Summit told countries must unite to fight people smugglers

The Refugee Brief, 25 February

By Kate Bond | 25 February, 2019 WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Summit told countries must unite to fight people smugglers. The president of the European Council has told the first EU-League of Arab States summit that countries must work together to “break the business model” of people smugglers. “I want to acknowledge and salute all those here who have shouldered the burden of population displacement, helped refugees and acted early to tackle people smuggling,” said Donald Tusk. The summit in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, began on Sunday, and will continue on Monday. British Prime Minister Theresa May is reportedly set to urge attendees to "redouble our efforts" to reach a peace deal in Yemen, as the UK pledges a further GBP200 million in humanitarian aid for the war-torn country. UN report lays bare the cruelty of conflict in South Sudan. Following last week's UN report into human rights abuses in South Sudan, the Guardian calls attention to one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises . It writes that South Sudan will need US$1.5billion in aid for citizens still inside the country and US$2.7billion for its refugees. This is despite the most recent attempts at a ceasefire. According to the report for the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan, 65 per cent of women and 36 per cent of men may have been sexually abused. Earlier this month, UNHCR reported that it was seeing a surge in refugee arrivals from South Sudan in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The conflict in South Sudan has created over 2.2 million refugees since 2013. WHAT’S ON OUR RADAR Unaccompanied child refugees should be supported. In a letter to the Guardian, actor Juliet Stevenson says the British government should commit to resettle children and give councils the funds they need to make it possible. Her letter follows the news that local authorities have called on the government to provide adequate funding to support unaccompanied child refugees. Spanish coastguard planes struggling without vital search radars.’ According to The Telegraph, Spanish coastguard rescue planes are struggling to conduct search-and-rescue operations without radar. Ismael Furió, head of the coastguard’s workers’ committee, said radars on all four planes, and specifically the two covering the Mediterranean area, had been out of action for the past year. British football club welcomes refugees and asylum-seekers. The BBC visits Fulham Football Club in West London to find out how a new sporting initiative is helping refugees and asylum-seekers settle into the local community. Thousands mourn seven Syrian siblings killed in Canada fire. Around 2,000 mourners attended the funeral of seven Syrian children who died last week in a house fire in eastern Canada. Meanwhile, the Huffington Post reports that a Syrian family of eight was forced to flee their burning home in Fredericton, also in eastern Canada, on Saturday. GET INSPIRED Director Nadine Labaki talks about her Oscar-nominated film, "Capernaum", which documents life in Lebanon through the eyes of a Syrian refugee boy. DID YOU KNOW? Over 2.2 million South Sudanese refugees have sought safety in six neighbouring countries.

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