Mass displacement of people on agenda in Lords debate
7 January 2022
On Thursday 6 January, members of the Lords debated the UN High Commissioner for Refugees’ estimate that 82.4 million people are displaced worldwide, and the case for an urgent international response to address the root causes of mass displacement.
Debate
Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench), trustee of the Arise Foundation counter-human trafficking network, put forward the debate.
Children and refugees
Members discussed the response needed to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees' estimate of 82.4 million displaced persons, of whom:
- 42 per cent are children
- 32 per cent are refugees.
This was a general debate. During debates, members put their experience to good use to discuss current issues and draw the government's attention to concerns.
Members speaking
Members speaking included:
- Baroness Cox (Crossbench), founder and CEO of the Humanitarian Aid and Relief Trust
- Lord Desai (Non-affiliated), former director of the Centre for the Study of Global Governance
- Lord Loomba (Crossbench), Founder of The Loomba Foundation, an organisation caring for widows around the world.
- Baroness Royall of Blaisdon (Labour), visiting professor at the Institute for Global Health Innovation, Imperial College, London.
Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Conservative), Minister of State in the Foreign, Development and Commonwealth Office, responded on behalf of the government.
Get involved
Watch and read the debate
Catch up on Parliament TV or read the transcript in Lords Hansard.
Explore background information
Find out more about the issues the debate covers in the House of Lords Library briefing.
Learn more about how the House of Lords checks and challenges government.
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