Caravan of Central Americans reaches Mexico City. A so-called caravan of some 4,700 refugees and migrants from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador reached Mexico City on Wednesday after 26 days on the road. City officials told AP that as many as 1,000 more may arrive at the Jesus Martinez stadium, where they are being sheltered, as lagging members of the caravan trail in. Two smaller groups totalling about 3,000 people are heading north through southern Mexico. Large plastic tents have been set up in the stadium to accommodate the exhausted men, women and children, many of whom are suffering from blisters, sunburn and dehydration. UNHCR and its NGO partners are working to identify and advise people considering applying for asylum in Mexico rather than continuing the long trek to the US border. The Mexican government has so far registered more than 3,264 asylum requests. UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner Volker Türk told CBC News that many of those in the caravan are “ fleeing for their lives”. He called for “the voice of reason”, pointing out that Peru has been receiving about 4,000 asylum-seekers and migrants from Venezuela per day. | | |
| Italian Senate approves decree limiting humanitarian protection. Italy’s coalition government has won a confidence vote in the Senate over proposed legislation that would limit the criteria for granting humanitarian protection and suspend asylum requests from those considered “socially dangerous” or convicted of crimes. If the lower house of parliament approves the decree by the end of the November and the bill becomes law, only victims of domestic violence, trafficking, work exploitation and natural disasters or those needing urgent medical care will be eligible for humanitarian protection – a national form of protection that was awarded to 25 per cent of asylum applicants in 2017. Asylum-seekers would also be housed in larger reception centres for up to six months instead of being sent to small shelters in different parts of the country to foster integration. Ahead of yesterday’s vote, UNHCR said that if approved in its current form, the decree could negatively impact asylum-seekers’ and refugees’ access to protection and rights in Italy. | | |
| Trudeau apologizes for Canada turning away Jewish refugees in 1939. Canadaian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau formally apologized on Wednesday for his country’s 1939 decision to turn away a ship carrying more than 900 Jewish refugees trying to flee Nazi Germany. The United States also refused to allow the ship to dock, as did Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Panama. The boat eventually returned to Europe, where some 254 of its passengers were later captured and killed in Nazi death camps. “We refused to help them when we could have,” said Trudeau in an address to Parliament. He promised that his government would do more to fight anti-Semitism and xenophobia. | | |
| Pakistan and Afghanistan agree to follow timeline for refugee returns. At a meeting of the Refugee Working Group in Islamabad on Wednesday, the two countries agreed to follow a “decided timeline” for repatriating Afghan refugees. Although the timeline has not been made public, Dawn reports that Pakistan’s government wants those with Afghan citizen cards to be repatriated by December 2018 , while some 1.4 million registered refugees are expected to return to their country by June 2019, when their proof of registration cards expire. According to a statement by Pakistan’s foreign ministry, the two sides discussed ways to enhance mutual cooperation for “a dignified, gradual, time-bound and complete return of Afghan nationals to their country”. | | |
| Manchester mayor criticizes “mounting chaos” in UK’s asylum dispersal system. Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, has threatened to stop housing new asylum-seekers in the city. He said his region was supporting “disproportionate” numbers of people compared with elsewhere in the country. Earlier this year, 14 leaders of councils across northern England criticized the UK’s asylum dispersal system, which places asylum-seekers mainly in low-income communities where cheaper housing is available. Several council leaders have threatened to pull out of the “voluntary” system and are pushing for a “fairer distribution” of asylum-seekers around the country, reports the Guardian. | | |
| Two former refugees make history in US midterm elections. Several media outlets profiled Ilhan Omar, the 36-year-old former Somali refugee from Minnesota elected to Congress on Tuesday, and Safiya Wazir, 27, the former Afghan refugee who was elected to New Hampshire’s state house. Omar’s historic win has reportedly also stirred debate in Kenya, where she spent several years of her childhood at Dadaab refugee camp before being resettled to the United States. Many Kenyans celebrated her achievement, while others urged the Kenyan government to do more to ensure refugees living there can progress and have opportunities. | | |
| Mexicans have been helping the caravans of refugees and migrants passing through their country however they can, as shown in this short video by Amnesty International. Many have donated food and clothing, while others are volunteering at distribution centres and shelters. | | |
The caravan of refugees and migrants now in Mexico City covered a distance of roughly 1,600 kilometres from San Pedro Sula, Honduras, on foot and by catching rides with cars and trucks.
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