World must ‘step up’, match Pakistan’s compassion for refugees, says UN chief
Feb 18, 2020, at 10:17 am
New York/IBNS: Pakistan’s solidarity and compassion for hosting Afghan refugees is a remarkable blueprint that the rest of the world should follow.
Refugee resettlement: ‘Tremendous gap’ persists between needs, and spaces on offer
Feb 06, 2020, at 08:38 am
New York/IBNS: Although around 1.4 million refugees are estimated to be in urgent need of resettlement worldwide, only 63,696 were resettled through the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) last year - that's only 4.5 per cent - due to a continuing shortage of offers of sanctuary from governments across the world.
Nearly 300,000 Syrians displaced from Idlib since mid-December, Security Council hears
Jan 04, 2020, at 07:07 am
New York/IBNS: Amidst concern for the safety and protection of more than three million civilians in Syria’s last rebel-held enclave, the UN’s most senior humanitarian and political affairs officials briefed the Security Council on Syria behind closed doors on Friday.
Libya: UN refugee agency deeply concerned by shelling near Tripoli facility
Jan 04, 2020, at 06:22 am
New York/IBNS: Shelling near a major facility run by the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) in the Libyan capital Tripoli on Thursday, has sparked the deep concern for the safety of refugees and asylum seekers there.
Global Refugee Forum ends with hundreds of pledges
Dec 19, 2019, at 09:54 am
New York/IBNS: The first-ever Global Refugee Forum concluded in Geneva on Wednesday with more than 770 pledges of support, covering areas such as protection, employment, and education, for refugees and the communities which have taken them in.
60,000 young refugees and migrants who arrived in Italy alone lack support
Nov 09, 2019, at 08:52 am
New York/IBNS: United Nations agencies on Friday highlighted the dire needs of thousands of unaccompanied and separated children who have arrived in Italy as refugees, lacking the proper support to transition through to adulthood.
Ingredients for a new life: how cooking helps refugees and migrants blend in
Oct 17, 2019, at 05:41 pm
On a Friday afternoon, in a small restaurant kitchen in the New York borough of Brooklyn, head chef Alexander Harris is giving instructions to his attentive team, preparing them for the busy evening ahead. So far, the tables are empty, but the small, popular space, with just a handful of tables - and some stools around the bar - will soon be bustling with the evening crowd.
New refugee data centre can inform policies, solutions worldwide: Guterres
Oct 11, 2019, at 09:41 am
New York: A new UN refugee data centre will improve the way humanitarian agencies support “some of the most dramatically vulnerable people in the world”, UN chief António Guterres said on Thursday.
Religions for Peace express serious concern for Myanmar refugees
Aug 24, 2019, at 11:45 am
Lindau, Germany: The Religions for Peace (RfP) leaders from Myanmar and Bangladesh held track II consultations on the refugee problem affecting the two countries at the 10th World Assembly of Religions for Peace today in Lindau, Germany, which concluded today. Cardinal Charles Maung Bo represented Myanmar.
Scores of Rohingya refugee shelters in Bangladesh destroyed by flooding
Jul 06, 2019, at 06:47 am
New York, July 6 (IBNS): Heavy monsoon rains in Bangladesh have drenched the Cox’s Bazar settlement, home to more than 900,000 Rohingya refugees, destroying some 273 shelters, and injuring 11 people, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Friday. The huge refugee camp has been hit by three days of non-stop rain, and more heavy downpours are expected throughout next week, with four months of the monsoon season still to go.
1.4 million refugees set to need urgent resettlement in 2020: UNHCR
Jul 02, 2019, at 09:20 am
New York, July 2 (IBNS): More than 1.4 million displaced people in over 60 refugee hosting countries will need resettlement next year, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Monday, while also supporting a call for far greater protection for vulnerable LGBTI individuals seeking asylum.
Libya: UN to support thousands uprooted by Tripoli clashes, renews call for humanitarian truce
Apr 30, 2019, at 10:51 pm
Libya, Apr 30 (IBNS): Since fighting broke out on the edge of Libya’s capital, Tripoli, earlier this month, over 42,000 people have been displaced and thousands are believed trapped in the city’s southern outskirts, United Nations (UN) reports said.
Education remains an impossible dream for many refugees and migrants
Mar 07, 2019, at 09:33 am
New York, Mar 7 (IBNS): The older refugee and migrant children get, the less likely it is that they will get a quality education: less than a quarter of the world’s refugees make it to secondary school, and just one per cent progress to higher education. Even for migrants who settle in wealthy, developed host countries, accessing university is an uphill struggle.
Venezuelan refugees now number 3.4 million; humanitarian implications massive, UN warns
Feb 23, 2019, at 09:33 am
New York, Feb 23 (IBNS): As the number of refugees and migrants from Venezuela continues to rise – hitting the 3.4 million mark this month – United Nations agencies sounded the alarm on Friday over the humanitarian needs these women, children and men face, and the strain this represents for communities hosting them.
