Political Quotes

“I rise today to submit a resolution to mark World Refugee Day, June 20, and to address the growing global crisis of people forcibly displaced by persecution or conflict. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, for the first time since World War II, over 60 million people have been forced from their homes and displaced in their own countries or forced to flee abroad. Last year alone, 14 million people were uprooted by violence and persecution, most escaping conflicts in Syria, Iraq, South Sudan, Ukraine, Burma, and Afghanistan. There are more and more protracted crises, and the result is an exponential increase in humanitarian needs. The worldwide displacement from wars, conflict, and persecution in 2014 was the highest level recorded and accelerating fast, escalating to 60 million last year from 51.2 million in 2013, and a dramatic increase from the 37.5 million of a decade ago. We are on course to over double the number of refugees worldwide. The increase since 2013 was the highest ever seen in a single year. Syria is still the world's largest producer of internally displaced persons at 7.6 million and refugees at nearly 4 million. The 60 million that I previously mentioned can be broken down to 20 million refugees, over 38 million internally displaced persons, and 1.8 million asylum seekers. The magnitude of the Syrian disaster is perhaps the most shocking.…”