Thursday, August 16, 2018
News and Views from the Global South
Migration & Refugees
Support of Influential World Leaders Not Enough to End Rohingya Crisis
Despite having the strong support of influential global leaders, Bangladesh has "missed" the opportunity to mobilise the world’s superpowers and place pressure on Myanmar to allow for the repatriation of the Rohingya refugees.
IOM Identifies 970,000 Displaced People in Ethiopia’s Gedeo, West Guji Since April
Clashes between communities on the border of Ethiopia's Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region (SNNPR) and Oromia regions have forced some 970,000 people to flee their homes since April 2018, most becoming displaced in June alone.
Immigration, Lot of Myths and Little Reality
According to the latest statistics, the total flow of immigrants that reached Europe so far in 2018 is 50.000 people, compared with 186,768 last year, 1,259,955 in 2016 and 1,327,825 in 2015. The difference between reality and perceptions is so astonishing, we are clearly witnessing one of the most brilliant manipulations in history.
Fate of Rohingya Refugees Discussed by IOM Chief and Bangladesh Prime Minister
Almost a million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh face a triple threat of extreme weather, funding shortfalls and uncertainty about their future, William Lacy Swing, head of the UN Migration Agency, IOM, said today.
The High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development Must Address Migration
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2030 Agenda) is a global framework of immense ambition and consequence. It is, as the UN Secretary-General has described it, a ‘blueprint for dignity, peace and prosperity for people and the planet’.
Ethiopian Migrant Returnees Get a New Lease on Life, Through Business Training and Reintegration Support
When 25-year-old Maru dropped out of school in the tenth grade he knew that he could not survive on loans from his relatives. He decided to leave Ethiopia in January 2017 to find work in South Africa, but he never made it there. He went through Kenya and Tanzania in transit, before being arrested and held in Malawi for eight months.
DG Swing Discusses Myanmar Crisis with Aung San Suu Kyi
IOM’s Director General William Lacy Swing said rebuilding community cohesion in Myanmar is key to resolving the crisis created by the flight of 700,000 refugees to Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh since last August.
Why Women Migrant Workers Are Compelled to Come Back
How severe was the exploitation of those women migrant workers you have interviewed?Everyone knows how restrictive the state of freedom—especially that of women—is in Saudi Arabia. So, you can only imagine how vulnerable a foreign worker could become in such a society. It was because of such vulnerability that countries like the Philippines and Indonesia stopped sending their women workers to the country. In fact, Bangladesh sought to cash in on the vacuum created by the absence of Filipino and Indonesian workers.
Kuwait Provides USD 10 Million to UN Migration Agency for Operations in Yemen
On Monday, 9 July, the State of Kuwait donated USD 10 million in support of the UN Migration Agency (IOM)’s humanitarian work in Yemen.
Europe Needs to Stop the Criminal Business Behind Immigration
Debating on migration as an emergency is a huge mistake and treating it as such opens the door for illegal and unfair activities, says a migration expert.
Migration and Sustainable Development Goals focus of 2018 High-level Political Forum
IOM, the UN Migration Agency, participates in the 2018 High-level Political Forum (HLPF), which is underway from 9-18 July, by co-organizing three events to address the migration related aspects of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the UN Headquarters in New York.
United Nations Compact Must End Child Detention
World leaders must commit to ending child migrant detention during United Nations negotiations next week, a human rights group said.
DG Swing Asks Libya Not to Send Rescued Migrants Back to Detention
William Lacy Swing, head of IOM, the UN Migration Agency, appealed to the Libyan authorities to stop detaining migrants after they have been intercepted by the Coast Guard after seeking to cross the Mediterranean. IOM also seeks to speed up the process of voluntary return of migrants to their countries of origin.
Planting Seeds for a Safer Future
More than one million Rohingya refugees escaped violence in Myanmar. They are living on the hilly terrains of Cox's Bazar where the land is steep and the soil is sandy. They are desperate for space to build shelters and they have used the plantation to care for their families. Now, the land they live on is bare, and the sandy slopes are extremely vulnerable to landslides during the monsoon and cyclone seasons.
IOM Chief Arrives in Libya to Advocate for Migrants’ Rights
BREAKING — Ambassador William Lacy Swing, IOM Director General, arrived in Tripoli this morning (04/07) to visit the survivors of the latest migration tragedy off Libya’s shores, and Libyan Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj.
Peace “Only Way Forward” For Yemen
Tackling the relentless conflict in Yemen has never been more urgent as it has pushed the Middle Eastern nation “deep into the abyss.” However, much can be learned from recent and ongoing initiatives.
UN Migration Agency Presents Recommendations to Incoming EU Council Presidency, Austria
IOM, the UN Migration Agency, has put forward three recommendations to the incoming Austrian Presidency of the Council of the European Union that are based on our view that better migration governance - national, regional and global – benefits the entire migration spectrum: migrants, their home countries and the countries of destination, and requires political courage, evidence-based vision, and a human-centred approach.
Separated Central American Families Suffer Abuse in the United States
After three hours of paperwork, Katy Rodriguez from El Salvador, who was deported from the United States, finally exited the government's immigration facilities together with her young son and embraced family members who were waiting outside.
Over 200 Migrants Drown in Three Days in Mediterranean — Death Toll for 2018 Passes 1,000
This weekend, some 204 migrants have died at sea off Libya, pushing the total number of migrant drownings in the entire Mediterranean so far this year to over 1,000 people.
António Manuel de Carvalho Ferreira Vitorino elected as new Director General of UN Migration Agency
On Friday 29 June 2018, the member states of the IOM, the United Nations Migration Agency, elected Portugal’s António Manuel de Carvalho Ferreira Vitorino as the International Organization for Migration’s next Director General.
Global migration and urban expansion: an interview with Ambassador William L. Swing
Migration is one of the major defining factors of our time.Today, one billion people – one out of seven people in the world – are migrants, including over 250 million people living outside their home country and an estimated 750 million domestic migrants.« Previous Page — 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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