The Global Refugee Crisis: Key Things You Need to Know

3rd July, 2017

With a global community comes global responsibilities and that's more evident than ever right now.

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Back when our co-founders, Jerry and Ben, set up shop in 1978, little could they have imagined that one day their ice cream would be filling freezers all around the globe. But modern technology has made the world smaller, and now we're all part of one global community, which is great! With a global community comes global responsibilities, and with the refugee crisis, that's more evident than ever right now.

Setting Unfortunate Records

Global displacement is off the charts, with more people forced to flee from their homes since World War II. The figure stands at a staggering 65.6 million: a country with this population would rank 21st in the world, with more people than the UK. 22.5 million of those are refugees: people who have crossed a border and fled their country.

The number of displaced people has taken a sharp upturn in the past five years, having risen more than 23 million from their 2011 levels. So why are we seeing such a dramatic spike in numbers? Like the chocolatey peace signs in Ben & Jerry's One Love ice cream, the reasons are numerous, but not nearly as appetising...

  1. Syria

    The brutal civil war in Syria continues to be by far the largest driving factor. Since the conflict began in 2011, a shocking 5.5 million refugees have been forced to flee Syria, with another 6.3 million internally displaced within the country itself.

  2. Entrenched, New and Reignited Conflicts

    Entrenched conflicts, like those in Afghanistan and South Sudan, contribute heavily to global refugee numbers: 2.5 million refugees come from the former, and 1.4 million from the latter. Along with Syria, an astonishing 55% of the world's 65.6 million displaced people come from these three countries.

    At the same time, new and reignited conflicts have caused mass displacement in countries including Yemen, Iraq, and Burundi.

  3. A Never-Ending Journey

    An additional factor in the spiraling levels of global displacement is that it's taking longer than ever for people to be able to return to their home countries. The average period of displacement for a refugee is now 10 years. Imagine fleeing home at 10 years old, having your world turned on its head, and not returning until you are 20. The notion is staggering.

Why the Focus on Europe?

Although the media spotlight is on developed nations within Europe, the vast majority of refugees - around 84% - are actually hosted by far less affluent countries.

The EU, which has over 20% of the world's nominal GDP, hosts less than 11% of refugees under the UN Refugee Agency's mandate. By contrast, the top 5 refugee hosting countries - Turkey, Pakistan, Lebanon, Iraq and Uganda - host over 40% of the world's refugees and together have under 2% of the world's GDP. This has to change if we hope to solve the crisis.

Let's imagine for a second, if the EU resettled at least 100,000 refugees next year. That would be just 3.4% of the number of refugees in Turkey - the country hosting the most refugees in the world. And yet, by doing this, thousands of vulnerable children, women and men could be brought to safety. These are the levels of resettlement that must become a reality, and we need our world leaders to act.

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Time for Action!

Shockingly, in 2016, 20 people were forced to flee their homes due to conflict and persecution every minute. Perhaps more shockingly, over half the world's refugees are children. Sadly, things aren't going to get better by themselves. Developed nations need to step up their game. It's time we shared responsibility with the countries who are currently supporting the vast majority of the world's refugees.

Together with the IRC, we're calling on our representatives in Brussels to support a historic piece of legislation that's currently being discussed in the European Parliament and YOU can join us! All you have to do is send ONE email - it could make the world of difference. So what are you waiting for?! Take the action NOW and show that you're Together For Refugees.