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Stateless people worldwide has risen to nearly six million

20 June 2007 14:59 (UTC +04:00)

The UN Secretary General gave a message on June 20 â€“ World Refugee Day, UN Office in Azerbaijan told the APA.
â€œRefugees do not leave their homes and villages willingly. They are forced to do so by conflict or persecution. In many cases, they are fleeing for their very lives, trying to find safety, protection and a way to meet their most basic needs. For tens of millions of people, exile has brought untold hardship.
Compared to the past few decades, official global refugee figures are at low levels. But they do not take account of other groups displaced by insecurity or political strife. Entire communities may also seek refuge within their own countries. Living in refugee-like conditions within their borders, internally displaced people have the same need for protection and assistance, education and a safe environment. And this population is growing. In the past year, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and other UN agencies have expanded their assistance to 23 countries with a total population of nearly 20 million internally displaced people.
And then there are the stateless, those who because of their ethnicity or history are simply denied the right to a nationality. For them, â€œgoing homeâ€ may not depend on a peace accord and repatriation, but rather, on overcoming bureaucratic obstacles and securing an official identity. Though the estimate of stateless people worldwide has risen to nearly six million in some 60 countries, the figure signals growing international willingness to recognize and address the problem.â€ /APA/