RECORD 36 MILLION AFRICANS FORCIBLY DISPLACED

ARAC International Global Media Partners - ReliefWeb News and Press Release
Source: ACSS | Posted: 20 July 2022 | Originally published: 19 July 2022

Conflict continues to drive Africa’s record levels of population displacement. Africa’s 36 million forcibly displaced persons represents 44 percent of the global total.

The number of forcibly displaced people (internally displaced, refugees, asylum seekers) in Africa continued its uninterrupted escalation over the past decade - expanding by 12 percent (3.7 million people) in the past year. The record 36 million people currently displaced is triple the figure of a decade earlier.

Forced displacement is an outcome of conflict, violence, and persecution. Roughly 75 percent of all forced displacement in Africa are internally displaced people. This displacement then causes strains on surrounding communities and countries that must absorb these sudden, unplanned population movements. Seven countries were responsible for the lion’s share of the past year’s increase.

Protracted Displacements from Protracted Conflicts

The continued expansion in Africa’s forcibly displaced population is a sobering reminder of the enduring nature of many African conflicts. Rather than fizzling out on their own, they are apt to fester and trigger new layers of instability.

A review of the seven countries most contributing to the latest expansion in forcibly displaced persons underscores the diversity of conflicts raging across the continent. Each has its own set of drivers, actors, underlying conditions, and regional contexts. The conflicts in many of these countries are most acute in particular regions rather than being national in scope.

The dispersed nature of the 16 African countries facing conflict today underlines the need for greater investments in diplomatic, conflict resolution, and peacebuilding capacity. While these efforts must be focused at the subnational level to fashion the local solutions required, they will require robust engagement from national, regional economic community, and international actors to be sustained.

Source: Africa Center for Strategic Studies via ReliefWeb press release.

Additional Resources:
* Africa Center for Strategic Studies, “Surge in Militant Islamist Violence in the Sahel Dominates Africa’s Fight against Extremists,” Infographic, January 24, 2022.

* Africa Center for Strategic Studies, “Conflict Drives Record Levels of Acute Food Insecurity in Africa,” Infographic, October 13, 2021.

*Leif Brottem, “The Growing Complexity of Farmer-Herder Conflict in West and Central Africa,” Africa Security Brief No. 39, Africa Center for Strategic Studies, 2021.

* Africa Center for Strategic Studies, “32 Million Africans Forcibly Displaced by Conflict and Repression,” Infographic, June 17, 2021.

* Wendy Williams, “Shifting Borders: Africa’s Displacement Crisis and Its Security Implications,” Research Paper No. 8, Africa Center for Strategic Studies, 2019.

https://africacenter.org/spotlight/record-36-million-africans-forcibly-displaced-is-44-percent-of-global-total-refugees-asylum/