Spotlight: Upon arrival of World Refugee Day, growing number of refugees in dire need of help

After more than a decade since the United Nations (UN) General Assembly started to observe World Refugee Day on June 20 every year, the refugee problem still remains unsolved.

Every minute eight people leave everything behind to escape war, persecution or terror, according to the United Nations. The world is experiencing the worst refugee and humanitarian crisis since World War II, as the conflicts and turmoil waged by the U.S.-led Western forces are displacing a growing number of people.

UNPRECEDENTED REFUGEE CRISIS

According to UN data, the refugee population has currently surpassed 60 million around the world, and about 1.19 million people will need resettlement in 2017, likely up 72 percent on the projected needs of 691,000 in 2014, before the large-scale resettlement of Syrians began.

"With a multitude of conflicts and crises causing record displacement around the world, resettlement has become an increasingly vital part of UNHCR's efforts to find solutions and advocate for fairer responsibility-sharing for refugees," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said recently.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Filippo Grandi said prior to the World Refugee Day, "we are in a period of deepening conflict and turmoil in the world, which is causing many more people to flee their homes than before."

"It affects and involves us all, and what it needs is understanding, compassion and political will to come together and find real answers for the refugee plight. This has become a defining challenge of our times," he added.

Millions of men, women and children face an uncertain road ahead.

So far this year, some 2,856 migrants and refugees have drowned crossing the Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe, standing at over 1,000 more fatalities compared to 2015's mid-year total, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

WESTERN FORCES BEHIND CRISIS

Among other factors, the interventions of the United States and its European allies have exacerbated the domestic contradictions of some countries like Syria and Libya.

Analysts said the crux of the long-running crisis in Syria is foreign interference, which has made the situation in the country unusually complicated and stripped the Syrians of the right to decide their own fate.

Metin Corabatir, vice chairman of the Asylum and Migration Research Center, said by the end of this year, some 4.7 million Syrian refugees are expected to be registered in the Middle East, besides the 5.6 million who will flee to other areas within the country.

Prior to Syria, the U.S.-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan drove millions from their homes and into neighboring countries.

"Overwhelmingly, it was countries of the developing world that were most affected, but Europe too witnessed dramatic scenes, as hundreds of thousands of people crossed the Mediterranean in search of safety and refuge. Thousands died along the way," Grandi said.

Among the developed countries, it is the Europeans who are suffering from the rampant terrorist attacks and facing a culminating refugee crisis thanks to their geographical proximity.

Meanwhile, in the far away United States, U.S. President Barack Obama said that the "worst mistake" of his presidency is "probably failing to plan for the day after what I think was the right thing to do in intervening in Libya."

EFFECTIVE MEASURES NEEDED

As Chinese President Xi Jinping has said, the root of the current refugee crisis troubling Europe lies in unbalanced development and regional instability.

Thus, in addition to humanitarian aid, the international community should find an effective solution to poverty and social instability, and especially eliminate the cause of conflicts in the refugee source countries.

First, to end conflict and violence, any kind of foreign intervention should be abandoned, as neo-interventionism has proved to be a failure and seriously harmed the peaceful and stable international order.

Second, the refugee source countries should work together with relevant parties to find a political solution to domestic chaos, and exert efforts to develop their economies and improve people's livelihoods.

Third, the international community, especially developed countries, must do more to help people who live in war-torn countries. Actually, more than 90 percent of the 60 million refugees have been accepted by developing countries, and developed countries should shoulder due responsibility. Endi