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Daily Maverick
20-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Maverick
African refugees bear the brunt of shifting global politics
On World Refugee Day, displaced Africans face the worst conditions yet as conflict and disasters increase, aid plummets and borders tighten. The number of displaced Africans has doubled since 2018. For the 14th consecutive year, conflict and climate change have driven record numbers of people from their homes. Changes in national priorities, economic uncertainty and donor fatigue have seen political attention turn inward, surges in defence spending and corresponding aid cuts, the shuttering of refugee resettlement programmes, and tighter border security. African refugees bear the brunt of these changes. Those already in dire situations now face even bigger threats to their survival. Last week, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) released its annual Global Trends report. At the end of 2024, 123.2 million people were displaced — up by seven million in one year. Most displaced Africans remain in their home countries or neighbouring countries, many of which are also resource-poor and suffer from conflict. The number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Africa has tripled since 2015, reaching 35.4 million in 2024. Sudan and Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) comprised almost half (45%) of all conflict-driven internal displacements worldwide in 2024. Sudan is the world's largest displacement and humanitarian crisis. The civil war has driven 14.4 million people from their homes and left two-thirds of the population requiring humanitarian aid. Most (11.6 million) are internally displaced (see graph), and 2.8 million are across borders. At the end of 2024, conflict in eastern DRC had created 1.22 million refugees and asylum seekers, and 6.9 million IDPs. As of April 2025, the UNHCR reported a 1% drop in total refugees worldwide for the first time in a decade. In 2024, 1.6 million people returned to their home countries — mainly Syria, Afghanistan and Ukraine. Many returned to poor conditions after giving up trying to access rights and services in host countries. South Sudan was the only African country to see significant returns. Going home is not viable for most refugees on the continent due to the protracted nature of conflicts. Many end up spending their lives in severely underfunded camps, unable to work, study or move freely. Funding cuts will worsen their prospects. The Norwegian Refugee Council issues an annual list of the top 10 most neglected displacement crises globally. Eight in 2025 are in Africa: Cameroon, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Burkina Faso, Mali, Uganda, DRC and Somalia. Cameroon 'most neglected' crisis The council rated Cameroon the world's most neglected crisis, assigning a zero out of 30 rating for political will and 'negligible' media coverage. Cameroon hosts people fleeing internal conflicts and violence in the Lake Chad Basin and Central African Republic. It hosts 1.1 million IDPs, 480,000 refugees, and has 2.8 million people facing acute food security. Most marginal gains in refugee resettlement numbers over the past three years were due to the US. The country raised its resettlement ceiling to 125,000 refugees per year during former president Joe Biden's last three years in office. Although it fell short of the ceiling each year, in 2024 the US resettled 100,034 refugees, the highest number in three decades. At the start of his second term, US President Donald Trump issued an executive order imposing a near-full halt on foreign aid and the Refugee Admissions Program, followed by a halt on activities supporting refugees. Reports also indicate Trump is diverting US$250-million from foreign aid budgets towards repatriating foreigners, often without due process and at times, against court orders. The US recently implemented a travel ban that disproportionately affects Africans, including full bans on people from Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Libya, Somalia and Sudan, and partial bans on those from Burundi, Sierra Leone and Togo. While the US has made the harshest changes, the UK reduced development assistance by 40%, and several European countries announced their own reductions. The European Union (EU) redirected some of its development budget to Ukraine and border management. Historically, official development aid has always been dwarfed by military spending (see graph). European countries and the EU are also reorienting their migration policies away from humanitarian support and legal pathways to increasing securitisation measures to reduce flows and pressuring governments to accept returns. No 'safe' third country Under the Pact on Migration and Asylum, set to take effect in 2026, the European Commission will remove the requirement for a connection between a migrant and a 'safe third country'. Migrants can then be sent to any country deemed 'safe' — even if they have no connection to that country. The pact also allows for rapid asylum processing for people from countries deemed safe, and for their detention. Before the major slashes, global refugee funding gaps already reached $24-billion in 2024. Funding for humanitarian food aid is projected to drop by up to 45%, and most forcibly displaced people are in areas experiencing food crises. The concomitant reductions in development aid will reduce host country governments' fiscal capabilities to support refugees. Remittances are the most resilient forms of aid and are pivotal to development. They comprise the largest financial flow to Africa and have proven countercyclical, meaning they often go up when markets go down or experience a shock. In another step ostensibly to counter irregular migration, a 3.5% tax on remittances is included in the US's One Big Beautiful Bill that would directly impact development in Africa if enacted. The sum total of these conditions is catastrophic for African refugees and IDPs. Many people are exposed to harm, with fewer protections and almost no development prospects. Programmes such as education, psychosocial support and healthcare are cut first because they are not life-saving. Many African countries that already resist or are outright hostile to refugees will be more likely to shut borders and demolish camps if they think the world is no longer paying attention or has set a double standard. In some circumstances, these conditions will drive onward migration and push people towards illegality. DM
