Asylum applications rise 10% in 2009
Asylum applications across industrialised nations rise by ten per cent in 2009
Thursday, 22, Oct 2009 12:38
By Sarah Garrod
Asylum applications in the first half of 2009 rose by ten per cent in industrialised nations, according to the United Nations (UN).
The UN's refugee agency said Iraqis, Afghans and Somalis topped the list of those applying for asylum, with Iraq remaining the 'top' country for the fourth consecutive year.
A total of 185,000 asylum claims were filed in the first six months of this year, across 38 European countries, the US, Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea.
Of those who applied for asylum, 13,200 claims were from Iraqis, 12,000 from Afghans and 11,000 from Somalis. The other main countries of origin are China, Serbia (including Kosovo), Russia, Nigeria, Mexico, Zimbabwe, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
"These statistics show that ongoing violence and instability in some parts of the world force increasing numbers of people to flee and seek protection in safe countries," UN high commissioner for refugees (UNHCR) António Guterres said.
"There is an acute need for countries to keep their asylum doors wide open to those who are in genuine need of international protection."
Europe received 75 per cent of applications, although the US was the single largest recipient country with an estimated 13 per cent of all applications filed in industrialized nations (23,700). In second place was France, followed by Canada and then the UK, which had 17,700 applications.
The UNHCR found the majority of claims by Iraqis were submitted in Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden, as well as in neighbouring Turkey. Afghan claims were mostly filed in the UK or Norway, while Somalis mainly applied for asylum in the Netherlands, Sweden and Italy.
The report also cautions the number of applications does not necessarily equal the number of individuals because some people may have applied in more than one country in a given year or more than once in the same country.