Arab Spring revolutions and a rise in asylum-seekers from Afghanistan contribute to a 20 percent rise in claims, says report
LONDON (AlertNet) - The number of people claiming asylum in industrialised countries leapt by 20 percent last year, partly due to the Arab Spring revolutions as well as a rise in outflow from older crisis spots such as Afghanistan, the U.N. refugee agency says.
An estimated 441,300 asylum claims were recorded last year compared to 368,000 in 2010, according to a detailed report covering 44 countries in Europe, North America, Australasia, and Northeast Asia.
“The large number of asylum claims clearly shows 2011 to have been a year of great difficulty for very many people,” U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres, said.
But he stressed it was important to put the figures into perspective.
“The number of asylum claims received across all industrialised countries is still smaller than the population of Dadaab, a single refugee camp in northeast Kenya,” he added.
Dadaab, the world's largest refugee camp, is home to around 463,000 people who have fled drought and conflict in neighbouring Somalia.
The U.N. report on the latest asylum trends in industrialised countries showed the largest increase in claims was in southern Europe. The region received 66,800 claims – a jump of 87 percent. Many were from people arriving by boat in Italy and Malta.
Some other key figures:
* The 38 countries of Europe registered 327,200 claims, more than any other region and a 19-percent increase over 2010
* North America received 99,400 claims, almost a quarter more than for 2010
* Japan and South Korea jointly registered 2,900 claims, a record for the region and a 77-percent increase over 2010
The increase in asylum claims partly reflected turmoil in Ivory Coast, Libya, Syria and Tunisia. But the country of origin of the largest number of asylum-seekers was Afghanistan, accounting for 35,700 claims – an increase of a third over 2010. It was followed by China (24,400 claims), Iraq (23,500), Serbia (21,200) and Pakistan (18,100).
Pakistan was the main country of origin of asylum-seekers in South Korea, which saw a big jump in applications. People seeking international protection in Japan were predominantly from Myanmar.
An asylum-seeker is someone who has sought international protection and whose claim for refugee status has not yet been determined.
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