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Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was addressing the World Health Organization (WHO) Executive Board when he said that “several outstanding issues” still needed to be resolved by governments and that time was “very short” to find consensus. “A failure to deliver the pandemic agreement and the International Health Regulations amendments will be a missed opportunity for which future generations may not forgive us,” Tedros said. Legally binding The WHO chief’s warning follows agreement by Member...

Sri Lankan migrants who paid their life savings to people traffickers for perilous and unsuccessful sea crossings in an attempt to find a better life overseas have returned home thanks to the support of the UN migration agency, IOM.

27 December 2023Migrants and Refugees The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, has appealed for action in the wake of a mob attack against refugees in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, on Wednesday. Hundreds of young people stormed a building basement where scores of Rohingya refugees were sheltered, according to media reports. The Rohingya are a mainly Muslim community who have fled waves of persecution in Myanmar, a predominantly Buddhist country. Nearly one million are living in camps in Bangladesh...

Global perspective Human stories Refugees in an inflatable boat approach the shores of the island of Lesbos, in northern Greece. 20 December 2023Migrants and Refugees The UN High Commissioner for Refugees on Wednesday welcomed a key deal by members of the European Union (EU) to overhaul their joint migration system which promises a fresh and unified approach to deal with asylum claims. Agreement in Brussels on the New Pact on Migration and Asylum reportedly followed...

In a message marking International Migrants Day, the UN chief emphasized that migration promotes the exchange of knowledge and contributes to economic growth, but at the same time, “poorly governed migration is a cause of great suffering.” “It forces people into the cruel realm of traffickers, where they face exploitation, abuse, and even death. It undermines trust in governance and institutions, inflames social tensions, and corrodes our common humanity,” he added. Recalling the Global...

Speaking at the closing of the Global Refugee Forum, the Secretary-General said that protection and help for these most vulnerable of people, was “an obligation shared by all of humanity”. He was speaking after three days of intensive activity geared to finding solutions and building partnerships, which saw pledges from multiple stakeholders that have the potential to generate “a bright burst of light” for the millions displaced worldwide. Mr. Guterres stressed that resources to support...

The world’s largest gathering dedicated to refugee issues, the Forum is co-hosted by UNHCR and Switzerland and convened by Colombia, France, Japan, Jordan and Uganda. It brings together Member States, civil society, financial institutions, private companies and more than 300 refugee advocates. Shattered dreams, disrupted lives Setting the tone for the discussion, Mr. Grandi said that 114 million “represents the number of refugees and displaced people whom persecution, human rights...

Global perspective Human stories A migrant from Venezuela talks to his family after crossing the Darien Gap into Central America. 7 December 2023Migrants and Refugees The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), on Thursday, called for urgent action to address the deepening humanitarian emergency in the Americas, as the number of migrants and refugees traversing the perilous Darién jungle crossed an unprecedented half a million this...

6 December 2023Human Rights Authorities in Nigeria must investigate a string of deadly airstrikes over the past six years and hold those responsible to account, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said on Wednesday. OHCHR issued a statement deploring the latest strike – the fourth since 2017 – which took place in Kaduna state in the north on Tuesday and left at least 80 civilians dead and more than 60 injured. “While we note that the authorities have termed the civilian deaths as...

Abdullahi Mire grew up in the sprawling Dadaab refugee complex in northeastern Kenya with its population today of more than 240,000 registered refugees, mostly from Somalia. The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) coordinates operations there together with partners, relying also on the support of the Kenyan Government and host communities. The majority of the population, around 56 per cent according to 2020 figures, are children. At that point there were over 60,000 students enrolled up to...