UN Migration Agency, Government of Niger Welcome First Charter of Migrants from Libya

Following recent international discussions, the Government of Niger and IOM, the UN Migration Agency in Niger have begun the mass evacuation of the almost 4,000 migrants that have registered for voluntary return at the Embassy of Niger in Libya.

The acclaimed art installation UNPACKED: Refugee Baggage opened for one month at UNICEF House on 5 December.

UNPACKED showcases testimonies of refugees resettled in the US. These testimonies tell their struggles and triumphs using suitcases; a testament to their resilience and powerful journeys.

Lost in Lebanon Opens Global Migration Film Festival

The second edition of the Global Migration Film Festival opened yesterday (05/12) with the screening of Lost in Lebanon, at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, Switzerland.

IOM UN Migration Agency Launches 2018 World Migration Report

IOM, the UN Migration Agency, yesterday (30/11) launched its flagship publication, the World Migration Report 2018, during the 108th IOM Council, in Geneva.

Shattered Future: Sexual Violence and Child Exploitation in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo

I rent a tent for five dollars a week, and pay 30 as a monthly fee to access an artisanal mining camp of more than 900 miners. To get there takes a two-hour climb from the nearest trading centre. I sleep with about six male workers, each of whom pays about three dollars per session. Sometimes a miner pays for an entire overnight session for five dollars. I have four children that I left with my mother in the provincial capital, which is about three hours’ drive from this site. Every month I spend three weeks on top of this hill providing sex services within the camp, then for a week I go check on the children and bring money for their upkeep...

Violence Drives Further 1,800 Rohingya Refugees to Cross to Bangladesh as Pope Appeals for Tolerance

In just three months an estimated 624,251 Rohingya refugees have crossed into Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, fleeing violence and oppression in Myanmar’s Northern Rakhine State. Of these, over 1,800 have arrived in the past seven days. This brings the total population of Rohingya seeking safety in the district to over 836,000. 

New Study Concludes Europe’s Mediterranean Border Remains ‘World’s Deadliest’

IOM, the UN Migration Agency’s Global Migration Data Analysis Centre (GMDAC), today (24/11) released a new report reviewing the evidence of Four Decades of Cross-Mediterranean Undocumented Migration to Europe and concludes that Europe’s Mediterranean border is “by far the world’s deadliest.”

Young African Migrants Reroute their Dreams

When you are young, you dream big. Prospects abound and all seems be possible. In West Africa, dreams drive many young men and women out of their homes and away from their loved ones in search for better opportunities.

IOM Joins UN SG in Call to End Libya Migrant Slave Trade

IOM, the United Nations Migration agency, welcomes the remarks Monday of UN Secretary General António Guterres concerning recent news reports and video footage showing African migrants in Libya reportedly being sold as slaves. This statement, along with recent engagement by Libyan authorities to tackle criminality and curb the power of the smugglers, encourages IOM that progress will be made, indeed is increasing.

Belgian City of Mechelen Embraces Integration

Many of the suspects in European terrorist attacks have come from marginalized communities in Belgium. In the face of radicalization, the city of Mechelen has successfully embraced integration. Adrian Breda reports.

IOM Learns of ‘Slave Market’ Conditions Endangering Migrants in North Africa

Over the past weekend, IOM staff in Niger and Libya documented shocking events on North African migrant routes, which they have described as 'slave markets' tormenting hundreds of young African men bound for Libya.

Mediterranean Migrant Arrivals Reach 157,020 in 2017; Deaths Reach 2,966

IOM, the UN Migration Agency, reports that 157,020 migrants and refugees entered Europe by sea in 2017 through 12 November, with about 75 per cent arriving in Italy and the remainder divided between Greece, Cyprus and Spain. This compares with 341,215 arrivals across the region through the same period last year.

UN Migration Agency Warns of Trafficking, Labour Exploitation, Sexual Abuse of Rohingya Refugees

Human trafficking and exploitation are rife among Rohingya refugees who have fled Myanmar to seek safety in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, according to interviews and community focus groups conducted in the district’s makeshift settlements by IOM, the UN Migration Agency.

The Second Global Migration Film Festival Gets Underway

From Guyana in South America to Makati in the Philippines (and many other places in between) filmmakers from around the globe will soon showcase their skills as cinematographers at the Global Migration Film Festival. Organized by the UN Migration Agency, IOM and supported by UN Information Centers worldwide and with the financial support of DHL, the festival will take place in over 100 countries from 5 to 18 December 2017.

Hostile Terrain Slows Delivery of Lifesaving Aid to Rohingya Refugees

Since 25 August, an estimated 613,000 Rohingya refugees have arrived in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, fleeing violence in Myanmar. The total refugee population in the area is now over 826,000.

UN Migration Agency Relocates 698 Displaced Households from Unplanned Camp in CAR

This week IOM, the UN Migration Agency, completed the relocation of 698 internally displaced households from the impromptu camp that formed around MINUSCA’s (Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic) base following the 2016 attacks in Kaga Bandoro, Central African Republic (CAR). Over 20,000 people settled around the base after ex-Séléka members attacked the Evêché IDP camp, the Prefect’s office and the MINUSCA camp on 12 October 2016.

Big Hearts in a Small Village

Johora, 60, came to the IOM-supported community clinic in Kutupalong, Ukhiya sub-district, with Shajeda, her 20-year-old daughter-in-law, who is in her eighth month of pregnancy and expecting her first child.

Mediterranean Migrant Arrivals Reach 150,982 in 2017; Deaths Reach 2,839

IOM, the UN Migration Agency, reports that 150,982 migrants and refugees entered Europe by sea in 2017 through 1 November, with about 75 per cent arriving in Italy and the remainder divided between Greece, Cyprus and Spain. This compares with 335,158 arrivals across the region through the same period last year.

Four Die, Survivors in Critical Condition as Second Boat Carrying Rohingya Refugees Capsizes in Two Days

Around 2.00 am two nights ago (30/10), approximately 40 Rohingya refugees left Gorgondia, Myanmar, for Bangladesh on a small fishing boat. Early yesterday morning (31/10) around 8.00 am, the boat capsized off Baillakhali Sea Point in Jaliapalong Union, Ukhiya sub-district. It had just crossed the Bangladesh border and was trying to reach Shamlapur in Teknaf sub-district. They were 10 kilometres away from their destination.

Clean Water, Sanitation Vast Challenges as Bangladesh Copes with 607,000 New Refugees

Since 25 August, over 607,000 Rohingya refugees have crossed the border into Bangladesh from Myanmar. Although the number of new arrivals is now slowing, people continue to arrive in the makeshift settlements of Cox’s Bazar every day, bringing the total Rohingya population of the district to over 820,000.

Without Water

You could not see it in their faces and they could no longer physically feel it but Mohammed and Jameelah’s pain was consuming their minds - in the memories of what they had lost.