News Releases
We bring you the most up-to-date information from UNHCR Canada through news releases.
Photo: © UNHCR / Roger Arnold
Number displaced by violence in Bangui soars past 40,000
BANGUI, Central African Republic, Oct 1 (UNHCR)—An uneasy calm has returned to the Central African Republic capital of Bangui, but violence and tension has been reported from the provinces and the number of displaced people has soared to more than 40,000 within...
Iraqi schools face a desk deficit
BAGHDAD, Iraq, Sept 30 (UNHCR)—While many Iraqi students were enjoying the last weeks of summer before school resumed, the classrooms of al-Asil elementary school in Baghdad's Mansour neighbourhood were full. Here, students whose families had been uprooted by violence...
UNHCR seeking urgent access to thousands fleeing Bangui, CAR violence
GENEVA, Sept 29 (UNHCR)—Fighting between rival militias in the Central African Republic capital of Bangui since Saturday has left at least 36 people dead, forced thousands to flee their homes and moved the reconciliation process a step backwards, the UN refugee agency...
Salzburg, taken aback by number of refugees, scrambled to set up reception facilities
SALZBURG, Austria, Sept 28 (UNHCR)—Nobody in Salzburg ever expected the refugee crisis to hit this close to home. So when Michael Haybäck, the city's director of public order, received a call at 8.30pm one night in early September, he had to think fast. Martin Floss...
The challenge of life in their Afghan homeland for children born in exile
KABUL, Afghanistan, November 20, 2014—The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted 25 years ago today to protect children like Hasanat and Aisha. The two have returned to a homeland, Afghanistan, that they had heard much about but never...
Home Alone: South Sudan teen leads her young siblings to safety in Uganda
BOROLI REFUGEE SETTLEMENT, Uganda, September 4, 2014—When 13-year-old Yayo Tangko turned up at the Boroli refugee settlement in Uganda earlier in 2014 with her four younger siblings, she feared the worst for her missing parents. "They are dead, because otherwise they...
What’s it like to be a child refugee?
Stories of loss, hope, joy and fear from those forced to grow up too quickly Two facts to consider: 1) In 2014, half of all refugees were children. 2) On average, a camp refugee spends 17 years living there, an entire childhood’s worth of time. As a generation, these...
Thousands continue to flee wars and cross borders in search for a new life in safety
TOVARNIK, Croatia, Sept 25 (UNHCR)—They continue to come in their thousands, Afghans, Syrians, Iraqis and others, in an ever-shifting pattern across the Serbia-Croatia border, most fleeing conflict and persecution hoping their onward journey will deliver them to a...
UN refugee agency opens two new camps for displaced Iraqis in Baghdad
BAGHDAD, Iraq, Sept 25 (UNHCR)—The UN refugee agency, its partners and local authorities have opened two new camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Baghdad province, providing shelter to close to 3,500 Iraqis who have had to flee Anbar province due to recent...
UNHCR welcomes more EU support to refugees, urges fast implementation
GENEVA, Sept 24, (UNHCR)—The UN refugee agency today welcomed a decision by European Union leaders to boost resources for humanitarian assistance to countries neighbouring war-torn Syria. UNHCR, in a statement issued after the European Council decision, also welcomed...
To inquire about news releases, please reach out to our Media Contact:
Media Contact
Levon Sevunts
Communications Officer
P: +1 613-286-6975
E: sevunts@unhcr.org
Darcy Knoll
Senior Communications Officer
P: +1 613-219-4446
E: knoll@unhcr.org
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