Humanitarian Emergencies

Q&A: Using Data to Predict Internal Displacement Trends

By Carmen Arroyo
This year the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) noted that 2017 saw the highest number of displacements associated with conflict in a decade-11.8 million people. But this is not a situation that is going to be resolved any time soon, says the organisation which has been reporting on displacements since 1998.

Water: a Private Privilege, not a Community Resource

By Shekhar Kapur
Water is becoming a private privilege rather than a community resource. It is also one of the world’s most precious resources. As vital to the survival of the human species as the air that we breathe.

The Earthquake in Indonesia: How Collaboration Impacts the Global Water Crisis

By George C. Greene, IV
On Friday, September 28, the world first heard the devastating news out of Indonesia that a 7.5 magnitude earthquake had struck the island of Sulawesi. The quake caused substantial soil liquefaction — where the earth literally turned to liquid and started to flow — with entire homes sinking into the ground. It also triggered a tsunami, confirmed to be as high as 23 feet, that devastated the coastal areas.

Mother Nature Can Help us Deal With Her Water Disasters

By Vladimir Smakhtin
Almost every day we hear news about catastrophic flooding or drought somewhere in the world. And many nations and regions are on track for even more extreme water problems within a generation, the latest IPCC report warns.

Dr. Hanif Hassan Ali Al Qassim: Gandhi’s philosophy of non-violence remains a source of guidance for bringing peace to the Arab region

By Geneva Centre
The Chairman of the Geneva Centre for Human Rights Advancement and Global Dialogue, HE Dr. Hanif Hassan Ali Al Qassim, praised Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy of non-violence in expressing concern about the current rise of extremist violence. Dr. Al Qassim made this statement to honour the legacy of the great Statesman of the Global South that is observed annually on 2 October on the occasion of the International Day of Non-Violence.

Venezuela’s Surname Is Diaspora

By Humberto Márquez
They sell their houses, cars, motorcycles, household goods, clothes and ornaments - if they have any - even at derisory prices, save up a few dollars, take a bus and, in many cases, for the first time ever travel outside their country: they are the migrants who are fleeing Venezuela by the hundreds of thousands.

Without Food Security, There Is No Peace

By Tharanga Yakupitiyage
Reversing years of progress, global hunger is on the rise once again and one of the culprits is clear: conflict.

Q&A: An Uncertain Future Ahead for Rohingya in Bangladesh

By Tharanga Yakupitiyage
Over one year ago, Bangladesh opened its doors in response to what is now the world’s fastest growing refugee crisis. But questions still remain on how to rehabilitate the steadily growing population. 

Climate Change Undermining Global Efforts to Eradicate Hunger

By Thalif Deen
The United Nations warned last month that the accelerating impacts of climate change—“already clearly visible today”-- have triggered an unpredictable wave of natural disasters-- including extreme heatwaves, wild fires, storms, and floods during the course of this year.

25 years Since the Oslo Accords: Israeli Security Depends on Palestinian Rights

By Jan Egeland
Twenty-five years ago, on 13 September 1993, I sat on the White House lawn to witness the landmark signing of the Oslo agreement between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). Diplomats around me gasped as Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin shook hands with former foe, Chairman Yasser Arafat. But for some of us present, the handshake came as no surprise.

International Law Experts Warn Europe’s ‘Pull Back’ of Migrants is Illegal – Part 2

By Maged Srour
“The Italian and other European authorities are engaging – on the migration issue – in a policy which has the foreseeable results of numerous deaths.” It is a grim warning from expert on international law, refugees and migration issues, and member of the Global Legal Action Network (GLAN), Itamar Mann.

“We Should Not Wait” — Action Needed on Myanmar

By Tharanga Yakupitiyage
After the release of a scathing report on Myanmar’s human rights violations, next steps to achieve accountability and justice remain elusive and uncertain.  

The Plight of Women & Young People in the Rohingya Refugee Crisis

By Asa Torkelsson
August 25, 2018 marked one year since violence erupted in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, triggering the massive Rohingya exodus to neighbouring Bangladesh. As the crisis continues with no immediate end in sight, it is crucial to expand and sustain health and life skills services for Rohingya women, girls and youth to locate opportunities amid challenges.

UN Seeks Probe into Saudi Bombing of Civilian Targets

By Thalif Deen
Saudi Arabia, which has been accused of relentlessly bombing civilian targets in strife-torn Yemen and threatening executions of human rights activists, is fast gaining notoriety as a political outcast at the United Nations.

14-Point Recommendation of UN Fact-Finding Mission

By Editor, The Daily Star, Bangladesh
GenocideThere is sufficient information to warrant the investigation and prosecution of senior officials in the armed forces' chain of command, so that a competent court can determine their liability for genocide in relation to the situation in Rakhine State.

Damning U.N. Report Outlines Crimes Against Rohingya As Children Suffer from Trauma One Year Later

By Farid Ahmed
At 12, Mohammed* is an orphan. He watched his parents being killed by Myanmar government soldiers a year ago. And he is one of an estimated half a million Rohingya children who have survived and been witness to what the United Nations has called genocide.

UN report adds to mountain of evidence of Myanmar’s atrocities against ethnic minorities

By Amnesty International
A blistering report released by the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar (FFM) today brought yet more damning evidence of the Myanmar security forces’ atrocity crimes against the Rohingya and against ethnic minorities in northern Myanmar, Amnesty International said.

The Rohingya influx: One year on

By Sumbul Rizvi
It is a tented city of nearly a million souls crammed in just 26sq km of undulating terrain. Plastic and bamboo sanctuaries perched upon clay mounds flap in the wind, succouring the hapless Rohingyas who fled horrific violence in Rakhine. Shrubs and trees gave way to settlements in Ukhiya and Teknaf Upazilas in the southernmost district of Bangladesh sitting on the edge of the tumultuous Bay of Bengal.

Shared Humanity our Only Hope Against Hatred

By Siddharth Chatterjee
“If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.”   This profound statement was made by the late Nobel Peace Prize winner Mother Teresa, who was born on this day, August 26, 1910. An icon of love, tolerance, generosity and tremendous integrity and spirituality.

Rohingya Refugees Left in Limbo One Year On

By Jan Egeland
Aid funding for refugee relief is running out while conditions are still not in place for the safe return of over 700,000 people forced to flee Myanmar to neighbouring Bangladesh after violence broke out one year ago.

One year on, aid groups renew focus on hosts of protracted Rohingya crisis

By Kelli Rogers
Concrete replaces hand-dug mud steps zigzagging down steep hillsides. Sturdy bridges stretch over marshes, and a main road carves a bumpy path through once inaccessible zones. The mega-camp that sprawls across 6,000 acres of Bangladesh’s Ukhia region has changed greatly in the year since it became home to 700,000 additional Rohingya refugees fleeing violence and persecution in Myanmar’s Rakhine state.
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