The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, sounded the alarm on Friday, World Refugee Day, in a message from Syria. He said the abject failure to end conflicts – including in Sudan, Ukraine, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Gaza – continues to create immense suffering. Difficulty seeking...
While hotspots include Sudan, Syria, Afghanistan, Ukraine and Palestine, displacement affects every region of the world. In the lead-up to World Refugee Day, Friday, the UN is spotlighting the importance of solidarity with refugees through support, solutions, and the power of storytelling. Zahra Nader: Reporting from exile Ahead of World...
“Without funding, asylum seekers are left in limbo – undocumented, unsupported and increasingly desperate,” said Ruvendrini Menikdiwela, Assistant High Commissioner for Protection. Her comments follow a 41 per cent budget cut to the UN agency’s operations in the country that have had devastating consequences. “This is not about luxuries; the...
The estimates are from the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, which on Friday called for increased funding to support Syrian returnees as needs intensify at a time when aid budgets globally are being slashed. “Since the fall of the Assad regime, returning home and starting anew has become a possibility for...
Chad hosts 1.3 million forcibly displaced people, according to the UN agency, UNHCR despite it being one of the world’s poorest countries. More than half of these vulnerable individuals are Sudanese who’ve fled the fighting between rival militaries which erupted in April 2023. Speaking from the Chadian border with Sudan, Mr....
UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, reported on Thursday that 35,000 Congolese nationals have now reached Burundi since the beginning of February, as Rwanda-backed M23 fighters continue to advance across both South and North Kivu. The UN human rights office (OHCHR) in DRC also expressed concern over growing lawlessness as warlords...
“War can kill anything in a person, but it cannot kill values and hope. Syrians are a naturally happy people, and we aspire to live in a spirit of giving, generosity and hospitality.” Just desserts With these words, Tareq Hadhad described to UN News the difficult journey his family took...
In a new report, the UN human rights office (OHCHR) has detailed the catastrophic humanitarian situation unfolding in El Fasher, the capital of Sudan’s North Darfur state. The city has been under siege for seven months by fighters from the powerful militia known as the RSF, which has been battling...
In the first week of October alone, close to 25,000 people fled to eastern Chad, marking the highest weekly influx this year. This follows months of intensifying violence in Darfur, and Chad now hosts over 600,000 Sudanese refugees, which is more than any other country in the region. Since the conflict...
South Sudan now ranks as the second largest recipient of people fleeing Sudan, with more than 810,000 new arrivals since April 2023, including returning South Sudanese refugees who were sheltering in Sudan and refugee and asylum seekers from other countries. UNHCR warned that the situation is likely to worsen, exacerbating...
Only hours earlier, UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned the Security Council that “hell is breaking loose in Lebanon” along the UN-patrolled line of separation, with exchanges of fire greater in “scope, depth and intensity” than previously. That warning came as US President Joe Biden told the world’s leaders gathered at UN...
Speaking at the closing of the Global Refugee Forum, the Secretary-General said that protection and help for these most vulnerable of people, was “an obligation shared by all of humanity”. He was speaking after three days of intensive activity geared to finding solutions and building partnerships, which saw pledges from multiple...