Refugees

Faith Groups Reiterate Call for Abolition of Nuclear Weapons

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – Faith groups have called on the United Nations General Assembly to heed the voices of the survivors of atomic bombings 71 years ago (hibakusha) urging the abolition of nuclear weapons, and vote in favour of the resolution submitted by Austria, Brazil, Ireland, Mexico, Nigeria and South Africa.

Dr. Emily Welty, Vice Moderator of the World Council of Churches Commission on International Affairs, introduced the joint statement during the civil society presentations at the UN General Assembly First Committee on Disarmament and International Security on October 12.

: J Nastranis; UN INSIDER; 16 October 2016

IFAD Launches $110 Million Facility For Refugees

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) - An unprecedented 65 million people worldwide have been affected by the current global crisis of forced displacement, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). More than one-third of the displaced – or 22.2 million – are in the Near East and North Africa (NENA) region.

With this in view, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has announced the establishment of a new financing facility amounting to $110 million to assist refugees, displaced people and their host communities to address the increased pressure put on rural areas by the influx of millions of people.

: J Nastranis; UN INSIDER; 19 September 2016

Photo: Children from the Central African Republic in the 2014 photo at Primary School 1 in UNHCR Mole Refugee Camp, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Photo: UNHCR/Sebastian Rich

Millions of Refugee Children ‘Missing Out’ on Education

by Jaya Ramachandran

NEW YORK (IDN) - Refugee education is in crisis, the UN refugee agency has warned, stressing that more than some six million school-age children under mandate of the United Nations refugee agency have no school to go, and refugees are five times more likely to be out of school than the world average.

“This represents a crisis for millions of refugee children,” UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said in a news release issued by his Office (UNHCR).

“Refugee education is sorely neglected, when it is one of the few opportunities we have to transform and build the next generation so they can change the fortunes of the tens of millions of forcibly displaced people globally,” he added.

: Jaya Ramachandran; UN INSIDER; 17 September 2016

Photo: A young South Sudanese refugee tries to get a signal on his mobile phone in Nyumanzi refugee settlement, Adjumani, northern Uganda, in this 2014 file photo. Photo: UNHCR/Frederic Noy

Mobile Connectivity Critical Lifeline for Many Refugees

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) - A large number of refugees view access to a mobile phone and the Internet as being as critical to their safety and security as food, water and shelter, according to a new report based on research undertaken in 44 countries on four continents.

The finding come at a moment when wars and persecution have driven more people from their homes than at any time since the UN refugee agency UNHCR began keeping records. At end of 2015, 65.3 million people are displaced worldwide, of whom 21.3 million are refugees.

: J Nastranis; UN INSIDER; 17 September 2016

Photo: A young refugee and her family cross the border between South Sudan and Uganda. Photo: UNHCR/Will Swanson

UN Underfunded as South Sudanese Flee to Uganda

By Jamshed Baruah

GENEVA (IDN) - The UN Refugee Agency UNHCR has expressed great concern about the precarious security situation in South Sudan, where some 4,000 people are currently fleeing every day to neighbouring Uganda. 90 percent are women and children.

South Sudan’s conflict erupted in December 2013, and it has produced one of the world’s worst displacement situations with immense suffering. Some 1.69 million people are displaced inside the country, while 831,582 South Sudanese refugees are abroad, mainly in Ethiopia, Sudan and Uganda.

: Jamshed Baruah; UN INSIDER; 26 July 2016

Photo: Reclining Buddha and (left) the teacher (in white) with the student (in red). Credit: Kalinga Seneviratne

Famous Buddhist Temple Massages Its Way into Modern Healthcare Industry

By Kalinga Seneviratne*

This article is the seventh in a series of joint productions of Lotus News Features and IDN-InDepthNews, flagship of the International Press Syndicate.

BANGKOK (IDN | Lotus News Features) - Wat Po temple in Bangkok is better known for the huge reclining Buddha statue, which attracts millions of tourists each year. Some also quietly walk into the air-conditioned massage clinic inside the monastery premises to try out an “authentic” Thai massage wondering what has the temple and Buddhism got to do with massage.

What is today called Thai Massage is an ancient healing system combining acupressure and energy balancing techniques, based on Indian Ayurvedic medicine, and yoga postures. The founding father of Thai massage is an Indian born Ayurvedic doctor named Jivaka Kumar Bhacca, who lived during the time of the Buddha and is believed to have treated him as well. He is revered to this day throughout Thailand as the Father of Thai Medicine.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 10 June 2016

Photo: North African immigrants in Sicily. Credit: Vito Manzari from Martina Franca (TA), Italy CC BY 2.0

Working to Raise Awareness About Migration Through Art

By A.D. McKenzie

PARIS | LONDON (IDN) - Concerned by widespread public confusion and the lack of clear political action on migration, many non-governmental groups have been launching initiatives to raise awareness about the issue, and about the current situation of refugees in Europe.

One of these projects is an exhibition currently under way in London, titled Call me by my name: stories from Calais and beyond, which comes as countries prepare to observe World Refugee Day on June 20 and Refugee Week from June 20 to 26.

The exhibition features the inhabitants of the infamous Calais camp in France, which the show’s organisers say has become “a potent symbol of Europe’s migration crisis”. There, some 4,000 to 5,000 migrants have been living in squalid conditions as they try to reach Britain, although the French authorities this year set up shelters made from shipping containers to house about 1,500 people.

: A.D. McKenzie; THE WORLD; 10 June 2016

Photo: Syrian and Iraqi refugees arrive from Turkey to Skala Sykamias, Lesbos island, Greece. Spanish volunteers (life rescue team - with yellow-red clothes) from "Proactiva open arms" http://en.proactivaopenarms.org/ help the refugees. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

On the Front Lines for Humanitarian Action

Viewpoint by Rene Wadlow *

GENEVA (IDN) - The aim of the World Humanitarian Summit organized by the United Nations in the words of the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is to see what should be done “to end conflict, alleviate suffering and reduce risk and vulnerability”.

Turkey is on the front lines of the consequences of armed conflict with nearly three million refugees from Syria and Iraq as well as its own attacks against Kurds. Turkey has entered into agreements with the States of the European Union concerning the flow of refugees through Turkey to Europe − agreements that have raised controversy and concern from human rights organizations.

Given the policies of the Turkish government, some non-governmental organizations have refused to participate in protest. Doctors Without Borders − one of the best-known of the relief organizations − has pulled out. However, the Association of World Citizens will participate while working for a settlement of Kurdish issues at the same time.

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; UN INSIDER; 22 May 2016

Photo: Members of a family gather on the floor of their dilapidated apartment in downtown Amman, Jordan. Photo: UNHCR/B. Szandelszky

UN Chief Defends Refugees’ Right to Asylum, Urges ‘Greater Solidarity’

By J C Suresh

WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN) - “Refugees have a right to asylum – not bias and barbed wire,” United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon declared at the annual spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group here.

Taking up cudgels on their behalf, Ban emphasized that refugees bring new skills and dynamism into aging workforces, and are “famously devoted” to education and self-reliance. “When managed properly, accepting refugees is a win for everyone,” he said. “Demonizing them is not only morally wrong, it is factually wrong,” he added.

In an impassioned plea to resolve the biggest refugee and displacement crisis of our time, he reiterated a call to leaders across Europe and throughout the world to show greater solidarity as they strive to combat the deeper roots of conflict and continue to work towards securing human rights for all.