Political prisoners should be among first released in pandemic response, says UN rights chief

The decision by many Governments to release prisoners to slow the transmission of new coronavirus, was welcomed on Friday by the UN’s top rights official, Michelle Bachelet.

UN News – Human Rights
April 03, 2020 at 08:23AM
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UN News – Migrants and Refugees

Mali in transition: UN peacekeeping chief takes stock of political and security developments January 22, 2021

Against the backdrop of a rapidly deteriorating security situation in Mali and the wider Sahel region, the UN peacekeeping chief concluded a visit to the restive northwest African nation on Thursday.

Sudan: 250 killed, over 100,000 displaced as violence surges in Darfur January 22, 2021

A sharp uptick in intercommunal violence in Sudan’s Darfur region has forced more than 100,000 people to flee their homes in search of safety, including many into neighbouring Chad, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) reported on Friday.

UN welcomes Biden administration commitment to refugee protection January 20, 2021

The UN Secretary-General on Wednesday welcomed the “positive steps” announced by the new US administration towards migrants and refugees, while the head of UN refugee agency (UNHCR) congratulated the new President and Vice President on taking office, pledging to work with them to strengthen global support for refugees.

UN calls for resumption of Mediterranean rescues, after 43 die in Libya shipwreck January 20, 2021

Following another deadly shipwreck off the coast of Libya that claimed 43 lives on Monday, the UN migration and refugee agencies have called for countries to re-activate search and rescue operations.

‘Swift action’ needed in Tigray to save thousands at risk, UNHCR warns January 19, 2021

Two months after conflict forced humanitarian workers to withdraw from the Tigray region of Ethiopia, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), on Tuesday, stressed the need for “swift action” to restore safe access to “save thousands of lives at risk”.

First Person: Cheese proves key to survival for Syrian refugee family amid pandemic January 16, 2021

Syrian refugee Fatima Hussein Al Ahmad, a mother of four, lives on a farm with 50 other workers in Sahba, Jordan. COVID-19 travel restrictions meant that didn’t work for two months in 2020, and feeding her family became a daily struggle.

Pandemic curbs trend towards ever-increasing migration January 15, 2021

Travel restrictions and other curbs to movement put in place in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic, have put a significant dent in migration figures, but the overall trend shows 100 million more people living outside their countries of origin in 2020, compared to the year 2000, a new UN report revealed on Friday.

Central African Republic: Displacement reaches 120,000, as another deadly attack leaves one UN peacekeeper dead January 15, 2021

“Worsening” election violence in the Central African Republic (CAR) has forced 120,000 people from their homes, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Friday, as the UN Secretary-General also condemned another attack by combatants on a UN convoy, which left a peacekeeper from Burundi dead, and two others wounded.

UN steps up support for thousands left homeless after fire at Rohingya refugee camp January 15, 2021

UN agencies have stepped up efforts to help thousands of Rohingya refugees left without shelter after a devastating fire tore through a crowded refugee camp in south-eastern Bangladesh on Thursday.

Ethiopia: Safe access and swift action needed for refugees in Tigray January 14, 2021

The head of the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) on Wednesday expressed his deep concern over the humanitarian situation in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, including its impact on Eritrean refugees hosted there.

UN refugee agency calls for ‘new chapter for refugee protection’ across Europe January 12, 2021

As Portugal assumes the presidency of the European Union (EU), to be followed by Slovenia later this year, the UN refugee Agency (UNHCR) on Tuesday called on them to lead the effort to forge a better protection system for those seeking refuge across the continent and beyond.

Central African Republic: Post-election violence triggers mass displacement January 8, 2021

Amidst post-election violence in the Central African Republic (CAR), more than 200,000 people have fled for their own safety, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Friday.

FROM THE FIELD: The genocide survivor helping others avoid starvation January 7, 2021

During the 1994 Genocide Against The Tutsi In Rwanda, Liberee Kayumba avoided starvation thanks to emergency rations from the World Food Programme (WFP). Today, she is helping to ensure that Burundian refugees in the country have enough to eat.

UNHCR relocates victims of Ethiopia’s Tigray conflict to new site in Sudan January 5, 2021

A second refugee camp has opened in Sudan for people fleeing violence in Ethiopia’s Tigray region carrying “little more than the clothes on their backs”, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), said on Tuesday.

The virus that shut down the world: The plight of refugees and migrants December 29, 2020

In part four of our review of the global impact of COVID-19, UN News considers the new challenges faced by refugees and migrants during 2020; from a heightened risk of catching the COVID-19 virus in crowded camps, to being stranded due to travel restrictions, and becoming the targets of criminal gangs.

25,000 refugees in unsettled Tigray region receive urgent UN food supplies December 28, 2020

Some 25,000 Eritrean refugees, sheltering in two camps in the unsettled Tigray region of Ethiopia, have received desperately needed food aid for the first time since mid-October.

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Migrant lives at ‘immediate risk’, warn UN agencies December 28, 2020

United Nations agencies and humanitarian partners have called on authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina to act urgently to help hundreds of migrants, stranded and without shelter, amid freezing winter temperatures.

Chad: New law safeguards 480,000 refugees December 24, 2020

The UN refugee agency commended Chad on Friday for adopting its first-ever asylum law, which will enhance the protection of the nearly 480,000 refugees it is hosting by providing key elements for their socio-economic inclusion.

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Thousands of migrants lose shelter, after camp destroyed in fire December 24, 2020

The closure and subsequent fire, on Wednesday, at a migrant camp in Bosnia and Herzegovina has left thousands of migrants without shelter and protection, amid plummeting winter temperatures, the UN International Organization for Migration (IOM) has reported.

Malian refugees return to Burkina Faso camp nine months after violent attacks December 21, 2020

Scores of Malian refugees in Burkina Faso have returned to a camp in the northeast of the country nine months after armed attacks and threats forced them to flee to a neighbouring town, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Monday.