Youth, indigenous peoples, migrants and refugees boost hope for human rights: Guterres
New York, Feb 26 (IBNS): People’s rights are under fire “in many parts of the globe,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres told the Human Rights Council on Monday, before insisting that he was not “losing hope”, thanks to the progress made by powerful grassroots movements for social justice.
New York, Feb 9 (IBNS): The head of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has praised Tanzania for the long-standing welcome it offers hundreds of thousands of refugees, describing it as a “regional peacemaker” in an unstable part of Africa, that deserves more international support.
UN refugee agency ‘deeply shocked’ at stabbing death of ‘deeply courageous’ Polish mayor
New York, Jan 15 (IBNS): The Mayor of the historic port city of Gdansk in Poland, has died in hospital after being stabbed at a televised charity event on Sunday, prompting the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, to issue a statement on Monday praising him as “a deeply courageous, moral leader, who showed the way in helping refugees and migrants to integrate”.
How the smell of fresh bread transformed one refugee life
New York, Jan 12 (IBNS): Who would imagine that the smell of fresh bread wafting through a bakery could change the course of a young Syrian refugee’s life?
UN refugee agency presses States to aid 49 refugees stranded on Mediterranean
New York, Jan 1 (IBNS): The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR), on the last day of 2018, called on UN Member States to urgently offer safe ports of disembarkation for 49 refugees and migrants, including young children, aboard rescue vessels in the Mediterranean Sea.
Fleeing violence, Cameroonian refugee arrivals in Nigeria pass 30,000, reports UN refugee agency
New York, Nov 10 (IBNS): The number of Cameroonians fleeing violence and seeking refuge in neighbouring Nigeria has crossed the 30,000-mark, the United Nations refugee agency has said, highlighting that the needs on the ground are outpacing assistance efforts.
Congolese expelled from Angola returning to ‘desperate situation’: UN refugee agency
New York, Oct 17 (IBNS): Congolese nationals forced back across the border to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), after being expelled from neighbouring Angola, “are returning to a desperate situation,” a UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) spokesperson said on Tuesday.
Refugees overcrowded to ‘boiling point’ on Greek island, warns UN agency
New York, Sept 1 (IBNS): The Government of Greece has been urged by the United Nations to do more to help thousands of asylum-seekers and migrants who have been “crammed” into island reception centres, amid reports that children have tried to take their own lives there.
Half the world’s refugee children not in school, UN agency finds
New York, Aug 30 (IBNS): With more and more children forced to leave their homes, over half of the world’s school-aged refugees are now out of education, the United Nations refugee agency said in a new report released on Wednesday.
In Tanzania visit, UNHCR official stresses freedom of choice is crucial for refugee returns
New York, Aug 17 (IBNS): Refugees should never be pressured to decide if they should return to their home countries, a senior UN official has said.
Refugee health services on track despite record level of displacement, says UN agency
New York, July 21 (IBNS):Despite record numbers of people fleeing conflict and natural disasters globally, vital health services have been largely able to cope, the United Nations refugee agency has said; although communicable diseases, anaemia and stunting remain areas of concern.
UN agency chiefs issue ‘call to action’ on behalf of refugee children
New York, June 21 (IBNS): Protecting refugee children is “a test of our shared humanity,” two top United Nations officials said on Wednesday.
UN chief calls for ‘solidarity, compassion and action’ on World Refugee Day
new York, June 20 (IBNS): With more than 68 million people worldwide displaced due to conflict or persecution — roughly equivalent to the population of Thailand— the head of the United Nations has called for unity and solidarity as a first step to support them.
Conditions in Myanmar not yet suitable for Rohingya refugees to return safely – UN agency
New York, Jan 24 (JEN): The necessary safeguards for Rohingyas to return to Myanmar are absent, and there are ongoing restrictions on access for aid agencies, the media and other independent observers, the United Nations warned on Tuesday, two months after Myanmar and Bangladesh agreed on a plan for the refugees’ voluntary return to their homes.
US funding cuts for UN Palestine refugee agency put vital education, health programmes at risk
New York, Jan 18 (JEN): The decision by the United States to withhold more than half its annual funding commitment to the United Nations relief agency providing aid for Palestine refugees threatens “one of the most successful and innovative human development endeavours in the Middle-East,” the head of the body said Wednesday, warning that the rights and dignity of an entire community are at stake.