Refugee resettlement: ‘Tremendous gap’ persists between needs, and spaces on offer
New York/IBNS: Although around 1.4 million refugees are estimated to be in urgent need of resettlement worldwide, only 63,696 were resettled through the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) last year - that's only 4.5 per cent - due to a continuing shortage of offers of sanctuary from governments across the world.
Bring global migration compact ‘to life’, urges UN chief
New York/IBNS: As “policies shaped more by fear than fact” have caused untold suffering to migrants, the UN Secretary-General is urging countries to realize the goals of a global agreement that promotes enhanced international cooperation on migration.
UN migration agency appeals to South Sudan group to free volunteer worker and child
New York/IBNS: The UN migration agency appealed on Friday for the immediate liberation of a volunteer and child who’ve been missing since a gun battle in South Sudan at the weekend that claimed the lives of three agency workers.
New York, July 9 (IBNS): Conditions in which migrants and refugees are being held in the United States are appalling, said the UN human rights chief on Monday, underscoring that children should never be held in immigration detention, or separated from their families.
‘Huge data gaps’ hampering ‘evidence-based’ national migration policies
New York, Mar 5 (IBNS): There are still “huge gaps at country level,” to be overcome in order to develop an effective global migration data programme, said the head of the Demographic and Social Statistics Branch of UN Statistics, on Monday.
Young people worldwide can ‘determine the future of migration,’ says UN senior official
New York, Mar 1 (IBNS): The key role that young people play in determining the future of migration governance around the world is the focus of the session this year of the International Dialogue on Migration at the UN, convened by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) on Thursday.
New migration pact highlights key role of business in protecting migrants, say UN experts
New York, Dec 21 (IBNS): A group of UN experts welcomed a call for Member States and businesses to join forces in protecting the rights of migrants on Thursday, following the recent adoption of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) on 10 December.
Governments adopt UN global migration pact to help ‘prevent suffering and chaos’
New York, Dec 11 (IBNS): The Global Compact for Migration was adopted on Monday by leading representatives from 164 Governments at an international conference in Marrakesh, Morocco, in an historic move described by UN Chief António Guterres as the creation of a “roadmap to prevent suffering and chaos”.
Ahead of key UN-backed Marrakech migration conference, youth recount harrowing journeys
New York, Dec 9 (IBNS): Paving the way to the key UN migration conference in Marrakech, Morocco, which it is hoped will agree new measures to make life safer and more dignified for people on the move, UN agencies held a series of side events to highlight the different aspects of migration, paying special attention to the most vulnerable, and the challenges they face on their often perilous journeys.
Migration deal U-turns ‘reflect poorly’ on countries concerned: UN Special Representative
Dubai, Nov 28 (IBNS): In an exclusive interview with UN News, Louise Arbour, the UN Special Representative for International Migration, said on Tuesday that the stated intention of several countries (including Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Austria) to pull out of the Global Compact for migration reflects poorly on them, and has seriously affected the spirit of multilateralism.
New York, Oct 31 (IBNS): A radio series was launched on Tuesday in Nigeria by the UN migration agency (IOM) to sensitize vulnerable people seeking to pursue economic opportunities abroad on the perils of irregular migration – migration done outside the regulated frameworks – and provide information on pathways to migrate legally and safely.
Weekly migration of 1.4m to cities can contribute to ‘disasters’
New York, Oct 31 (IBNS): The migration of some 1.4 million people every week to cities around the world “can strain local capacities, contributing to increased risk from natural and human made disasters’” according to the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres.
Children separated at border, suffering alarming and prolonged effects: UN rights experts
New York, Oct 20 (IBNS): Separating children from their undocumented parents is a traumatic violation of their rights, UN independent experts said on Friday.
Benefits of rural migration effect often overlooked, new UN report suggests
New York, Oct 16 (IBNS): Agricultural policies should work to maximize the contributions of rural migration to economic and social development, while minimizing the costs, says a major new report released on Monday by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Governments urged to ‘do the hard work’ to better manage global migration
New York, Sept 27 (IBNS): As world leaders met at the United Nations on Wednesday to discuss the first global agreement designed to better manage international migration, a leading voice on migrants’ rights urged them to “do the hard work” of turning words into action.