EU asylum claims fall for third consecutive year. The number of people seeking asylum in the European Union fell for a third straight year in 2018, data released on Wednesday showed. The EU’s asylum agency, EASO, reported some 635,000 asylum applications in 2018, a 10 per cent decrease compared to 2017. Syria remained the top country of origin for applicants, followed by Afghanistan and Iraq, but there was a significant increase in applications from Venezuelans, Colombians, Georgians and Palestinians. One in three applications were recognized, resulting in either refugee status or subsidiary protection, down from 40 per cent in 2017 and down from more than 50 per cent in 2015. At the end of 2018, some 448,000 applications were still awaiting a decision. | | |
| Syrian families flee last ISIL stronghold to dust and desperation. AFP reports from a dusty field a few kilometres outside Baghouz in northeast Syria which is serving as a screening and collection point for civilians who have fled ISIL’s last remaining enclave in recent days. No humanitarian organizations are present there, and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) has limited supplies of food and water to distribute among hundreds of displaced families, most of them women and children, who are waiting to be transported by cargo truck to Al-Hol camp, six hours north. Many of the children and infants show signs of malnutrition , reports the Washington Post, while some had gunshots wounds from being fired upon by snipers as they fled. | | |
| How the Rohingya crisis in Bangladesh is changing. As aid groups and authorities in Bangladesh prepare to launch a new funding appeal on Friday that will seek to raise US$920 million to help Rohingya refugees and local communities in southern Bangladesh, IRIN looks at how the response to the crisis is changing and some of the issues likely to shape aid delivery in the coming year. They include gaps in health services that have emerged, such as treatment for chronic diseases and mental health services, and the lack access to formal education for Rohingya children. The upcoming response is expected to place a greater emphasis on building social cohesion and development projects that will benefit host communities, but the ability to implement such projects will depend on the availability of funding. | | |
| LGBT community in Chechnya facing “new wave of persecution”, say UN rights experts. People in Chechnya suspected of being gay, lesbian or bisexual are being subjected to “a new wave of persecution”, said a group of independent UN human rights experts on Wednesday. In a statement , the experts expressed alarm at reports of “cruel and violent” abuse inflicted on victims. More than 40 people have reportedly been arrested because of their perceived sexual orientation since December 2018 and two deaths have occurred, allegedly as a result of torture during detention. Chechen authorities have also reportedly attempted to prevent victims from fleeing the republic, which is part of the Russian Federation, by destroying or confiscating their identification documents. | | |
| Manus Island refugee wins international human rights prize. Abdul Aziz Muhamat, a Sudanese refugee and activist detained for five years on Manus Island, has won a prestigious human rights award for shedding light on Australia’s off-shore asylum policy. He was named the winner of the 2019 Martin Ennals award at a ceremony in Geneva on Wednesday night. “This award sheds light on the very cruel refugee policy of the Australian government,” said Muhamat in an acceptance statement. UNHCR praised his advocacy work and efforts to give voice to the vulnerable in a statement last night. Muhamat was granted a temporary Swiss visa to attend the award ceremony, but is set to return to Manus Island next week. | | |
| Elizabeth was 13 years old when the war in South Sudan reached her peaceful village and she was separated from her family. Ten years later, she still doesn’t know what happened to her mother and two siblings, but she’s determined to complete her education. After earning a fully paid scholarship, she’s studying for a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Statistics at the University of Nairobi. | | |
About one in 10 asylum applicants in the EU was a Syrian national in 2018, compared to one in four in 2015 and 2016.
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