Rwanda vaccinates refugees and asylum-seekers against COVID-19
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to threaten the lives and rights of refugees, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, welcomes the Rwandan government’s vaccination this week of 416 refugees – one of the first countries in Africa to do so. Nearly one year since the...
News comment: UNHCR voices concern over removal of Rohingya refugees outside its office in New Delhi, India
This news comment is attributable to Indrika Ratwatte, Director of the Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is concerned about 88 Rohingya refugees and asylum-seekers who were taken away by the law enforcement authorities from the...
Uganda shows how including refugees can lift up a whole society
On a visit to Bidibidi settlement, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi described projects involving government, refugees, aid groups and locals as ‘game changers’. By Yonna Tukundane and Wendy Kasujja in Bidibidi, Uganda When Agnes Baitio fled fighting...
IOM, UNHCR: Latest Mediterranean tragedy underscores need for search and rescue
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, are deeply saddened by the latest loss of life in the Central Mediterranean, after two boats capsized off Tunisia’s shores on Tuesday, 9 March. At least 39 people drowned in a...
UNHCR concerned by Hungary’s latest measures affecting access to asylum
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, deplores the recent decision of the Hungarian government to extend a decree that authorizes the police to automatically and summarily remove anyone intercepted for irregular entry and stay. As a result of this decision, people who may be...
Displaced choir leader founds refugee orchestra in Chile
Former choir director Ana Marvez could not stand to see the musical skills of her fellow Venezuelans go to waste in their host country. So, she started an orchestra. By Stephanie Rabi Misle in Santiago, Chile One of the most wrenching aspects of being forced to leave...
UNHCR mourns death of former staff member, Ambassador Nicolas Bwakira
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is saddened by the passing of former Special Representative of the African Union in Somalia, Ambassador Nicolas Bwakira of Burundi. Mr. Bwakira had a long and distinguished career with UNHCR, serving in several key positions between 1970...
COVID-19 pandemic worsening gender inequalities for refugee women and girls
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is threatening the lives and rights of refugee, displaced and stateless women and girls, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is warning on International Women’s Day today. “The unprecedented socio-economic impacts of the pandemic are...