More than 42 million refugees end of 2008

(June 19, 2009) More than 42 million people remained uprooted at the end of 2008, as deteriorating security prevented many from returning to their homes in hotspots such as Afghanistan and Sudan, UNHCR, the United Nations refugee agency said earlier this week. They include 16 million refugees who fled war or persecution and 26 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) within their own borders. This was an overall drop of 700,000 over the end of the previous year, it said in its latest annual Global Trends report released ahead of Saturday’s observance of World Refugee Day. More than 80 percent of the world's refugees live in developing countries - led by Pakistan, Syria and Iran. "That underscores the disproportionate burden carried by those least able to afford it as well as the need for international support," said UNHCR chief spokesman Ron Redmond. To underscore the plight of refugees, UNHCR goodwill ambassador Angelina Jolie recorded a message for televisions and airport monitors, ahead of World Refugee Day, Saturday, June 20. “Please don't turn away. Refugees are the most vulnerable people on earth. Every day, they are fighting to survive. They deserve our respect," the American actress says in the 30-second spot. The UNHCR figures do not include 4.7 million Palestinian refugees under the responsibility of the U.N. Reliefs and Works Agency (UNRWA). The ranks of destitute displaced have already been swollen by several million more uprooted in Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Somalia in the first half of this year, according to the UNHCR.