The Crisis of Global Displacement in a Time of Insecurity

There is nothing more fundamental to the human condition than the need for security. Writing three hundred and fifty years ago, in the middle of the English civil war, Thomas Hobbes reminded his fellow citizens that without security life would be nothing but a “war of all against all”, where life would be “nasty, brutish and short”. For too many of the world’s people, insecurity is the norm, not the exception. It is caused by deep poverty; physical and mental illness; social turmoil; economic marginalization; violent physical conflict, either personal or political; natural disasters; climate change; and other factors.

We are now living in a period of deep insecurity in many parts of the world. While the global economy continues to grow, it still leaves many behind, or worse, tosses them aside on waves of technological change. Whereas billions are benefiting from the digital revolution, billions are being excluded from its impact. Family violence leaves millions of women and children vulnerable to homelessness every year. Ethnic violence and nationalist aggression lead to conflict and wars that displace millions of people, both within their countries and well beyond.

Tragically, the estimates from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organization for Migration show that the number of displaced people has grown dramatically in the last few years, numbering over 120 million. But even that number underestimates a broader number of people who are homeless, lacking adequate shelter, or living without a sense of place and belonging. This affects women and children most of all, because discrimination and violence are directed more at them than at men, and because social norms often deny them voice and influence.

Since the end of the Second World War and the formation of the United Nations, there has been a stronger and more coordinated effort, at the national level and more broadly, to give this reality a name, and to create policies intended to address it. The strong drive in many countries to provide greater social protection, minimum standards of work, pensions, housing and healthcare, as well as better education and training, has made a difference for billions of people. The refugee and displacement crisis produced by the global conflicts of the 1930s and 1940s as well as the impact of the Great Depression generated international efforts to set out the rights of refugees and displaced people to the point that, by the 1960s, there was much talk of these issues having been “solved”. However, more recent events have now produced the greatest crisis since 1945.

Mobility is integral to being human. People have been moving for thousands of years, dating back to the origins of the Neanderthals and Homo sapiens. The creation of large agricultural communities provided stability but also led to wars and battles between kingdoms, empires and civilizations. Trade, commerce and exploration made people aware of opportunities that cemented migration as an ongoing fact of life, both internally within growing nation States and beyond. We now have a Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, and a Global Compact on Refugees that are an effort to provide a framework for a comprehensive approach, strengthened global cooperation and a better understanding of how to manage what is a complex global reality.

There is a difference between choosing to move and being forced to flee. That difference is essential in learning how to deal with the current wave of global insecurity. It is also important to distinguish between the various reasons people are suddenly uprooted, although one can make a strong case that we are now spending too much time arguing about the difference between those categorized as refugees under the 1951 Refugee Convention and those displaced for other reasons.

For example, farmers forced to leave their land because of droughts lasting longer, or islanders no longer able to survive rising sea levels, are displaced by changing climate conditions and do not fit neatly into traditional definitions of refugees, which have been limited to those fleeing persecution.

Historically, Scottish Highlanders who faced land enclosures that deprived them of access to the commons, and who took to the seas or moved to cities, could have been described as “forcibly displaced”. Their urban descendants who experienced poverty and lack of opportunity would join the Great Migration to a North America that desperately needed and wanted immigrants. The choices that they made were created by a wider context that might fall short of being forced to flee, but these issues have to be seen at scale and in concert with one another, rather than becoming mired in definitional silos.

It is now clear that the policy and legal frameworks of the past are no longer adequate to respond to the current crisis. The United Nations Economic and Social Council, of which I am serving as President this year, can play a useful role in encouraging a deeper discussion among Member States and with national and international agencies to deal with the full dimensions of the current situation. We do so at a difficult time. An increase in populist nationalism, the explosion of social media, and angrier voices at the local level make national Governments skittish about engaging internationally. There is pressure on budgets at every level. The supply of money, resources and political will is decreasing just as the level of human insecurity and humanitarian and development need is growing.

It is a mistake to think that these issues are confined to any one region or level of income. The recent fires in Los Angeles, California, reveal that protection against severe catastrophe can be inadequate in even the wealthiest communities; homelessness is a chronic condition in countries both rich and poor; and economic marginalization exists in regions of prosperity. Every continent is affected. There are very few places where people can look in the mirror and say with confidence “it can’t happen here”. It is happening everywhere, and the problems are becoming more severe.

It is also clear that there are examples of some real successes in dealing with the disruption of displacement where those who are displaced are granted agency and voice; where they are allowed to work; where education and training are provided; where there are efforts aimed at integration; where there are no turf wars among providers of assistance; where broader development opportunities are available in local communities; and when new and stronger links are forged between donor countries, host communities and displaced people themselves. All of this is taking place around the world.

We are living in a world of great challenge and difficulty, but it is not without hope. The United Nations Economic and Social Council can contribute to an ever-evolving public debate by highlighting both the depth of the problem of global displacement and the need for new approaches based firmly on international law and best practices around the world.