Dubbed “mad Mike” by the East German media he made his name as a hired gun in the Congo crisis and became a laughing stock for a disastrous failed coup in the Seychelles.

It is surprising that Mike Hoare, who lived a dangerous life to the full, should have lived to 100.

Born of Irish parents in India, he embarked on a military career that saw him end the Second World War as a major.

After emigrating to South Africa, he met Congolese leader Moïse Tshombe and fought as a mercenary for him.

But it was the failed Seychelles coup in 1978 that saw him jailed and transformed him to soldier-of-ill-fortune 

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The gathering comes weeks after refugees besieged the United Nations High Commission For Refugees offices in Cape Town and Pretoria demanding to be moved away from xenophobic attacks in South Africa.

The Global Refugee Forum in Geneva brings together governments, business and relief agencies.

UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi says the burden of housing refugees must be shared more fairly.

The number of refugees  driven out by war in Africa and the Middle East, violent drug lords in Colombia and repressive regimes in Asia are now four times more than the people displaced by the Second World War.

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