Wars and armed conflicts, human rights violations and political prosecutions, hunger, and extreme poverty have led to a massive increase of displaced persons, asylum seekers and refugees. The UNHCR estimated that there were 65.3 million forcibly displaced persons in 2015, a number which equals the size of the entire population of some countries, such as France and the United Kingdom. According to the UNHCR, this meant that every minute 24 persons were forced to migrate. Many fled and continue to flee to neighbouring regions and countries in search of safety, political stability, and a better quality of life. Unfortunately, despite the risks involved, too many have ended up in tent camps with poor conditions and a lack of necessities. Distressingly, children made up an astonishing 51 percent of the world’s refugees in 2015, according to data the UNHCR was able to gather. Many were separated from their parents or traveling alone5. More than ever before regional challenges to security, democracy, and sustainable development have a global dimension. Moreover, the current trends of forced migration may not be of a temporary character.
KEY POINT TO BE CONSIDERED
Migrants and refugees perform better in countries with inclusive public school systems
The complex refugee crisis poses humanitarian and political challenges to every nation and the international community as a whole. There is no escape possible from confronting those problems. Governments, civil society, and the trade union movement must stand together to ensure that the rights of all displaced persons, asylum seekers and refugees are respected. However, the rise of populist movements in Europe and North America, the spread of racism and xenophobia, local protests against the settlement of refugees, fear of misbehaviour, crime, or terrorism, have made some countries reluctant to welcome large groups of refugees, close their borders or even build walls. The humanitarian challenge is indisputably stark. Poverty, vagrancy, insecurity, will be the fate of many millions seeking new homes across borders, unless all nations commit to the implementation of a global plan adopted by the UN Summit for Refugees and Migrants in September 2016. The struggle against poverty, disease, exclusion, and many other sources of conflict and involuntary migration starts in the classroom. Quality education for all, the UN Sustainable Development Goal 4, is the key to social, economic and democratic development, as well as a long-term and sustainable solution to massive migration flows. At the same time, education is the most effective tool to help forced migrants integrate into their new home countries, introduce them to a new culture, to new value sets and to enable them to be productive
5
| 10
Global Trends: Forced Displacement in 2015, UNHCR annual report