FORCED MIGRATION

Forced migration occurs when people are driven out from where they live – they have
no choice. This is typically to another country, although in some instances they may only
be displaced within their own country. There are many causes of forced migration. They
are usually either because of a major physical disaster or for political or social reasons,
including war and ethnic cleansing.

Natural hazards such as earthquakes,

volcanic eruptions, violent storms, floods
and droughts are all physical reasons for
having to move. In most cases, the victims
and survivors of such disasters will move
back home when it is safe to do so or
when their homes and jobs are available
again.
The biggest causes of forced migration
result from the actions of people,
especially war and persecution. Examples over the past century include:

• Jewish migrants fleeing Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia in the 1930s, ending up all
over the world.
• Palestinian Arabs displaced by the creation of the Jewish state of Israel in 1948. Many
ended up in neighbouring Lebanon.
• Bosnian Muslims fleeing ethnic cleansing by Serbian forces in the civil war that saw the
break-up of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s
• 2 million ethnic Tutsis fleeing genocide by the Hutus in Rwanda in 1994
• Ethnic Albanians fleeing the Serbian province Kosovo to Albania to escape ethnic
cleansing by Serbian forces
• 2 million Black African Darfuris fleeing genocide by the Arab Janjaweed militia in
western Sudan since 2003. 1.8 million fled to refugee camps within Sudan, and 200 000
crossed the border into neighbouring Chad
• Syrian refugees fleeing across the borders into Lebanon and Turkey to escape the civil
war that started in 2011 and is ongoing. Since 2015, hundreds of thousands have
attempted to cross from Turkey into the EU via Greece
 The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) has responsibility for all
those people forced to migrate. These people are collectively called ‘persons of
concern’. Four categories are recognised:
1. Refugee - A person who, owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted (on account
of their race, religion, political opinion or social group), or to natural disaster, lives
outside their country of nationality. They are reluctant or refuse to return.
2. Asylum Seeker - A person who has left their country of origin, has applied for
recognition as a refugee in another country, and is awaiting decision on their
application.
3. Internally-displaced Person (IDP) - A person forced to flee their home for the same
reasons as a refugee or in order to escape natural disasters, but who does not cross an
international border.
4. Returnee - A refugee or asylum seeker who has voluntarily returned to their own
country, or an IDP who has voluntarily returned home.

In 2003, the UNHCR recognised 17 million persons of concern around the world. Of
these, 57% were refugees, and 25% were IDPs. There were 1 million (6%) asylum
seekers and 1 million returnees. One-third of persons of concern are in Asia – this is
because Asia is home to 3 billion people (nearly half the world’s population), and due to
long-running political unrest in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. A quarter of persons of
concern are in Africa, and – perhaps surprisingly – a quarter are in Europe – a legacy of
the Balkan wars of the 1990s.