A Self-Made Disaster

As the rain clouds are slow in offering relief, vast numbers of people in the country continue to experience disruptions in normal life due to the fog and smog. It is doubtful if the federal and provincial governments have fully comprehended the causes and consequences of the phenomena for which nature alone cannot be blamed.

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.

Geneva Centre for Human Rights Advancement calls on Arab and Western societies to stand united against violent extremism

The Chairman of the Geneva Centre for Human Rights Advancement and Global Dialogue, Dr. Hanif Al Qassim, has deplored the rise of xenophobia, bigotry and marginalisation targeting refugees, migrants and internally displaced persons that is taking effect in many regions of the world.

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.

International Red Cross Commends UAE’s Humanitarian Work in Yemen

The UAE’s soft power policy is a great profile that contributes to the positive reputation boasted by the UAE outside this region, the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross, ICRC, has said.

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.

Ambassador Jazairy: “Myanmar’s Rohingyas are denied the right to have rights”

The Executive Director of the Geneva Centre for Human Rights Advancement and Global Dialogue (hereinafter “The Geneva Centre”) Ambassador Idriss Jazairy emphasized - during a lecture on 10 November at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies - that the denial of equal citizenship rights to the Rohingya population is breeding radicalization and inter-communal violence in Myanmar.

Yolanda (Haiyan): Remembrance, Reflection and Responsibility

In the arcane world of natural disasters, names matter a great deal—not only because of history and science, but because people need them in order to remember or mourn what and whom they have lost.

Soviet Revolution’s Impact

The 100th anniversary of the October Revolution fell on Tuesday (according to the Gregorian calendar) and was duly observed. The several meetings organised in Karachi and Lahore in this connection caused quite a flutter in many hearts, especially those belonging to older people.

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.

GCAA welcomes women aviators from South America in ‘Women in Aviation’ programme

As part of a programme to advance the role of women in the aviation sector, both in the UAE and around the world, the General Civil Aviation Authority, GCAA, welcomed its third group of women from Latin American to take part in the ‘Women in Aviation Chapter.’

UN Statement on Rohingyas

The UN Security Council has once again dropped plans, in the face of likely Chinese veto, to adopt a resolution demanding an end to the violence against the Rohingyas. What we have instead is a formal statement calling upon Myanmar to ensure no further excessive use of military force in Rakhine State, to restore civilian administration and apply the rule of law, and to take immediate steps in accordance with their obligations and commitments to respect human rights. This relieves the mounting pressure on the Myanmar government. But where does this leave the Rohingyas? According to the UN, more than 600,000 Rohingyas have been driven out of their homes, and who must be taken back, as the world body has also stated. And conducive conditions must be created for them to go back.