APPLICATIONS FOR asylum in industrialised countries rose by 12 per cent last year, as greater numbers of Somalis and Afghans fled fighting in their homelands, according to a new report by the UN refugee agency.
In its annual overview of asylum trends, the UNHCR found that despite a decline of 10 per cent in the number of Iraqis seeking asylum in 2008, Iraq remained the top country of origin for those seeking refugee status in the West.
In all, some 383,000 new asylum applications were submitted last year in 51 industrialised countries, a 12 per cent rise on the 2007 figure. This is the second consecutive increase since 2006, when the lowest number of asylum applications in 20 years was registered by the agency.
The figures show that refugees are now seeking permanent shelter in a wider variety of destinations, possibly because of stricter policies in traditional receiving countries such as Sweden, the UNHCR said.
Applications lodged by Iraqis in Sweden fell by 67 per cent last year, while the number nearly tripled in neighbouring Norway, and quadrupled in Finland.
After Iraq, asylum seekers’ top country of origin in 2008 was Somalia, followed by Russia, Afghanistan and China. Among the states that recorded the most striking increases were Afghanistan (up 85 per cent), Zimbabwe (up 82 per cent), Somalia (up 77 per cent) and Nigeria (up 71 per cent) – all countries that experienced conflict or unrest in 2008.
The United States retained its position as the main country of destination, with an estimated 49,000 new asylum claims, or 13 per cent of all applications in rich countries. Compared to the size of its population, however, the US had only one asylum seeker per 1,000 inhabitants, while the average in EU countries was 2.4 asylum seekers per 1,000.
After the US, the UNHCR said the main destination in 2008 was Canada, which saw a dramatic 30 per cent rise, to 36,900, mainly due to higher numbers of Mexican and Haitian arrivals. France had 35,200 asylum requests, with a large influx from Mali, while a doubling of Italy’s total, to a record 31,200, was mainly attributed to large numbers of irregular migrants arriving by boat on the island of Lampedusa.
A total of 3,870 applications was lodged in Ireland last year, a three per cent decline on 2007.