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In Focus
A Somali refugee girl carries her sibling as they walk in their new arrivals area of the Hagadera refugee camp in Dadaab, near the Kenya-Somalia border, in Garissa County, Kenya, January 17, 2023. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya

Refugee crises around the world

Published: June 19, 2023

From Afghanistan to Ukraine, the number of people fleeing their homes is surging to record highs and the world is divided over how to respond. While some refugees are building new lives in Europe, elsewhere aid is in short supply.

We look at the refugee crisis in its breadth and depth - from policies that restrict refugees' freedom and opportunities to work to those that allow for a dignified life and new possibilities. We report not only on the desperation that refugees face, but also the hope and resilience that is inseparable from their journeys. 

Read more: Europe's asylum paradox

In this special series we look into the unprecedented use of the European Union's Temporary Protection Directive in response to the Ukrainian refugee crisis, and how it has created a two-tier system for people seeking a safe haven on the continent

Featured

Illustration of Afghan refugees
Socioeconomic InclusionA year in exile: Afghan refugees tell of fresh starts
Three Hong Kong entrepreneurs, (L) Sam Wong, Eric Wong and (R) Yu-wing Wong, who recently moved to Britain, are pictured over the London skyline in this illustration photo. Jan 30, 2023. Thomson Reuters Foundation/Amber Milne 
Socioeconomic InclusionPost crackdown, Hong Kongers bring taste of home to UK

Latest

Rohingya refugee children walk along the road at Balukhali camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, November 16, 2018
Socioeconomic InclusionRohingya refugees face soaring hunger and crime after aid cuts
Somali refugees are seen through a discarded mosquito net as they gather in the new arrivals area of the Hagadera refugee camp in Dadaab, near the Kenya-Somalia border, in Garissa County, Kenya, January 17, 2023. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya
Socioeconomic InclusionGlobal displacement hits record 110 million people
Asylum seekers queue to get their documents renewed outside a Department of Home Affairs reception centre in Cape Town May 29, 2013. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings
Digital DividesBlocked, blanked, locked out: Tech stymies South African refugees
Syrian refugee children stand near water way at an informal camp in Qab Elias, in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley October 18, 2022. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
Socioeconomic InclusionFloods in Lebanon leave Syrian refugees counting their losses
An illustration photo shows a women having her iris scanned to pay for her grocery shopping, standing in front of a screen showing the iris of a shopper making their payment
SurveillanceIn Jordan, refugees scan irises to collect aid. But is it ethical?
pending
Money, Power & PeopleOn perilous Darién Gap trek, migrants risk all for American dream
Uganda police officers question a member of Uganda's LGBT community during their pride parade
Socioeconomic InclusionThe situation as a Ugandan LGBTQ+ refugee in Kenya is as terrible as you can imagine
A woman holds a placard during a protest against the verdict restricting abortion rights in Poland
Socioeconomic InclusionPolish activists help Ukrainian refugees end pregnancies amid abortion bans
Margaryta Bogatyrova, 27, stands outside Mallow restaurant in Borough Market, London, where she works as a waitress after fleeing her home in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, July 9, 2022. Thomson Reuters Foundation/Emma Batha
Socioeconomic InclusionUkrainian refugees could fill COVID-19 staff gaps, say UK hospitality firms
Former Ukrainian Olympic rower Tatyana Kolesnikova is pictured with her daughter at an amusement park in northern France. Thomson Reuters Foundation/Tatyana Kolesnikova
Socioeconomic InclusionUkrainian refugees find haven at French castle
Svitlana Honcharova, 31, is pictured in a selfie taken with her sons Miron, 2, and Dmitry, 5, at their home in Sumy, northeast Ukraine, on March 25, 2022. Thomson Reuters Foundation/Svitlana Honcharova
Socioeconomic InclusionUkraine's stateless trapped in warzone with no proof they exist
A family wearing COVID-19 masks are seen in a van
Money, Power & PeopleAfghan smugglers hike prices, expand networks after Taliban takeover

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Brazil's Finance Minister Fernando Haddad speaks next to Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of UN Climate Change (UNFCCC), and Brazil's COP30 President Andre Correa do Lago during the ministerial preparatory meeting (Pre-COP30), ahead of the COP30 Climate Summit, in Brasilia, Brazil October 13, 2025. REUTERS/Mateus Bonomi
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