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Pakistan hosts third highest number of refugees: Amnesty
LONDON: Pakistan hosts the third highest number of refugees in the world, according to a report released by rights group Amnesty International.
Home to 1.6 million refugees, Pakistan is third in line behind Jordan (over 2.7m refugees) and Turkey (over 2.5m refugees).
In a report on the plight faced by the world's 21 million refugees, the London-based human rights body said that 10 countries accounting for 2.5 per cent of world's GDP host more than half the world's refugees and slammed what it called the selfishness of wealthy nations. Many of the world's wealthiest nations “host the fewest and do the least”, it said.
Amnesty lamented that countries immediately neighbouring crisis zones bear the brunt of the global refugee problem.
56pc of refugees are being sheltered in 10 countries, according to the report, in which Amnesty proposed a solution whereby the world's countries find a home for 10pc of the planet's refugees every year.
"A small number of countries have been left to do far too much just because they are neighbours to a crisis," said Amnesty secretary general Salil Shetty, presenting the report entitled "Tackling the global refugee crisis: from shirking to sharing responsibility".
“It is not simply a matter of sending aid money. Rich countries cannot pay to keep people 'over there',” it said.
The “self-interest” of such countries meant the international refugee crisis was set to get worse, not better, Amnesty claimed.
“If every one of the wealthiest countries in the world were to take in refugees in proportion to their size, wealth and unemployment rate, finding a home for more of the world's refugees would be an eminently solvable challenge,” said Shetty.
"That situation is inherently unsustainable, exposing the millions fleeing war and persecution in countries like Syria, South Sudan, Afghanistan, and Iraq to intolerable misery and suffering.
"It is time for leaders to enter into a serious, constructive debate about how our societies are going to help people forced to leave their homes by war and persecution."
Top 10 countries hosting refugees worldwide
- Jordan: over 2.7m refugees
- Turkey: over 2.5m refugees
- Pakistan: 1.6m refugees
- Lebanon: over 1.5m refugees
- Iran: 979,400 refugees
- Ethiopia: 736,100 refugees
- Kenya: 553,900 refugees
- Uganda: 477,200 refugees
- Democratic Republic of Congo: 383,100 refugees
- Chad: 369,500 refugees
The statistics are based on figures from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Comments (16) Closed
Pakistanis should be proud of helping so many refugees even from neighboring country, Afghanistan. Being a poor country Pakistan has always help other nations in its capacity. Hosting 1.6 million refugees a extra ordinary number of peoples coming from war torn country. I am sure Pakistan will always help its neighbors in the future as well.
Proud to know that Pakistan is giving home to many orphans in the world.
This is my Pakistan! :)
Can not even think of comparing any country with Pakistan we are hosting the Refugee since 30 year , Turkey , Jordan & rest of the world just started couple of year ago . We have heart of Gold.
Interesting thing in this list is,
most of the host countries are either poor or developing
Mostly for the funds sent by the U.N otherwise they will be sent back the day U.N stops paying .....
...God bless Pakistan for this kind gesture...most hospitable and charitable people.
@Zafar - is that right? So why don't rich countries host them if UN foots all the bills?
Very simplistic opinion on a complex socio-economic problem
Finally something good about this country.
Pakistan hosting 3 million refugee since 1980.its soft image of my homeland.
Proud to see Pakistan in list and more proud to know six out of ten are Muslim countries
Bravo!
In 2015, Pakistan was on 2nd number with 1.50m after turkey 1.59.
Something to be proud of.
Totally incorrect. India is home to nearly 10 million illegal Bangladeshi residents, though technically they are not refugees. Similarly, half of Nepal lives and works in India...
Amnesty do your work diligently !
The stats look slightly offbeat. With 3 million Afghans already present, the correct figure should be 4.7 (3+1.7) million refugees being hosted in Pakistan and that should put us at the very top! Our magnanimity should be recognized by UN and the rest of the world.