Solidarity needed to overcome ‘isolated’ attacks on Venezuela refugees, migrants
Jan 29, 2019, at 05:07 am
New York, Jan 29 (IBNS): Attacks and hate speech against Venezuelans seeking shelter in neighbouring countries should be condemned “with a clear and forceful message of rejection” and solidarity, a top UN refugee agency (UNHCR) and UN migration agency (IOM) official said in a statement on Monday.
Myanmar Government side-lining democratic reform, resorting to military era repression: UN expert
Jan 26, 2019, at 09:55 am
New York, Jan 26 (IBNS): The human rights situation in Myanmar continues to deteriorate, as the civilian government fails to bring about democratic reforms and instead resorts to the kind of repression carried out under previous military regimes, said the UN human rights expert Yanghee Lee, speaking at the end of an 11-day mission to neighbouring Thailand and Bangladesh.
Storms and snow in Lebanon worsen plight for Syrian refugees
Jan 11, 2019, at 08:48 am
New York, Jan 11 (IBNS): Storm-force winds and snow across Lebanon have worsened the plight for tens of thousands of Syrian refugees who’ve been forced from their homes by nearly eight years of conflict, a top UN humanitarian official said on Thursday.
How to stay in shape and step up support for refugees
Jan 09, 2019, at 09:18 am
New York, Jan 9 (IBNS): At a time of year when many resolve to get fit, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, has launched a campaign to raise awareness of the huge distances many are forced to cover to escape persecution, in search of a better life far from home.
‘Time is of the essence’ for refugees on Greek islands – UN agency
Nov 07, 2018, at 09:05 am
New York, Nov 7 (IBNS): in Greece must take urgent steps to address the “abhorrent” humanitarian situation for around 11,000 asylum-seekers on the islands of Samos and Lesvos, the UN refugee agency warned on Tuesday.
'Endless volley of assaults’ aimed at refugees: protection chief calls for ‘humane dialogue’
Oct 05, 2018, at 08:38 am
New York, Oct 5 (IBNS): “Noise, chatter, shrillness, lack of civility, and harsh language,” surround the public debate over refugees, who face a “seemingly endless volley of assaults,” said the UN refugee agency’s (UNHCR) Assistant High Commissioner for Protection on Thursday.
Major increase in Europe’s refugee and migrant death rate: UNHCR
Sep 05, 2018, at 09:12 am
New York, Sept 5(IBNS): The number of refugees and migrants reaching the European continent is going down, but the rate of fatalities has gone up dramatically, according to a new report from the UN refugee agency, UNHCR
UN urges countries to step up assistance for Palestine refugees
Sep 02, 2018, at 04:23 pm
New York, Sept 2 (IBNS): The United Nations said it regrets the decision of the United States to stop funding to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and called on other countries to help fill the remaining financial gap.
Greater support needed for refugees and migrants from Venezuela – UN
Aug 24, 2018, at 08:47 am
New York, Aug 24 (IBNS): As hundreds of Venezuelans continue to pour into neighbouring countries due to social and political upheaval at home, the heads of the United Nations refugee and migration agencies called for greater international support to meet the most basic needs of the displaced.
Venezuelan exodus to Ecuador reaches record levels: UN refugee agency steps up aid
Aug 11, 2018, at 08:24 am
New York, Aug 11 (IBNS): One of the largest population movements in Latin American history is under way from Venezuela, according to the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, which on Friday confirmed that it is increasing assistance to neighbouring Ecuador, where more and more Venezuelans are arriving each week.
Aug 08, 2018, at 08:17 am
New York, Aug 8 (IBNS): Some 117,000 Venezuelans have claimed asylum already this year — more than for the whole of 2017 — the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Tuesday, after welcoming a decision by the Brazilian Supreme Federal Court to reverse the closure of the country’s border with its northern neighbour.
Resettlement needs set to rise to 1.4 million people in 2019, UN refugee agency reports
Jun 26, 2018, at 10:39 am
New York, June 26 (IBNS): Close to 1.4 million people will need resettlement in countries free from war and persecution in 2019, the UN refugee agency, said on Monday, citing growing forced displacement across the globe.
New UN-backed action plan promotes hiring of refugees
Apr 25, 2018, at 01:08 pm
New York, Apr 25 (IBNS): A newly-launched action plan that encourages employers to expand job opportunities for refugees aims to be a “win-win situation” for both sides, as well as host communities, according to a senior United Nations official.
Mar 16, 2018, at 03:11 pm
New York, Mar 16 (JEN): Secretary-General António Guterres on Thursday called on the international community to generously support the activities of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), which is facing “the worst financial crisis in its history.”
MP Sahota announces faster reunion of spouses in Canada
Feb 16, 2018, at 01:12 am
Brampton, Feb 15 (IBNS): The process of spouse sponsorship by the Government of Canada had significantly improved over the past year, helping Canadians and permanent residents to reunite faster with their spouses, media reports said.
Feb 02, 2018, at 02:32 pm
New York, Feb 2 (JEN): The human cost of South Sudan’s long-running conflict has reached “epic proportions” with the number of refugees set to rise beyond three million by the end of this year, potentially making it Africa’s largest refugee crisis since the mid-1990s, the head of the UN refugee agency said on Thursday.