An Urgent Need to Turn Down Rhetoric Against Migrants & Refugees

Migration has become a focus of debate in recent years. From United States President Donald Trump’s vehemently anti-migrant and anti-Muslim rhetoric to Denmark’s new ‘ghetto laws’, the language has become increasingly heated.

Finding Comfort at Home: Soran’s Journey

Soran left Kurdistan in 2015, in search of better opportunities for himself and his young family in Germany. Here is his account of the journey to Europe, and the decision to come back home.

Surges and Swarms: A Conversation on Responsible Coverage of Migration

Addressing xenophobia to ensure the human rights and the inclusion of all migrants remains a pressing concern in the global migration agenda. A report by the United Nations University Institute on Globalization, Culture and Mobility addresses xenophobia through a consideration of representations of migration and the role of the media.

Myanmar: Aung San Suu Kyi in shameful defence of Reuters journalists’ conviction

Responding to comments by Myanmar's State Counsellor, Aung San Suu Kyi, at the World Economic Forum in Hanoi today defending the conviction of Reuters journalists Wa Lone, and Kyaw Soe Oo, Minar Pimple, Amnesty International’s Senior Director of Global Operations, said:

Promoting Good Migration Governance through South-South Cooperation

Cooperation between developing countries — known to development actors as South-South Cooperation (SSC) — is experiencing a resurgence. Although the idea that developing countries could work together to improve their collective development outcomes has been around for some time, recent years have witnessed a noticeable growth in South-South activities, driven by the emergence of new innovations, expertise and best practices in developing countries and greater awareness of the potential benefits such cooperation offers.

IOM Resumes Voluntary Humanitarian Return Flights from Libya Following Tripoli Ceasefire

A flight to Ghana is the first return flight to leave Libya in the wake of this week’s ceasefire agreement ending hostilities in southern Tripoli and surrounding areas. The reopening of Tripoli’s Mitiga Airport permitted a commercial flight to leave the airport for Ghana, carrying 21 migrants, said IOM, the UN Migration Agency (10/09).

Mediterranean Migrant Arrivals Reach 73,696; Deaths Reach 1,565

IOM, the UN Migration Agency, reports that 73,696 migrants and refugees entered Europe by sea in 2018 through 9 September, with 32,022 to Spain, the leading destination this year. This compares with 128,993 arrivals across the region through the same period last year, and 298,663 through a similar point (13 September) in 2016.

International Law Experts Warn Europe’s ‘Pull Back’ of Migrants is Illegal – Part 2

“The Italian and other European authorities are engaging – on the migration issue – in a policy which has the foreseeable results of numerous deaths.” It is a grim warning from expert on international law, refugees and migration issues, and member of the Global Legal Action Network (GLAN), Itamar Mann.

Atrocities Against Rohingyas: Start probe now

UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide Adama Dieng has urged International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda to consider ICC's recommendation of opening an investigation into the atrocities against Rohingyas without delay.

‘All the Roads Leading to Agadez and Italy are Dangerous’

El Adama Diallo left his home in Senegal on Oct. 28, 2016, with dreams of reaching Europe in his heart and a steely determination that made him take an alternative, dangerous route to get there despite the absence of regular migration papers in his pocket.

Lost in Mauritania: A Group of Young Children Band Together for Safety on the Way Home

Mauritania is known for its Koranic schools, where students from the surrounding countries are sent to learn Islamic principles and teachings. Regrettably, upon arrival, some of these students are denied admission to the schools because of factors like language barrier, or age if they are too young. They then find themselves lost in a foreign country, away from their families.

Myanmar: ICC decision opens a clear avenue for justice for the Rohingya

Following the International Criminal Court (ICC)’s ruling on Thursday that it has jurisdiction over Myanmar’s deportation of the Rohingya population to Bangladesh, a crime against humanity, Biraj Patnaik, Amnesty International’s South Asia Director, said:

Migrants as Messengers Explain the Dangers of Irregular Migration

Migrants as Messengers is a peer-to-peer messaging campaign by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) where returning migrants share with their communities and families the dangers, trauma and abuse that many experienced while attempting irregular migration.

The Plight of Women & Young People in the Rohingya Refugee Crisis

August 25, 2018 marked one year since violence erupted in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, triggering the massive Rohingya exodus to neighbouring Bangladesh. As the crisis continues with no immediate end in sight, it is crucial to expand and sustain health and life skills services for Rohingya women, girls and youth to locate opportunities amid challenges.

Repression in Rakhine, and the principle of the ‘responsibility to protect’

In my previous avatar as a diplomat, like much of the rest of the world, I saw myself as an ardent advocate for change in Myanmar. It was in the grip of Generals who ran a horrendously repressive regime. In 2009, urging calm on those who wished to come down hard on the ruling junta, I had written in a publication: “The main challenge with Myanmar is to find the right balance between the carrot and the stick. The balance needs to tilt in favour of the carrot.” A decade down the line, circumstances require me to alter that thesis. Today, I would opt for the stick. And much of the rest of the world would agree.

Cursed or Blessed? Nigerian Victims Of Trafficking Can Finally Break The Oath

“When an acquaintance told me there might be work for me in Austria, I jumped at the opportunity. She told me how good Austria was so I figured I would just get there, find work and settle in. They told me the journey was easy so I decided to give it a go.”

UN Seeks Probe into Saudi Bombing of Civilian Targets

Saudi Arabia, which has been accused of relentlessly bombing civilian targets in strife-torn Yemen and threatening executions of human rights activists, is fast gaining notoriety as a political outcast at the United Nations.

Mediterranean Migrant Arrivals Reach 67,122 in 2018; Deaths Reach 1,549

IOM, the UN Migration Agency, reports that 67,122 migrants and refugees entered Europe by sea in 2018 through 26 August, with 27,994 to Spain, the leading destination this year. This compares with 123,205 (172,362 for the entire year) arrivals across the region through the same period last year, and 272,612 at this point in 2016.

A Journey From a Nepali Village to the Upper Ranks of UNICEF

Kul Gautam’s memoir is everything which one hopes for from a good biography. There are difficulties all along the way, obstacles and challenges overcome and a vision pursued with extraordinary persistence in spite of everything.  

Damning U.N. Report Outlines Crimes Against Rohingya As Children Suffer from Trauma One Year Later

At 12, Mohammed* is an orphan. He watched his parents being killed by Myanmar government soldiers a year ago. And he is one of an estimated half a million Rohingya children who have survived and been witness to what the United Nations has called genocide.

Rohingya Crisis: One Year On

One year into a crisis that has seen over 700,000 refugees escape violence in Myanmar by fleeing into Bangladesh, the Rohingya once more stand on the verge of another disaster if more funding for the humanitarian response cannot be secured.