Protracted refugee situations:Millions caught in limbo, with no solutions in sight [Archives:2007/1020/Last Page]

“Ten Stories the World Should Hear More About”

In 2004, the United Nations Department of Public Information (DPI) launched an initiative called “Ten Stories the World Should Hear More About” to draw attention to important international developments and issues that fall outside the media spotlight. The list includes stories on an array of issues and from several geographical regions. Some of the stories on the list focus on troubling humanitarian emergencies and conflict situations, but they also highlight such vital areas as human rights, health and development. Every issue, we will bring a new story to you, hoping that our little effort to advocate for human rights all over the world would make a difference, some how, some way he editor

While news of major refugee emergencies often dominate headlines, the plight of millions of people who have languished in exile for years — and sometimes decades — remains a low-profile high-risk situation with serious humanitarian and security implications.

The Story

While worldwide refugee numbers have fallen to their lowest level in 25 years, a larger percentage of asylum-seekers are spending a longer time in exile in an often-overlooked plight of subsistence living in a virtual state of limbo. “The majority of today's refugees have lived in exile for far too long