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

UN chief underlines need to protect refugees and migrants in COVID-19 pandemic June 3, 2020

The UN Secretary-General has expressed hope that the COVID-19 crisis will lead to a rethinking of how the world supports refugees, migrants and internally displaced people.

Coronavirus a challenge, and opportunity, to fix remittances system than funnels billions home from abroad June 2, 2020

Often the equivalent of several hundred dollars a month, remittances – the money that migrant workers send home to their families – have been adding up in a big way to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that will especially benefit families in developing countries, and keep tens of millions out of poverty.

UN agencies welcome donor pledges for Venezuelan refugees and migrants May 27, 2020

The UN refugee and migration agencies have welcomed $2.79 billion pledged by donors at a solidarity conference aimed at supporting Venezuelans who fled the protracted crisis in their country for host communities across the region.

Danger awaits migrant children returned to Mexico and Central America during pandemic May 21, 2020

Migrant children forcibly returned from the United States to Mexico and Central America are facing danger and discrimination aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

UN agencies join forces to protect forcibly displaced during pandemic May 21, 2020

To strengthen and advance public health services for millions of forcibly displaced people globally, two United Nations signed an agreement on Thursday to better protect some 70 million from COVID-19.

Building a cinematic bond with refugees, in a time of crisis May 19, 2020

A Brazilian filmmaker is hoping that the uncertainty brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic will generate more empathy and solidarity towards others, including refugees, an optimistic position also held by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in the South American country.

Millions of migrants across Russia, Central Asia, ‘teetering on the brink’, as UN launches urgent appeal May 15, 2020

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) launched an urgent $7 million appeal on Thursday, to ease the impact of COVID-19 on migrant communities in five Central Asian countries and the Russian Federation, where the pandemic is pushing a growing number of migrant workers into poverty.

Coronavirus lockdowns in Central America, exploited by criminal gangs May 15, 2020

Chronic violence, insecurity and now COVID-related restrictions have put tens of thousands of Central Americans at risk of increased hardship and even death, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Friday.

Support stepped up for Rohingya camps as first COVID-19 infections are confirmed May 15, 2020

After confirmation that the first cases of COVID-19 infection have been identified in a vast and overcrowded refugee camp in Bangladesh, UN humanitarians on Friday announced additional measures and appealed for funds to prevent the disease from spreading.

FROM THE FIELD: Venezuelan refugee counsellor hears ‘pain, anger and frustration’ May 15, 2020

A Venezuelan psychologist who moved to Peru as a refugee, has been telling the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, about the “pain, anger and frustration” that has been expressed by fellow displaced and local people he has counselled.

UN rights office concerned over migrant boat pushbacks in the Mediterranean May 8, 2020

Restrictions against humanitarians who rescue migrant boats in the central Mediterranean are putting lives at risk and must be lifted immediately, the UN human rights office said on Friday.

Migrants stranded ‘all over the world’ and at risk from coronavirus May 7, 2020

Thousands of migrants have been stranded “all over the world” where they face a heightened risk of COVID-19 infection, the head of UN migration agency, IOM, said on Thursday.

Amid COVID-19 pandemic, thousands stranded in Bay of Bengal ‘unable to come ashore' May 6, 2020

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic,United Nations agencies called on Wednesday for South-East Asian governments to show compassion to boats full of vulnerable people adrift in the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea.

Record child displacement figures due to conflict and violence in 2019: UNICEF May 5, 2020

A new UN report finds that some 19 million children were displaced within their own countries due to conflict and violence in 2019, more than in any other year, making them among the most vulnerable to the global spread of COVID-19.

‘Toxic lockdown culture’ of repressive coronavirus measures hits most vulnerable April 27, 2020

Disturbing details have emerged from dozens of countries that a “toxic lockdown culture” against the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted drastically on society’s most vulnerable members, the UN human rights Office (OHCHR) said on Monday. The development follows UN Secretary-General António Guterres’s call last week for States not to use the COVID crisis as a pretext […]

UN condemns killing of WHO staffer in Myanmar transporting COVID-19 samples April 21, 2020

A World Health Organization (WHO) worker has been killed while driving a vehicle carrying COVID-19 samples in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state, the United Nations country office confirmed in a statement on Tuesday.

Assistance ramped up to DR Congo’s South Kivu as floods kill dozens April 21, 2020

Aid is being rushed to eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) where deadly flooding has swept away people and homes and affected tens of thousands more, including many displaced by violence, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Tuesday

UN human rights office calls for compassion following Rohingya deaths at sea April 17, 2020

The UN human rights office (OHCHR), is calling for compassion for people desperately seeking shelter, after 30 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar died on a boat in the Bay of Bengal that had spent nearly two months at sea.

Migrants among most vulnerable, as IOM ramps up coronavirus response worldwide April 15, 2020

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has expanded the scope of its Global Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan (SPRP), to include far-reaching interventions that aim to mitigate the dire health and socio-economic impacts of the pandemic, the agency said on Wednesday.

‘Overwhelmed’ health systems have little room for sick refugees, migrants, UN agencies warn April 3, 2020

Four prominent United Nations system entities have called on countries to protect refugees, migrants, stateless persons and those forcibly displaced by disasters and conflict – some of the world’s most vulnerable populations – against the rapidly expanding COVID-19 pandemic.