Unprecedented numbers of conflicts are currently afflicting the world, driving human displacement and humanitarian crises.

Many people would think that the world’s most turbulent and violent times are behind us – nearly 80 years after the end of the Second World War.

But 2024 statistics show things could be just as bad, or even worse.

According to the NGO Vision for Humanity there are 56 active conflicts, the most since World War Two.

Also, as of 11 June 2024, “92 countries are currently involved in conflicts”, which has, in turn, worsened the refugee crisis, Vision for Humanity says.

Specifically, “110 million people are either refugees or internally displaced due to violent conflict”. In addition, “16 countries are now hosting more than half a million refugees”.

While it is true that the large number of lives lost in past wars cannot statistically be compared to that of recent conflicts, it does not mean it cannot, sadly, be achieved again to, perhaps, a lesser degree and there are disturbing reasons why.

People might ask, ‘in this day and age, how can such conflicts still take place?’

The answer is complex.

According to the UN, “unresolved regional tensions, a breakdown in the law, absent or co-opted state institutions, illicit economic gain, and the scarcity of resources exacerbated by climate change, have become dominant drivers of conflict.”

Furthermore, as reported in the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED), there has been a “15 per cent increase in political violence incidents” recorded in the past 12 months, while “50 countries rank in the index categories for extreme, high, or turbulent levels of conflict”.

Such statistics are already worrisome, but do not end there. “One in seven people are estimated to have been exposed to conflict so far in 2024”, while places such as “Palestine, Myanmar, Syria, and Mexico hold the highest positions” as pointed out in the ACLED index, as of July 2024.

While conflicts such as the one in Gaza or the one in Ukraine are being constantly reported by the media, other lesser-known conflicts are also resulting in the displacement of hundreds of thousands of individuals.

Armenians are currently struggling, as a result of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which has been going on for decades. According to the International Crisis Group, in 1988, ethnic Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh demanded the transfer of what was then the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO) from Soviet Azerbaijan to Armenia.

As the Soviet Union collapsed, tensions grew into an outright war. When fighting ceased in 1994, Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent districts were wholly or partially controlled by Armenian forces.

More than a million people had been forced from their homes: Azerbaijanis fled Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh and the adjacent territories, while Armenians left homes in Azerbaijan. In September 2023, Azerbaijani forces took over the area of Artsakh (or Nagorno-Karabakh) forcing 100,000 Armenians to leave their properties, while also destroying Armenian heritage such as churches, memorials of the first war over Artsakh in the 1990s, Armenian cross stones, along with a local school, according to ACLED.

In addition, the people of Yemen have also been suffering at the hands of the Houthis, a terrorist group.

As reported by the Global Conflict Tracker, Yemen’s civil war began in 2014 when Houthi insurgents took control of Yemen’s capital and largest city, Sanaa, demanding lower fuel prices and a new government.

Since the beginning of the civil war, the UN estimates that “60 percent of the estimated 377,000 deaths in Yemen between 2015 and the beginning of 2022 were the result of indirect causes like food insecurity and lack of accessible health services.

Two-thirds of the population, or 21.6 million Yemenis, remain in dire need of assistance. Five million are at risk of famine, and a cholera outbreak has affected over one million people.

All sides of the conflict are reported to have violated human rights and international humanitarian law.” As of 2024, the Houthis are still in control of Sanaa and there seems to be no peace negotiation on sight.

Their military actions have led to the displacement of millions of Yemenis and have created a significant humanitarian crisis in the region.

While one could rightfully assume that a conflict would, at some point see an end to it rather than be everlasting, there are so called ‘forever wars’, as Vision of Humanity states, relating to ongoing historical differences which do not seem to be coming to an end.

This in turn, not only affects humans, but our planet too. According to the UN, “while the human cost of war is undeniable and profound”, the environment suffers immensely. Conflicts “disrupt ecosystems, deplete natural resources, pollute the environment” and “jeopardize the health of our planet for generations to come.”

In this way, only one question comes to mind: how do we reduce the likelihood of wars?

Much like why conflicts occur, the answer cannot be encapsulated in just one word. According to Dr Frances Stewart, if we want to minimize conflicts or eradicate them completely, it is vital to “promote inclusive development, reduce inequalities between groups, tackle unemployment, and, via national and international control over illicit trade, reduce private incentives to fight”.

To reduce conflicts would mean to protect our planet and our environment but, most importantly, it would put an end to the displacement of millions of people and all the tragic experiences they endure. To try to stop this is to be in tune with being human. And that side should always win.