| Conditions questionable for the return of Rohingya refugees. This weekend, the U.N.’s Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Ursula Mueller, completed a six-day visit to Myanmar. Myanmar has approved several hundred Rohingya refugees for possible repatriation from Bangladesh. But, Mueller said, “From what I’ve seen and heard from people – no access to health services, concerns about protection, continued displacements – conditions are not conducive to return.” Mueller told Reuters that return of refugees must be dignified and voluntary. She said that the humanitarian crisis on both sides of the Bangladesh-Myanmar border has affected “the world’s largest group of stateless people.” | | |
| Syrians afraid to leave Douma after fighting intensifies. Over the past month, more than 130,000 Syrians have left Eastern Ghouta through evacuation deals between rebels and government forces. But nearly 150,000 people remain in Douma, where OCHA says the situation is “severe ” and food is in “short supply.” Since Friday, attacks on Douma have intensified, with “scores” of people reportedly killed. One medical worker told the Washington Post: “Everyone is too scared to go out.” On Sunday, dozens of people there apparently suffocated after a suspected chemical attack. The spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres said he was “particularly alarmed by allegations that chemical weapons have been used against civilian populations in Douma” but that the United Nations was “not in a position to verify these reports.” | | |
| Hungary’s anti-immigrant prime minister wins third term. Viktor Orbán has won a third consecutive term as Hungary’s Prime Minister. Orbán ran a campaign largely focused on the threat posed by migration. Under his leadership, Hungary has built a fence along the southern border to keep out foreigners. Likeminded politicians elsewhere in Europe, notably in neighbouring Austria and in the German state of Bavaria, have endorsed Orbán’s approach on migration, according to The Guardian. | | |
| Caravan members stage demonstration in Mexico City. Hundreds of Central Americans travelling together in Mexico made their final stop in Mexico City. The so-called caravan had drawn international attention, with U.S. President Donald Trump saying he would deploy the National Guard to the U.S.-Mexico border to enhance security, the AP reports. Many of the caravan members said they had fled deadly gang violence in the north of Central America and planned to seek asylum in Mexico or the United States. Mexico’s Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a statement noting that “migrants are not criminals, but rather vulnerable human beings who have an authentic right to personal and community development.” | | |
| During a visit to Africa’s Great Lakes region, UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi met with refugee entrepreneurs in Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The refugees run clothing businesses, sell produce from farming, and work in information technology. In this video, Emmanuel Hulem describes how he fled war in the Central African Republic at the age of 14, received support with his education in the DRC, and is now an award-winning information technology specialist. “When I received my high school diploma, I said to myself, ‘I have made it, nevertheless, and now I must continue.’” | | |
| Over the last 12 months, more than 1.5 million people have been displaced in northern and southern Syria. | | |
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