persons are among the highest we have seen in the last ten years. Women and girls made up 48% of the refugee population in 2012, while children under the age of 18 years represented 46%. The report records a worrying increase in the number of children who are unaccompanied by or separated from their parents and, therefore, particularly vulnerable to child trafficking or sexual abuse.

Also evident is a continuing gap between richer and poorer countries in hosting refugees. In all, developing countries host 81% of the world's refugees, compared to 70% a decade ago. While the media often focuses on the numbers of refugees hosted by Ireland, there is very little awareness that countries such as Pakistan host over 1.6 million refugees or that Kenya and Ethiopia host 564,000 and 376,000, respectively.

As the principal UN entity dealing with refugees, the UNHCR is one of Irish Aid's key multilateral partners. In 2012 we provided €6.1 million in core contributions to the UNHCR, with an additional €2.3 million specifically for individual appeals in Chad, Jordan, the Sahel, Somalia, Syria and Western Sahara. In 2013 we have also provided €6.1 million in core contributions to the UNHCR. In addition this year, we have already provided €2.5 million towards the UNHCR's appeals for the Syrian region and for Turkey, as well as for the UNHCR global appeal. We also provide ongoing support to UNRWA, which is the UN agency responsible for Palestinian refugees, with €6.34 million provided last year. However, our partnership extends beyond financial support to ongoing co-operation at all levels.

The Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, having witnessed at first hand the UNHCR's work in Somalia, met the High Commissioner during his visit to Ireland in October 2012. The High Commissioner particularly commended Ireland's financial support in the face of difficult economic circumstances. The report captures many of the key issues arising from their discussions, including the huge refugee burden associated with the Syrian crisis and the so-called forgotten crises in Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia and elsewhere. The Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Costello, also made it a priority to visit the UNHCR's work in the Za'atari refugee camp in north Jordan. Ireland has also used our Presidency of the EU Council to call consistently for a stronger international response in Syria and elsewhere to protect the rights of refugees.

See this speech in context