GENEVA, June 12 (Xinhua) -- UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi on Monday called for a massive increase in places available for refugees in third countries, and urged governments around the world to step up and deliver places for refugees in line with their commitments.
At the opening of UN refugee agency UNHCR's annual resettlement consultations with governments and non-governmental organizations in Geneva, Grandi said that close to 1.2 million refugees need resettling globally, but only 93,200 places in resettlement countries are expected to be available this year, 43 percent fewer than in 2016.
"The fact is global resettlement needs today far outweigh the places made available by governments by a factor of 13 to one, despite more countries taking part in the program and an increase in private sector and community involvement," said Grandi.
UNHCR figures showed that for refugees from sub-Saharan Africa, the situation is especially acute, with just 18,000 available places for more than half a million refugees.
"True sharing of responsibility requires places for refugees in third countries on a scale in line with the needs. We need urgent action to get there," Grandi said.
According to UNHCR's report Projected Global Resettlement Needs 2018, some 1.2 million refugees need a third country solution in the coming year, including more than 510,000 refugees in 34 different countries across Africa, some 280,000 in the Middle East, 302,000 in Europe (mostly in Turkey), over 100,000 in Asia and some 1,800 in the Americas.
