Ethiopian refugees report obstacles to reach safety in Sudan as numbers approach 50,000
This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Babar Baloch – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today’s press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, working with the local authorities, has now registered...
US$1.44 billion needed to support refugees and migrants from Venezuela amid COVID-19
Joint UNHCR-IOM Press Release GENEVA – Today, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and IOM, the International Organization for Migration, launch a US$1.44 billion regional plan to respond to the growing needs of refugees and migrants from Venezuela and the communities...
UNHCR forum weighs lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic
The final session of this year’s High Commissioner’s Dialogue considered solutions for responding to future global emergencies. By UNHCR Staff The COVID-19 pandemic has shown just how vital it is to include refugees and displaced people in plans and decisions that...
Forced back home by the pandemic, Venezuelan grandmother sees no choice but to flee once again
With lockdown making it all but impossible for many Venezuelan refugees and migrants to meet their basic needs, thousands have headed home – only to have to flee again. By Ángela Méndez-Triviño in Riohacha, Colombia When Rosalba* decided to flee her native Venezuela,...
Birth registration gaps leave South Africans in limbo
UNHCR is working with the South African government to help people at risk of statelessness obtain vital identity documents. By Pumla Rulashe in Brits, South Africa Mpho Modise can only guess her age and it embarrasses her. “I would say I am about 33,” she says. She is...
Record 20,000 students engage in refugee policies through the 2020 Model UN Refugee Challenge
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, has announced today the winners of the first Model UN Refugee Challenge, which encouraged students worldwide to develop policies to help refugees during their Model UN (MUN). In 2020 more than 20,000 students from 75 countries joined the...
8 winning ideas from Model UN students to help refugees
UNHCR challenged students to tackle issues related to forced displacement in their debates. Here’s a summary of their winning ideas and the thinking behind them. By Pauline Eluère in Geneva Have you heard of Model United Nations (MUN)? These simulations of the UN, in...
Forced displacement passes 80 million by mid-2020 as COVID-19 tests refugee protection globally
While a full picture for 2020 is yet to be established, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, estimates that global forced displacement surpassed 80 million at mid-year, according to a report on trends in global forced displacement released today in Geneva. At the beginning...