700m people could be displaced by 2050, say experts at DIHAD 2019

Some 700 million people could be displaced globally by 2050 revealed experts on the last day of the Dubai International Humanitarian Aid and Development Conference and Exhibition. DIHAD 2019.

The three-day conference, themed 'People on the Move', focused on ways to address the core issue of migration, as more and more countries implement new immigration policies, reinforce national borders and plan border wall constructions.

According to a recent report by the International Organisation of Migration, IOM, the world is indeed on the move and it is estimated that out of the 258 million international migrants in the world, who are living outside their country of birth, nearly 11 percent are youngsters below 24 years of age.

While there are many factors driving people to migrate in great numbers, experts highlighted the fact that conflict, persecution, environmental crisis, rising inequality and lack of security and opportunity are key to displacement and migration. As the current forced displacement numbers are creating a global crisis, experts stressed that there is a need to ease pressure on host countries, empower refugees and improve conditions in countries of origin for the safety and dignity of refugees.

Ambassador Peter Schatzer, International Institute for Humanitarian Law, San Remo, and Former Chief of Staff at the IOM, said, "This year’s DIHAD theme is appropriate and timely, not only because of so many international and national debates taking place about the many aspects of migration but also because so much of that debate is ill-informed.

He added, "In a world, on the move, there are regional differences and varieties and the Middle East is one of the most dynamic regions in this regard. DIHAD 2019 was aimed at finding answers to some key questions such as who among the hundreds of millions of migrants requires attention. What are the groups that need help?"

Dr. Randolph Kent, Director of the Futures Project, Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies, London, said that 'People on the Move' will continue to be an inherent feature, a continuum of the mid-21st Century.

"As global complexity increases, the nation-state, far from timeless, will be mutating into new and novel socio-political structures. For all the positive benefits that could be derived from such mutations, there are negative consequences too. As recent estimates suggest that by 2050, approximately 700 million people could face displacement owing to climate change, land degradation and other factors, I believe the time is right to plan for the future," he continued.

DIHAD 2019 was held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai. The conference organisers announced that the upcoming edition of DIHAD will take place from 10th to 12th March, 2020, at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre.

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