Afghans are top asylum seekers in the West: UN
March 23rd, 2010 - 7:45 pm ICT by IANSGeneva, March 23 (DPA) The number of Afghans seeking asylum in industrialised countries nearly doubled last year and the group became the largest seeking protection, the United Nations said Tuesday.
According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), 26,800 Afghans applied last year for asylum in industrialised countries, a 45 percent increase over 2008, pushing them to the top of the list. They were followed by Iraqis and Somalis.
All three countries are experiencing ongoing conflicts with heavy civilian tolls.
Other main countries of origin were Russia, China, Nigeria and Serbia.
UNHCR noted that the overall number of asylum seekers in the industrialised world was stable in 2009, with some 377,000 applicants.
“Despite what some populists claim, our data shows that the numbers have remained stable,” Antonio Guterres, head of UNHCR, said in a statement.
The Nordic region of Europe saw a 13 percent increase in 2009, and Germany’s total jumped 25 percent, but the southern part of the continent experienced large declines. Italy registered 42 percent fewer asylum claims than the previous year.
Top receiving countries include the US, France, Canada and Britain.
Most refugees fleeing conflicts, the UN said, do not claim asylum in the West, but remain either in the country of origin or in neighbouring lands, awaiting return to their homes.
- Pakistan was world's 8th largest asylum-seeker in 2010 - Apr 01, 2011
- Asylum seekers in developed nations increase: UN - Mar 25, 2009
- 27 mn people displaced within their own country: UN - Jun 16, 2010
- Hundreds of Myanmar nationals seek refugee status (With Images) - Apr 21, 2012
- UN deplores killing of Somali refugee leader at Kenya camp - Jan 01, 2012
- Insurgents attack animal clinic near UN offices in southern Afghanistan - Oct 31, 2011
- United Nations concerned about possible forced returns of Iraqis from Europe - Jun 09, 2010
- Pakistan repatriates over 3.7 mn Afghan refugees - Jan 04, 2012
- Over 750,000 people became refugees in 2011 - Dec 07, 2011
- Australian Government defers processing of Sri Lankan, Afghan asylum claims - Apr 09, 2010
- Afghanistan tops worldwide asylum seekers list - Nov 28, 2010
- Mexico enacts new asylum law - Jan 27, 2011
- 42 million people uprooted in 2008, says UN report - Jun 16, 2009
- NHRC seeks solution on Mayanmarese asylum seekers - May 25, 2012
- Sri Lankan refugees return from India - Oct 12, 2011
Tags: afghans, antonio guterres, asylum claims, asylum seekers, country of origin, declines, france canada, industrialised countries, iraqis, neighbouring lands, nordic region, populists, previous year, refugee agency, refugees, seeking asylum, somalis, tolls, unhcr, us france