Migration & Refugees

Ethnic Cleansing of Muslim Minority in Myanmar?

By Marwaan Macan-Markar
Reports of sectarian violence in western Myanmar have exposed the plight of 800,000 Muslim Rohingya, a persecuted minority that a regional human rights body described in 2006 as facing a "slow-burning genocide".
Nepal-climate

Nepal’s Female Farmers Fear Climate Change

By Naresh Newar
When Arati Chaudhary’s husband left for India to find work as a migrant labourer, the job of managing farm and family fell on her slender shoulders.
Navanethem Pillay. Credit: Courtesy of UNHCHR

Q&A: Battle for Human Rights in Rio Is “Far From Over”

By Rousbeh Legatis
Human rights should be explicitly recognised as an indispensable ingredient of sustainable development at the Rio+20 summit in Brazil, says Navanethem Pillay, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Sudanese Refugees Dying of Thirst

By Jared Ferrie
Sudanese refugees have started dying as a camp in South Sudan ran out of water four days ago after a massive influx of people fled across the border to escape war and hunger.

Asylum Seekers Protest in Silence

By Julio Godoy
Terrible images are filtering in from the German Bavarian city of Wuerzburg, where one woman and six men have sewn their mouths shut, threading fishing wire through their lips to symbolise a point of no return in their hunger strike.

Communal Violence Threatens Democratic Change in Myanmar

By Jim Lobe
The outbreak over the past week of communal violence between Buddhists and Muslims in Rakhine State seriously threatens the ongoing reform process in Myanmar, according to experts here.

Pakistanis Blame CIA for Fresh Polio Cases

By Ashfaq Yusufzai
Pakistan’s efforts to contain polio in areas bordering Afghanistan may have received a setback following the conviction of a doctor who allegedly ran a fake vaccine programme to locate Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.
Joan Clos. Credit: UN-Habitat

Q&A: “We All Have to Start Being City Changers”

By Rousbeh Legatis
Building the cities of the future requires not only smarter planning but a profound shift toward greater equity and social justice, says Joan Clos, executive director of the U.N. Human Settlements Programme, or UN-HABITAT.

At Home, Israelis Attack Africans

By Mya Guarnieri
It’s Saturday night in south Tel Aviv. Amine Zegata, a 36-year-old refugee from Eritrea is reopening the small bar he owns in the HaTikva neighbourhood. The pub was closed after Jewish Israelis smashed his windows and the bottles within during the race riots two weeks back. But Zegata has been assaulted twice since then. Violence against African refugees is continuing.

Young Asylum Seekers Arrive to ‘Nightmare’ Detention

By Neena Bhandari
When Hussain Akhlaqi (17) arrived on Australian shores 11 months ago from Indonesia, on a boat carrying over 100 other asylum seekers, he was immediately placed in the Christmas Island immigration detention centre. Ali Mohammadi (17) from Afghanistan, and Mujtaba Ahmadi (18) from Iran, also endured a risky journey by sea only to meet the same fate.

Refugees Crowd Behind Five-Star Checks

By Jillian Kestler-D'Amours
A group of Palestinian Jerusalemites steps down from a crowded bus to let two Israeli soldiers climb aboard to check identity cards, below the aluminum roof of this newly operational checkpoint terminal.

Urban Settlers Battle Evictions

By Catherine Wilson
Informal settlers on prime land in Papua New Guinea’s capital, Port Moresby, are now living under tarpaulin shelters amid the debris of their homes after two attempted evictions to make way for a luxury waterfront development. Undefeated, residents are now preparing a court case to challenge the legality of a lease issued to a commercial developer on land designated as a National Park.

Climate Change Drives Exodus to Jakarta

By Kafil Yamin
Another month of plying his ‘becak’ (trishaw) in the capital city and Sarjo will be coming back to this West Java district to harvest the rice ripening on his 1,400 sq m paddy.

Calls Mount for U.S. Intervention in Mali

By Carey L. Biron
The ambassador of Niger to the United States, Maman Sidikou, on Thursday called on the U.S. to step up military collaboration with African countries to support a potential intervention in Mali.

Singapore Still Hostile to Immigrants

By Kalinga Seneviratne
The crash of a million-dollar Ferrari driven at high speed by a wealthy Chinese expatriate in the early hours of a weekend morning earlier this month has reignited the stormy immigration debate here, highlighting many Singaporeans’ resentment towards foreigners living and working in this small island nation.  

Indonesian Immigrants Suffer in Silence

By Baradan Kuppusamy
Foreign workers, mostly from Indonesia, now make up just over 10 percent of Malaysia’s workforce of 14 million people, both in the formal and informal sectors, according to the latest government statistics.

Efforts to Build Caregiving Industry ‘Inadequate’

By Suvendrini Kakuchi
To meet the demands of a rapidly ageing population, Japan has loosened its notoriously strict immigration and nursing regulations to accept foreign caregivers. But new evidence indicates deep cracks in those piecemeal gestures.

TAJIKISTAN: Divorce Spurs Female Labour Migration

By Correspondents
Four years ago, Farida Hajimova's husband left Tajikistan to work in Russia. After a time, he stopped calling. Ultimately, he never returned. She was left at home in Dushanbe with two daughters and not a lot of options.

Targeting Right-Wing Extremism, Citizens Challenge Corporate Ties

By Matthew Charles Cardinale
A coalition of advocacy groups is targeting corporate support for the right-wing Heartland Institute after the organisation took out a controversial billboard in Chicago comparing people who believe in global warming to a serial killer and mass murderer.

Calls for Angola to Investigate Abuse of Congolese Migrants

By Louise Redvers
The Angolan government is being urged to carry out a thorough and independent investigation into allegations of sexual and physical abuse by its security forces against Congolese migrants.

Helping Victims of Post-Election Crisis Obtain Justice in Côte d’Ivoire

By Fulgence Zamblé
Thousands of people suffered rape, torture and other violence during the post- electoral crisis in Côte d'Ivoire beginning in December 2010. But many survivors of rights violations have been afraid to seek justice for fear of reprisals by the perpetrators. An initiative by the International Federation of Human Rights aims to support 75 such victims as they bring their cases to court.
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