Friday, April 20, 2018
News and Views from the Global South
Migration & Refugees
Homebound: Hardship Awaits Internally Displaced Iraqis
With upcoming elections in May, the Iraqi government is urging Internally Displaced People (IDPs) to return home. After the defeat of ISIS in December 2017, an increase in security and number of returnees to their region of origin is expected; however, many IDPs see no way to leave the camps just yet.
Mediterranean Migrant Arrivals Reach 17,461 in 2018; Deaths Reach 559
IOM, the UN Migration Agency, reports that 17,461 migrants and refugees have entered Europe by sea through the first 105 days of 2018, with about 43 per cent arriving in Italy and the remainder divided between Greece (36%) Spain (20%) and Cyprus (less than 1%).
Food Is the Answer: Perugia International Journalism Festival
The twelfth International Journalism Festival on April 12-15 has drawn 710 speakers from 50 different countries, becoming the biggest journalism festival in Europe.
Joint efforts to Strengthen Collaboration in Afghanistan on Returns and Reintegration
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Afghanistan are working closely to ensure sustainable return and reintegration in Afghanistan in close collaboration with the Government of Afghanistan and other partners.
First They Came for the Rohingya
In recent months, international media coverage of Myanmar has focused on the plight of the Rohingya people in the west of the country. And for good reason: Since August 2017, brutal army attacks on this Muslim ethnic minority have sent more than 750,000 people — 90 percent of the Rohingya population living in Rakhine state — fleeing over the border to Bangladesh, in what can only be described as a coordinated campaign of genocide.
UN Migration Agency Co-hosts Hong Kong Workshop on Public-Private Sector Partnerships to Combat Human Trafficking
IOM, the UN Migration Agency, in partnership with Justice Centre Hong Kong, today (11/04) hosted a workshop to help private sector companies understand how they can work better with civil society and IOM to meet internationally recognized human rights standards, particularly relating to labour exploitation, including modern day slavery and human trafficking.
KSrelief Chief Visits Rohingya Refugee Camps in Bangladesh: Saudis Will Help IOM to Deliver Vital Aid During Monsoon
The Supervisor General of Ksrelief – Saudi Arabia’s King Salman Humanitarian Aid & Relief Centre - Dr Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Rabeeah, today (11/04) visited IOM’s relief operations for Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh.
Japan, IOM Help to Bring Safe Water to 30,000 Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh
Cox’s Bazar – Some 30,000 Rohingya refugees living in Cox’s Bazar will soon have easier access to safe water with the inauguration of a major new borehole project this week. It is the first part of a high capacity water production and supply system designed to meet spiraling water needs in Ukhiya sub district, which suffers frequent water shortages.
UN Migration Agency Launches Regional Action Plan to Strengthen Response to Venezuelan Outflows
IOM, the UN Migration Agency, today (10/04) launches a Regional Action Plan, detailing its support to Governments hosting Venezuelan nationals in the Americas and the Caribbean. The Action Plan aims at strengthening the regional response to large-scale flows of Venezuelans, supporting the efforts that governments have initiated across the region.
For Many Migrants, No Land Is Sweeter Than Home
Most migrants to Europe, Australia and the United States from Rangpur in northern Bangladesh leave home at a young age and return when they have just passed middle age.
Micro Gardening Scheme to Help Feed Rohingya Refugees, Bangladeshi Local Communities
IOM, the UN Migration Agency, and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) are distributing 50,000 vegetable gardening kits to tackle malnutrition and improve the diet of people affected by the Rohingya refugee crisis in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh.
“International Solidarity” at Yemen Donor Conference
The international community has pledged over two billion dollars towards urgently needed humanitarian assistance to Yemen during a UN event.
India Cracks Down on Human Trafficking
The Indian Union Cabinet has cleared the long-awaited Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill, which proposes an imprisonment of 10 years to life term for those trafficking humans for the purpose of begging, marriage, prostitution or labour, among others. The bill will become a law once cleared by both houses of Parliament.
The Smart Way
Smart has come a long way since he first arrived at IOM’s transit centre in Niamey, Niger, back in October 2016. He looked tired and defeated, but happy to be alive and eager to be with his family again.
Yemen the World’s Worst Humanitarian Crisis, Says UN Chief
Thank you all for being here today to show your solidarity with the women, men, girls and boys of Yemen. And I want to thank my co-chairs, the Governments of Sweden and Switzerland, for hosting this conference for the second year and for their continued humanitarian commitment.
I Am a Migrant: Integrating Through Syrian ‘Hummus’
Khaled left Syria in 2015, when his country was already in its fourth year of war. He is 27 years old and can clearly remember what his life was like then in Damascus: a happy life, with a happy family, in a happy country.
Senegalese Returnees from Libya, Niger Face Uncertain Future
Bouba Diop looks in delight at his uncle’s newly refurbished food canteen in the poor township of Keur Massar on the outskirts of the Senegalese capital Dakar.
UNODC, IOM Launch New Initiative to Counter Migrant Smuggling
(UN Information Service) — Two United Nations agencies are joining forces to combat migrant smuggling. Today (28/03) at the UN in Vienna, IOM, the United Nations Migration Agency, and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) organized an event centring on a Joint Platform on Countering Migrant Smuggling.
Conflicts Force Up Global Hunger Levels
Largely driven by conflict, the number of hungry people has dramatically increased around the world, reversing decades of progress, according to a new report.
Humanitarian Partnerships with Civil Society: Ensuring Assistance matches Context
Over the past three years, Suma Sherma, a tireless health worker in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, has helped over 100 pregnant women and assisted some 40 births.
UN Migration Agency Appeals for USD 88.5 Million for Response to Ethiopian Crisis
IOM, the UN Migration Agency, has launched an appeal for USD 88,550,000 to help people in need of humanitarian assistance in Ethiopia. The appeal covers IOM’s activities under the humanitarian community and Government’s Ethiopia Humanitarian and Disaster Resilience Plan (HDRP), IOM’s assistance to Ethiopian migrant returnees from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and humanitarian support to refugees from neighbouring countries.Next Page »
Human migration is a matter of global concern. Flows of migrants and refugees influence and change the social, economic and political dynamics of their destinations -- and the places they have left behind. IPS covers crucial issues such as migrant and refugee rights, irregular or undocumented migration, human trafficking, remittances, displaced persons and forced labour. And the positive: in many cases migration creates a new dialogue among civilisations. Migrants themselves become the building blocks of bridges connecting different cultures.
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