Global compact on migration adopted in Marrakesh. Government representatives from more than 150 states today adopted the global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration at the start of a two-day intergovernmental conference in the Moroccan city of Marrakesh. The compact is the culmination of 18 months of negotiations between UN Member States, civil society, private and public sectors and migrants. In July, all 193 Member States agreed on a final draft of the non-binding agreement, but several States have since backed out of the accord. “This is not a global compact #ForMigration, but for safe, orderly and regular migration,” tweeted UN Special Representative for International Migration Louise Arbour on the eve of the conference. “This is an effort to do better together, to look at the decades ahead of us, and collaborate on the wide range of issues pertaining to international migration.” The global compact on refugees, which has been developed through a separate but parallel process led by UNHCR, is expected to be adopted by the UN General Assembly on 17 December. | | |
| Australia accused of subjecting refugees to torture in class action cases. Two class actions launched today allege that the Australian government has subjected asylum-seekers and refugees to torture, crimes against humanity and intentional infliction of harm in operating its offshore processing system. The two cases have been filed in Australia’s high court by lawyers with the National Justice Project on behalf of about 1,200 refugees and asylum-seekers who remain on the islands of Manus and Nauru. Both groups are seeking injunctions to stop the government’s alleged breaches of duty of care. Crossbench MPs were unable to push through legislation before parliament ended on Thursday that would have allowed critically ill refugees and asylum-seekers to be brought to Australia for treatment. | | |
| City leaders pledge to support inclusion of refugees and migrants. Officials from 80 cities met in the Moroccan city of Marrakesh on Saturday to discuss how to meet the needs of refugees and migrants. They adopted a declaration pledging to help shape a more positive narrative on people on the move and expressing support for both the global compact on refugees and the global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration. The declaration also recognized the role of local authorities as first responders to large-scale refugee situations and importance of delivering services that benefit both refugees and local residents. | | |
| Italian priests vow to open church doors to evicted asylum-seekers. The Guardian reports that Italian priests have declared their willingness to “open the church doors of every single parish” to people expelled from reception centres under new restrictive immigration legislation scrapping humanitarian protection for asylum-seekers not eligible for international protection. The bishop of Caltagirone said he was prepared to provide beds in facilities owned by the church to 50 people facing expulsion from a reception centre in Mineo, Sicily. He said other bishops were prepared to do the same. “It’s not a question of politics. It’s a matter of protecting individuals,” he said. | | |
| Refugee children in Austrian schools straddle different worlds. AP reports on the challenges Austria’s school system is facing as it seeks to absorb the 10,000 school-age asylum-seekers who arrived during 2015 and 2016. Under Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz’s government, new students struggling with German are taken out of regular classes and put into their own language-intensive programmes . Critics of the policy argue that separating students fuels discrimination, but proponents counter that integration can’t happen until students can communicate with one another. But the debate over how best to teach migrant and refugee children is not just about language, it is also about bridging the two worlds the children inhabit – one at school, and one at home. | | |
| Venezuelan families struggle for survival in Colombia. Photographer Glenna Gordon travelled to Colombia’s border with Venezuela where she met some of the Venezuelan families crossing in search of food and medical care. The scale of arrivals from Venezuela has strained the capacity of local authorities, hospitals and aid groups. Gordon met families living on the streets with their children. “Everyday is a struggle, not just for us but for the children,” said one woman who is homeless with four children. | | |
| Nineteen-year-old Maya Ghazal was one of the speakers at a TEDx event focused on women’s empowerment in Geneva on Thursday. In this excerpt from her speech, Ghazal describes the difference between refugees and other people – the loss of their homes – as a change of circumstances, not a reason to discriminate against them. | | |
International protections for refugees stem from the right to asylum and the right to a nationality, both enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was adopted 70 years ago today.
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