Armed Conflicts

Despite its History and Reputation, Finland Has to Guard Press Freedom

By Jan Lundius
The year 2015 was a sad one for journalists around the world, with approximately 60 journalists killed, more than 200 imprisoned and more than 400 exiled.

Loneliness and Memories, Syrian Refugees Struggle in Safe Spaces

By Silvia Boarini
Emelline Mahmoud Ilyas is an outgoing 35-year-old mother of three from Syria. Sitting in a community centre in Zarqa, Jordan, where she just held a meeting with Jordanian and Syrian parents on the subject of childcare, she remembers the 'journey of death' that led her family to the Hashemite Kingdom.

Syrian Government to Allow Aid, Loosening the Stranglehold on Madaya

By Katherine Mackenzie
The Syrian government says it will allow humanitarian aid into the besieged rebel-held town of Madaya, according to the United Nations, following reports and horrific pictures of residents starving to death. Aid is expected to reach the area by Monday, but for some it is too little and too late.

… And All of a Sudden Syria!

By Baher Kamal
The “big five” – i.e., the most military powerful states on earth (US, UK, France, Russia and China) have just agreed that it would be about time to end the Syrian five-year long human tragedy.

CPJ: Two Thirds of 2015 Journalist Deaths were Acts of Reprisal

By Katherine Mackenzie
Of the 69 journalists who died on the job in 2015, 40 per cent were killed by Islamic militant groups like Al-Qaeda and Islamic State. Startlingly more than two-thirds were targeted for murder, according to a special report by the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Syria ­- A Light to the World

By Mairead Maguire
In November 2015 I visited Syria together with an International Peace delegation. This was my third visit to Syria in the last three years. As on previous occasions I was moved by the spirit of resilience and courage of the people of Syria.

Displacement Climbs, No Respite Near in 2016

By Katherine Mackenzie
Nearly a million people have crossed the Mediterranean as refugees and migrants so far this year, and conflicts in Syria and elsewhere continue to push up levels of human suffering. This makes 2015 likely to exceed all previous years of forced displacement, according to a new United Nations High Commission for Refugees report.

SYRIA: Give Peace a Chance

By Emirates News Agency (WAM)
(WAM) - The Gulf Today, a United Arab Emirates (UAE) newspaper has said that years of strife and with millions of its people scattered across the globe, peace is what Syrians yearn for. The country is in ruins and the spreading of radicalism poses major security challenges regionally and globally.

UN Discovery of Secret Detention Centre Revives Nightmares

By Amantha Perera
Details of a secret detention center, where serious human rights abuses took place, deep inside the sprawling Tricomalee Naval base in the east of Sri Lanka are slowly emerging.

UN Seeks Hefty 20 Billion Dollars for Humanitarian Needs in 2016

By Thalif Deen
The world’s refugee crisis – triggered mostly by conflicts and persecutions – will continue to be one of the biggest problems facing the United Nations next year.

Alaa Arsheed: A Refugee’s Sweet Sound of Success

By Francesco Farnè and Valentina Gasbarri
“In Beirut I was like a bird in a cage, I felt like a prisoner. Today, I have the chance to let my dreams come true, make a living with my music, realizing my dad’s project: open a new Alpha – my family’s cultural center, destroyed during the war- to share Syrian culture and help my people in Europe,” Alaa Arsheed, a Syrian refugee, told IPS.

Human Rights in Turkey: Is Turkish Press Freedom in Danger?

By Lorena Di Carlo
The last week of November marked another phase of an ongoing shift in the Turkish Government´s approach to human rights issues – Two important events highlighted the ongoing attack freedom of press is suffering in Turkey. First two prominent Turkish journalists were arrested after publishing a story claiming that members of the state intelligence agency had provided weapons to Syrian rebels; second, lawyer and leading human rights defender and Tahir Elçi, President of the Diyarbakir Bar Association in south eastern Turkey, was killed in crossfire while making a press statement on Saturday 28th of November.

Cancer, Not Clashes, the Number One Killer in Kashmir

By Umar Shah
In an isolated ward of one of Kashmir’s largest government-run hospitals, 54-year-old Ashraf Ali Khan is finding it hard to sleep properly. His 15-year-old son, Asif, is sitting on a bench near the bed staring at his ailing father.

Syrian Refugees, Fleeing Civil War, Reduced to Extreme Poverty, Says New Study

By Thalif Deen
When German Chancellor Angela Merkel defended her immigration policies early this week -- and announced plans to absorb about one million refugees, mostly from Syria -- she was apparently greeted with a nine-minute standing ovation by members of her Christian Democratic Union.

Analysis: Kurdish-Led Peace Conference Is Best Hope for Syria

By Joris Leverink
While the war in Syria continues to draw in more outside forces, the work towards finding a political solution to this five-year old conflict carries on. In the past week, no less than three separate conferences were organized by different clusters of opposition groups. Conferences were held in three places: Damascus, Dêrîk – a city in the Kurdish-controlled northern part of Syria – and Riyadh, the Saudi capital, respectively.

Afghan Refugees’ Right To Stay in Pakistan May Expire

By Ashfaq Yusufzai
“We aren’t happy here but cannot go back to our country because the situation there was extremely bad,” Ghareeb Gul, Afghan refugees told IPS.

Silence, Please! A New Middle East Is in the Making

By Baher Kamal
When, in June 2006, former US National Security adviser and, later on, Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, spelled out the George W. Bush administration new, magic doctrine for the Middle East, tons of ink was poured and millions of words said in a harsh attempt to speculate with what she really did mean by what she called “Creative Chaos.”

Ethiopia: The Biggest African Refugee Camp No One Talks About

By James Jeffrey
On a sunny November day in Addis Ababa the courtyard of the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) centre is packed with people—some attend a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reception clinic, others get essential supplies, while students attend classes, and many simply play volleyball, table football or dominoes to pass the time.

Women Suffer Psychological Problems After Living Under Taliban

By Ashfaq Yusufzai
“My two sons were killed by Taliban militants mercilessly three years ago. My husband died a natural death two year back. Now, I am begging to raise my two grandsons,” Gul Pari, 50, told IPS.

Paris, the Refugees and Europe

By Roberto Savio
The focus on terrorism is obscuring the issues of refugees, and it is important to consider its impact on Europe, after the shock of Paris.

OPINION: Refugee Crisis – Diverting Funds From Civil Society is a Bad Idea

By Teldah Mawarire
Europe is in the throes of a refugee crisis and it’s not difficult to see that it does not quite know how to respond to it. By mid-October more than 600,000 people had reached Europe by sea.
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