Cuts in development aid by wealthy countries tend to drive up displacement away from the world's poorest regions, the head of the UN's International Organisation for Migration warned in an interview with the AFP news agency on the sidelines of the Berlin Climate Mobility Forum on Thursday.
"When we see cuts in development assistance, we're actually just making the likelihood that people will have to leave in search of safety, in search of stability, so much higher," Amy Pope said.
"We've seen it in places like Sudan, which is the world's largest displacement crisis as a result of the war there."
"With decreasing support for humanitarian assistance, we then see more Sudanese look for safety, look for opportunity further afield," she added.
Several rich Western countries, particularly the United States but also many European nations, have cut their development aid budgets in recent years, while also tightening migration policies and strengthening border controls.
