From the CEO
Refugee Week is a time to celebrate and acknowledge the strength of refugees and honour their resilience in rebuilding their lives in a new society and community.
This week, we are seeing so many wonderful events celebrating the achievements of refugees across our organisation and across Australia.
One of them was the ‘Taste the Difference’ dinner celebrated at the Melbourne Multicultural Hub, which brought together members of more than 20 of Victoria’s diverse communities to share food prepared by some amazing entrepreneurial refugee chefs.
But this week also gives pause for thought as the latest data from the UNHCR shows that there are now at least 123 million people, or one in 67 individuals worldwide, forcibly displaced because of war, violence or persecution.
More than 40 million of these are refugees forced to flee to neighbouring countries, and more than half are women and children.
The UNCHR says about 2.9 million refugees will need resettlement in 2025. This is double the number that was recorded just four years ago.
These numbers are all-time records and represent the 13th consecutive year that human displacement has increased, with the global displaced population now equivalent to that of Japan.
Across the world, we are seeing unprecedented numbers of conflicts driving human displacement, and the wars in Gaza, Ukraine and Iran are currently filling our news feeds with tragic stories.
We know that many of our clients and staff, and many members of the communities we work with, are feeling anxious about loved ones caught up in these conflicts. And I know they are in the thoughts of all of us.
A reason for optimism can be found in a new Ipsos survey, which shows that global public support for refugees’ rights to seek safety continues to hold steady despite increasing numbers of nations closing borders to people seeking asylum and swingeing cuts to humanitarian aid.
The survey also revealed that, across 29 countries, a majority of people believe that wealthier countries should shoulder more responsibility for supporting refugees.
In the face of these terrible events, it is important to remember that as many countries around the globe are closing their borders, Australia has committed to maintaining what is one of the world’s most generous and sophisticated refugee settlement programs.
And this is the reason why the work we do at AMES in supporting refugees and migrants to build successful new lives in Australia has never been more important.
Cath Scarth, CEO AMES Australia
20 June 2025