US pledges billions in aid to Central America and Mexico. The United States on Tuesday pledged $5.8 billion in aid and investment to strengthen government and the economy in Central America, and another $4.8 billion in development aid for southern Mexico. The aid aims to address the poverty, violence and drug-trafficking driving thousands of people in the region to undertake the difficult journey north to the US. The plan was announced in a joint US-Mexican statement released by the State Department and follows the introduction by Mexico’s new president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, last week of a $30 billion initiative to invest in the region and welcome migrants to Mexico with visas, health care and employment. | | |
| Erasing the Rohingya. According to a Reuters investigation, areas of Myanmar’s Rakhine state where the Rohingya once lived are being dramatically transformed. Satellite imagery appears to show that hundreds of new houses and security facilities are being built in Rohingya villages that were burned and then cleared by bulldozers. According to Reuters, the houses are mainly being occupied by Buddhists, some from other parts of Rakhine. A Rohingya resettlement map drafted by the government suggests that many refugees who eventually return to Rakhine will not go back to their original homes or villages, but to several dozen Rohingya-only settlements. Yanghee Lee, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, said the actions of the authorities in Myanmar were making the Rohingya’s exile irreversible. | | |
| Yemen’s warring parties to convene by video on ceasefire deal. Representatives from Yemen’s warring parties are expected to convene by video link today to discuss the redeployment of all forces from Al-Hudaydah city and three ports under a ceasefire deal agreed in Sweden last week. It will be the first meeting of the Redeployment Coordination Committee overseeing the ceasefire and withdrawal of forces, said UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric. The truce began on Tuesday and the two sides now have 21 days to complete the redeployment of their forces. The UN Security Council is considering a resolution that would ask UN chief António Guterres to submit proposals by the end of the month on how to monitor the ceasefire and redeployment of forces. | | |
| More refugees admitted on non-humanitarian permits than through resettlement, study finds. Data released today shows that OECD countries have admitted more people from major refugee source countries on non-humanitarian permits than through resettlement schemes in the last eight years. A study by UNCHR and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OEDC) found that more than 560,000 people from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia and Eritrea entered OECD countries through family, work and study permits in an eight-year period compared to 350,400 from those five countries who arrived through resettlement schemes. Findings from the report will help inform a three-year strategy envisaged by the Global Compact on Refugees to expand resettlement and other legal pathways for refugees. | | |
| Germany considers controversial new immigration law. Germany’s new immigration law, expected to be agreed by Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cabinet today before being put before parliament, aims to attract foreign jobseekers to replenish the country’s ageing workforce. It would also allow asylum-seekers already in Germany and awaiting decisions on asylum applications to stay in the country if they are gainfully employed and can show they have joined the fabric of Germany society, reports AFP. The more conservative wing of Merkel’s CDU party has called for elements of the draft law to be watered down, but German industry and employment leaders warned that worker shortages pose a threat to businesses. | | |
| Spike in humanitarian needs predicted in 18 contexts next year. Non-profit humanitarian analysis provider ACAPS published its Global Risk Analysis report for January to September 2019 on Tuesday. It outlines 18 contexts where a significant deterioration is expected to occur within the next six to nine months, leading to a spike in humanitarian needs. An intensification of the conflict in anglophone regions of Cameroon resulting in increased displacement is rated as very likely, while more violence and displacement is also considered likely in Nigeria, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Afghanistan. Economic and political crises are likely to drive displacement and food insecurity in Nicaragua and Central America, according to the report. | | |
| As part of an initiative to relocate Venezuelans from border areas to Brazilian cities, authorities in São Paulo are helping new arrivals with shelter and finding jobs. São Paulo is part of a growing global network of cities that are opting to embrace refugees and the opportunities they bring. Mayors from cities around the world gathered in Geneva yesterday to discuss the role of cities in supporting displaced people. | | |
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