UNHCR appeals for urgent action as new Mediterranean mid-winter deaths reported
This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Charlie Yaxley – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today’s press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is watching with increasing alarm the situation on the...
Surging violence in Nigeria drives thousands across borders
Some 15,000 people have been forced to flee into neighbouring Chad and Cameroon as conflict in Nigeria’s restive Borno State escalates. By Simplice Kpandji in Dar es Salaam Camp, Chad, and Xavier Bourgois in Goura, Cameroon Aicha Moussa is lucky to be alive. Three...
Thousands fleeing fighting in northeast Syria
This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Andrej Mahecic – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today’s press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is deeply concerned by reports of mounting civilian...
UNHCR welcomes Ethiopia law granting more rights to refugees
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, welcomes Ethiopia’s historic new refugee law which will now allow refugees to obtain work permits, access primary education, obtain drivers’ licenses, legally register life events such as births and marriages and open up access to...
13-year-old refugee boy from South Sudan sees power in new friendships
The Power of New Friendships When John arrived at Ethiopia’s Nguenyyiel Refugee Camp in February 2018, he was scared and alone. He had walked for a full month across South Sudan’s harsh landscapes – every step of his journey on foot – fleeing the violence and horror...
Join global challenge to match refugees’ 2 billion-kilometre journey
UNHCR’s 2 Billion Kilometres to safety campaign calls on runners, walkers and cyclists to dedicate their kilometres in solidarity with families uprooted by war and persecution. By UNHCR Staff GENEVA – More than 20,000 Lost Boys trek hundreds of kilometres from...
UNHCR appalled at news of refugee and migrant deaths on Mediterranean Sea
UNHCR is deeply saddened at emerging reports of an estimated 170 people who either died or went missing in two separate shipwrecks on the Mediterranean Sea. Some 53 people have died on the Alborán Sea, western Mediterranean, according to recent information from NGO...
Storm Norma brings misery to Syrian refugees in Lebanon
One dead and more than 11,000 affected by days of heavy rain and high winds from Storm Norma, with hundreds of refugees forced to abandon their homes. By Edith Champagne and Houssam Hariri in Bekaa Valley, Lebanon Syrian refugee Juriya Ramadan wades through the murky,...