Following the release by UNHCR of the latest global displacement figures, which show that there are now nearly 60 million people forcibly displaced worldwide (the highest level ever recorded), Professor Alexander Betts appeared on Al Jazeera's 'Inside Story' on with Sherif Elsayed Ali, Head of Refugee and Migrant Rights at Amnesty International.
Professor Betts stated that "Beyond the numbers and the figures that the UN Refugee Agency has released, we need to recognise that there's a lack of leadership and a political failure to engage both with the root causes and to ensure adequate protection for those who are in need." He added that "we have to recognise that unless we protect people, there's a danger that we exacerbate the underlying causes of insecurity". For example, he states, people are now finding it difficult to leave Syria due to border closures and, being unable to find any other protection in country, their only recourse may be to turn to the protection of organisations such as Islamic State, which in turn provides an opportunity for recruitment.
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