Citizens for Justice and Peace
UN criticises Cameroon’s forcing back of thousands of Nigerian refugees
21-Jan-2019
The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) said it was “extremely alarmed” by Cameroon’s forcing back of several thousand Nigerian refugees to northeast Nigeria, where civilians remain under threat from militant group Boko Haram, the Guardian reported. This incident followed a similar one on January 16, when 267 Nigerian refugees were forcibly returned, according to the…
EU policies contributing to “extreme abuse” of migrants in Libya
21-Jan-2019
According to a new Human Rights Watch (HRW) report, the European Union’s policies are contributing to “extreme abuse” of migrants in Libya, including extortion, forced labour, arbitrary detention, torture and sexual violence, the Guardian reported. HRW said that it has spoken to more than 100 detained asylum seekers and migrants, including eight children, as well…
A Ray of Hope for all Refugee Communities in India Teesta Setalvad in Conversation with Ubais Sainulabdeen
21-Dec-2018
In this conversation, human rights activist, Ubais Sainulabdeen who runs the Ubais Sainulabdeen Peace Foundation talks about his journey in the service for the refugee communities in India. His work for the rehabilitation of the displaced ranges from providing aid and support on a daily basis to leading the legal work for securing their rights bound…
Poverty and conflict spurring major increase in global migration: ILO
12-Dec-2018
Increasing poverty and conflict have spurred a 20% spike in the number of international migrants in a four-year period, according to a report from the United Nations’ International Labour Organization (ILO), the Guardian reported. The ILO report indicated that “the number of people who left their home country in search of work, to join family,…
35th Citizenship related Suicide in Assam! Death toll rises as state of hopelessness engulfs region
26-Nov-2018
The excruciating and soul-crushing process of updating the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the long standing ‘D’ Voter vis-a-vis Foreigners Tribunal has taken not less than 35 lives until now. After Samsul Hoque of village Bagariguri under the Barpeta district took the extreme decision to take his own life on November 14, 2018, two…
Three million people have fled Venezuela since 2015: UN
12-Nov-2018
The United Nations recently stated that around three million Venezuelans have fled “economic and political crisis” in the country since 2015, the Guardian reported. New data indicates that around one in 12 Venezuelans has left due to hyperinflation, shortages of medication and food, and violence. According to William Spindler, spokesperson for the UN refugee agency…
Nearly 6,000 doctors call for children to be moved from Nauru detention centre
22-Oct-2018
Nearly 6,000 Australian doctors have called on Australia’s government to move all children being held in the detention centre on Nauru due to “serious mental and physical health concerns,” the Guardian reported on October 15. Around 5% of all registered doctors in Australia had signed a letter being sent to Prime Minister Scott Morrison. The…
Venezuela refugee exodus approaching “crisis moment”: IOM
30-Aug-2018
The United Nations migration agency, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), has cautioned that the mass exodus of Venezuelans from their country is approaching a “crisis” point. Al Jazeera reported. IOM spokesperson Joel Millman said on Friday, August 24, “This is building to a crisis moment that we’ve seen in other parts of the world,…
Thousands of Rohingya children at risk of becoming a “lost generation”: UN
30-Aug-2018
According to the United Nations, Rohingya refugee children who do not have access to proper education in refugee camps in Bangladesh are at risk of becoming a “lost generation,” the Thomson Reuters Foundation reported. A recent report from UNICEF said that the “lives and futures of more than 380,000 children in refugee camps in Bangladesh…
30.6 million people were internally displaced in 2017
18-May-2018
According to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), in 2017, “there were 30.6 million new displacements associated with conflict and disasters across 143 countries and territories.” Conflict resulted in 11.8 million new internal displacements last year, while disasters resulted in 18.8 million internal displacements. Of the former, 7.9 million displacements were driven by armed conflict,…
UN announces new land ready to relocate Rohingya refugees ahead of monsoon
14-May-2018
The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) in Bangladesh issued a release on Tuesday, May 8, announcing the first new land ready for the relocation of Rohingya refugees to safer ground ahead of the monsoon. This was part of a joint initiative between the International Organization for Migration, the World Food Programme, and UNHCR, and involved several dozen…
US toughen border rules, separate children from parents
14-May-2018
US officials said on Monday, May 7, that the Trump Administration will step up criminal prosecution of parents who illegally enter the country, and put their children in protective custody, Reuters reported. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Thomas Homan, acting director of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said that this is not a new policy, and…
UN rights expert expresses concern over increased violence in Myanmar’s Kachin state
04-May-2018
Yanghee Lee, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, has “expressed grave concern” over an increase in violence in the country’s Kachin state, in which ten civilians have reportedly killed, and several others have been injured. Lee said she had received reports that Myanmar’s military had conducted aerial bombings…
Humanitarian groups unconvinced about Bangladesh’s plan to relocate Rohingya refugees to island
26-Apr-2018
Humanitarian groups are not convinced about Bangladesh’s plan to relocate 100,000 Rohingya refugees to a remote island in June, the Thomson Reuters Foundation reported. Bangladesh’s government has been working on the Bhasan Char island for four months, but has not given humanitarian agencies access. A briefing with aid groups took place on April 4, but it…
First Rohingya family returns: Myanmar
17-Apr-2018
Following a military crackdown that was launched in late August 2017, more than 600,000 Rohingya fled Myanmar for Bangladesh. Myanmar has been accused of conducting “ethnic cleansing” by the United Nations, but it has denied this. The country has announced that five members of one family reached a “repatriation camp” on Saturday, April 14, the…