Yahoo
18-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Global Natural Catastrophe Insurance Industry Report 2025: Technological Impacts, Regulatory Developments, and Forecasts 2020-2029
Discover the 2024 Global Natural Catastrophe Insurance Market insights with our comprehensive analysis report. Uncover key market trends, regional analysis, and competitive landscapes. Gain insights into performance (2025-29). Make informed, strategic decisions. Dublin, June 18, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Global Natural Catastrophe Insurance Market Report" report has been added to report provides a detailed outlook of the Global Natural Catastrophe Insurance industry. The analysis report provides in-depth market analysis, information, and insights into the global and regional natural catastrophe insurance industry. It provides values for key performance indicators such as written premium and claims during the review period (2020-24) and forecast period (2025-29).The report gives a comprehensive overview of the global and regional Natural Catastrophe Insurance industry, key lines of business, key trends, drivers, challenges, regulatory overview and developments on the industry. It provides insight into key technological developments impacting the Global Natural Catastrophe Insurance industry. It provides a detailed analysis of the competitive landscape, overview, and comparative analysis of leading companies and top insurance markets' premium and profitability trends for every Highlights Key insights and dynamics of the Natural Catastrophe insurance industry. Insights on key market trends in the Natural Catastrophe insurance industry. Insights on key growth and profitability challenges in the Natural Catastrophe insurance industry. Comparative analysis of leading Natural Catastrophe insurance providers. In-depth analysis of regional markets. Insight on the future growth trend and market outlook. Scope It provides historical values for the global and regional Natural Catastrophe Insurance industry for the report's 2020-24 review period, and projected figures for the forecast period 2025-29. It offers a detailed analysis of the regional Natural Catastrophe Insurance industry and market forecasts to 2029. It provides key market trends in the Natural Catastrophe Insurance industry. It provides rankings, premiums, and market share of top global and regional Natural Catastrophe insurers and analyzes the competitive landscape. Reasons to Buy Make strategic business decisions using in-depth historic and forecast market data related to the global and regional natural catastrophe insurance industry. In-depth market analysis, information, and insights into the Global Natural Catastrophe insurance industry. In-depth analysis of the competitive landscape and top 20 regional markets. Understand the key dynamics, trends, and growth opportunities in the global and regional Natural Catastrophe insurance industry. Identify key regulatory developments impacting market growth. Identify growth opportunities in key regional markets. Key Topics Covered: Executive Summary Key Market Trends Market Dynamics Global Insurance Trends Regional Insurance Trends Case Study Leading Companies A selection of companies mentioned in this report includes, but is not limited to: Factory Mutual Berkshire Hathaway Tokio Marine MS&AD Sompo Holdings Zurich Insurance AIG Travelers Allianz Chubb Liberty Mutual Munich Re AXA Starr Group Assurant HDI (Talanx AG) Farmers Insurance Mapfre Fairfax Financial USAA For more information about this report visit About is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. CONTACT: CONTACT: Laura Wood,Senior Press Manager press@ For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470 For U.S./ CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
UPI
16-06-2025
- Politics
- UPI
Venezuela leads world in number of refugees
Supporters of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido demonstrate with a Venezuelan national flag as they wait for his return in Caracas (2019). A new UN report says Venezuelans were the second-largest group worldwide to request asylum in 2024. File Photo by Marcelo Perez/UPI | License Photo 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."
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
UN refugee body: Refugee returns rise in 2024 despite global unrest
The number of people returning to their home countries after being displaced by conflict rose last year, marking a rare positive trend amid continued global violence, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Thursday. According to UNHCR's annual Global Trends report, 1.6 million refugees returned from abroad in 2024, the highest figure in more than two decades within this category. People displaced within their own countries also returned, marking the second-highest level of internal returns on record. The trend continued into early 2025, with an increase in returns to Syria following the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi said. Nearly 2 million Syrians have returned to the former civil war-torn country, according to the agency. As of the end of April, the total number of displaced people worldwide stood at 122 million, only slightly higher than a year earlier. Of these, 60% were internally displaced, while two-thirds of those who crossed borders were living in neighbouring countries, UNHCR said. Over the full year of 2024, however, the number of displaced people increased by 7 million to 123.2 million. By the end of 2024, Sudan had overtaken Syria as the country with the largest displaced population, following a brutal power struggle between government forces and rebel groups. Some 14.3 million people have been displaced in Sudan, compared with 13.5 million Syrians, 10.3 million Afghans, and 8.8 million Ukrainians.
