Comfort from the cold: How UNHCR hopes to make warm for Syrian grandparents in Jordan
“We got engaged and married in 1973,” says Abu Bassam, “I still remember the date.” His wife, Um Bassam, laughs: “I don’t!” The elderly couple married for nearly 50 years sit outside in their courtyard as they reminisce about years gone by. They raised eight children...
‘Give us a seat at the table and we’ll change the world’
At the High Commissioner’s Dialogue on Protection Challenges, participants say those who are forcibly displaced are eager and qualified to help rebuild communities devastated by COVID-19. By Sarah Schafer Refugees and others who have endured trauma, pain and...
Yemen can’t wait: A window into the world’s worst humanitarian crisis
By Jean-Nicolas Beuze, as told to Lauren La Rose After completing his post as UNHCR Canada Representative, Jean-Nicolas Beuze assumed his new role this year as UNHCR’s Representative in Yemen, where more than 80 per cent of the population depend on humanitarian aid...
Coming home: After years in the field with the UN, I’m proud to continue my humanitarian work in Canada
When I assumed my new role as UNHCR Canada Representative at the beginning of 2020, I couldn’t have anticipated after returning home how much Canada and the world as we know it would change so significantly in the coming months — and for the foreseeable future. The...
International community must act with ‘urgency’ to end crisis in Central Sahel
UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi tells conference that COVID-19 adds a new threat to a region already grappling with record numbers forced to flee their homes. By Jonathan Clayton and Sarah Schafer GENEVA/COPENHAGEN – UN High Commissioner for Refugees...
UNHCR calls for protection, support for civilians affected by violence in southern Afghanistan
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, calls for urgent protection and assistance for tens of thousands of civilians displaced by recent escalation of violence in Afghanistan’s southern Helmand Province. Men, women and children have been forced from their homes in...
UNHCR calls for solidarity, support and solutions for Rohingya refugees ahead of an urgent donor conference
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. On the eve of this week’s donor conference for Rohingya refugees, UNHCR, the UN...
Baaba Maal appeals for support for Sahel
Senegalese musician, singer and UNHCR supporter calls for action to end world’s fastest growing displacement crisis. By Baaba Maal My homeland – the Sahel – is on its knees, brought low by conflict, hunger and disease. I am called the ‘Voice of the Sahel’. For years,...