Rohingya Repatriation: Many twists and turns but no solution in sight yet

There are over a million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, including the latest batch of 800,000 that came after August 25, 2017 and the 250,000 that arrived since the first exodus of mid-1990s. As Myanmar nationals, the Rohingya Muslims have historically faced ethnic and religious persecutions, culminating in 2017 in a fierce, protracted genocidal campaign by the Myanmar army against its own people. The military launched a violent crackdown leading to arbitrary killings of Rohingyas, including children and the elderly, gang rapes of women, inhuman torture, and razing of village after village that forced all those people to seek shelter in Bangladesh, unleashing a humanitarian crisis unprecedented in recent history.

Putting Water at the Heart of Sustainable Fashion

The Copenhagen Fashion Summit celebrated its tenth anniversary last week. The summit, which is often referred to as the Davos of fashion, is a key date in the fashion diary for those businesses with a pioneering vision to highlight issues and create solutions for a more sustainable industry.

Do We Need a Global Convention of Common Principles for Building Peace?

When the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) concluded a three-day forum on “Peace and Development” on May 16, the primary focus was the daunting challenges threatening global security, including growing military interventions, spreading humanitarian emergencies, forced migration, increasing civil wars, extreme weather conditions triggered by climate change and widespread poverty and conflict-related hunger.

Frontex Mandate Expanded

The European Union plans to deploy 10 000 armed border guards by 2027 to patrol its land and sea borders. The force will have the power to use armed force on the EU's external borders.

America First as a Threat to Mulitlateralism

On 25 April, Joseph Biden announced his candidacy for the US presidency, declaring that his decision was based on fears of Trump being re-elected:

Bangladesh rescues 23 Rohingya girls from traffickers

(Dawn) - Twenty-three teenage Rohingya girls were rescued after being brought from refugee camps to the capital Dhaka to be sent to Malaysia by air, Bangladesh police said on Sunday.

Internal Displacement “Deserves Visibility”

More people are displaced inside their own countries than ever before, and only higher figures can be expected without urgent long-term action, a new report found.

Tunisia boat capsize: Most of the victims Bangladeshi

(The Daily Star) - Around 60 migrants most of them from Bangladesh have died after their boat capsized in the Mediterranean Sea after it left Libya for Italy, the Tunisian Red Crescent said today.

We have Stolen His Land. Now We Must Steal His Limb

(Tricontinental) – When the late South African artist Tito Zungu wanted to depict the world of the migrant labourer, he settled on the envelope. It was by infrequent letters that the migrant would be able to be in touch with family – letters dictated to professional letter writers at one end, which would be read out by professional letter readers at the other. With pencil and coloured pens, Zungu drew airplanes and boats as well as transistor radios on these envelopes – images that showed how the migrants moved and how they sought some entertainment.

1m Rohingyas at severe health risk

(The Daily Star) - Some one million Rohingyas face serious health risks due to acute air and water pollution in the crammed camps of Cox’s Bazar, says a new study that assessed environmental conditions in one of the world’s largest refugee settlements.

West Africa’s Fine Line Between Cultural Norms and Child Trafficking

On a bus in Cotonou, Benin’s commercial capital, four Nigerian girls aged between 15 and 16 sit closely together as they are about to embark on the last part of their journey to Mali, where they are told that their new husbands, whom they never have met, await them.

Women, Peace and Security: Let’s Turn Words into Action

To be able to tackle a problem we must first recognize that it exists. When I first spoke at the United Nations Security Council in 2009, I was asked why the issue of sexual violence was even relevant to peace and security. At that time, it was not generally accepted that rape is in fact a weapon of war. Today, that statement is both widely accepted and central to the international community’s understanding of this crucial issue.

Are Migrant Workers Humans or Commodities?

The United Nations has estimated a hefty $466 billion as remittances from migrant workers worldwide in 2017—and perhaps even higher last year.

US & Western Arms in Yemen Conflict Signal Potential War Crime Charges

When US political leaders urged the Trump administration to either reduce or cut off arms supplies to Saudi Arabia – largely as a punishment for its indiscriminate bombings of civilians in the four-year old military conflict in Yemen—President Trump provided a predictable response: “If we don’t sell arms to Saudi Arabia, the Chinese and the Russians will.”

The Geneva Centre organized a panel debate-book presentation on Migration and Human Solidarity, benefitting from the presence of panellists with first-hand experience in the Mediterranean Sea

The current massive displacement of people worldwide has turned into a politicized crisis of solidarity, with closed border policies and the rise of xenophobic, populist trends. The blocking and harassment of search and rescue ships and of NGOs that legally attempt to pursue their activities compromises all efforts to save the lives of persons in distress in the Mediterranean Sea. States should respect the international legal framework in particular the maritime law and take responsibility for the lives of migrants and refugees.

Women in Ethiopia Still Struggle Despite Leadership in Government

Following 2018 elections in Ethiopia, a record-breaking number of women now hold leadership positions in the country's government. But women still struggle to rise up the ranks in other sectors.

Trump’s Veto Will Trigger More US Arms to Kill Civilians in Yemen

President Donald Trump’s decision to veto a bi-partisan Congressional resolution to end US military involvement in a devastating Saudi-led four-year conflict in Yemen-- is expected to escalate the ongoing war in the trouble-plagued region.

Debate and Book Presentation: Migration and Human Solidarity

On the occasion of the launch of its two-volume publication entitled The Unprecedented Rise of People on the Move in the 21st Century, the Geneva Centre will organize a panel discussion and book presentation. The discussion will expand on the themes of the publication, with a particular focus on migration and human solidarity, as well as on the recent developments in Western societies with regard to current migration flows. The panellists will discuss, inter alia, the increasing hostility towards migrants and refugees in European societies and the manipulation of this issue for political ends, the growing criminalisation of migration, the role of civil society in addressing the plight of people on the move, as well as the importance of multilateralism and international cooperation in the context of this crisis.

Will the genocide against Rohingyas continue?

According to UN investigators in late 2018 and early January 2019, genocide against the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar has hardly stopped . All objective reports indicate that the government is demonstrating by its inactions that it has no interest in preventing genocide and establishing a genuine democracy for all in Myanmar.

Education for All—Refugees Too

Young Rohingya refugees are now facing new hardships as the Bangladeshi government cracks down on their education and future opportunities.