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U.N. Takes Swipe at Trump as Report Shows Record 71 Million People Have Been Displaced by War

UN high commissioner tells Trump to rein in “damaging” rhetoric as new report shows number of refugees at a high and still growing.

Around 71 million people have been displaced by war, persecution, and other violence in their home countries, according to a new report from the United Nations that states the number is a new record. The annual “Global Trends” report counts up the number of refugees, asylum-seekers, and internally displaced people throughout the world. The number for 2018 saw an increase of nearly two million from the previous year, and a shocking 65 percent increase from a decade ago. High Commissioner Filippo Grandi unveiled the report with a swipe at President Donald Trump, saying: “In America... what we are witnessing is an identification of refugees... with people that take away jobs, that threaten our security, our values... I want to say to the U.S. administration—to the president—but also to the leaders around the world: This is damaging.”