| Calls for greater solidarity on World Refugee Day. In a video address to mark World Refugee Day, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi offered a message of hope, pledging to do all he could to help millions of forcibly displaced people “not just to get by, but also to thrive”. He acknowledged that efforts to support refugees were not enough – resettlement places were too few, funding levels too low and some countries have introduced restrictions limiting access to asylum and discouraging sea rescues. At the same time, he said, “voices of humanity are holding their ground”. In a piece published by the World Economic Forum today, Grandi urged businesses and governments to start making long-term investments in refugee education and employment. Noting that many examples already exist of individual generosity and public-private partnerships, Grandi said the challenge now is to expand such endeavours to “a global scale”. In his World Refugee Day message, UN Secretary General António Guterres recognized the humanity of countries hosting refugees despite their own economic challenges and said it was “regrettable” that not all countries followed their example. “We must re-establish the integrity of the international protection regime,” he said. | |
| Venezuelans now filing one in five asylum claims. Venezuelans dominated global asylum statistics in 2018, accounting for more than one in five claims submitted, according to UNHCR’s Global Trends report. AP reports that a large number of those claims are being filed in Peru , where applying for asylum at the border is now one of the only legal ways Venezuelans can enter the country after new requirements came into force last weekend. Worldwide, only about 21,000 Venezuelans have been recognized as refugees to date, even though most Venezuelans leaving their country meet criteria for international protection set out by 1951 Refugee Convention and the 1984 Cartagena Declaration. AP reports that over a third of Venezuelans in Colombia have no legal status, which often forces them to take low-paying and exploitative jobs in the informal economy. Meanwhile, Reuters reports that increasing numbers of women, children and older people are making arduous treks across South America. Reuters met some of them at Peru’s northern border city of Tumbes. | | |
| Spain says 22 people missing in the Mediterranean. Spain’s maritime rescue service said on Wednesday that they were searching for 22 people who were missing after their boat ran into difficulties while crossing the Mediterranean. The boat reportedly left North Africa the previous day with 49 people on board . A passenger ferry rescued 27 people from the boat but said it didn’t find any others at the scene. Six of the survivors, including a young girl, were evacuated by helicopter for medical treatment. Meanwhile, a German aid group, Sea Watch, urged European governments to accept 43 refugees and migrants rescued by its ship, the Sea-Watch 3, off the coast of Libya over a week ago. Sea Watch said many of those on board were suffering from dehydration due to sea-sickness. | | |
| Insecurity in north-east DR Congo hampers response to measles outbreak. More than 1,700 people have died from measles in the Democratic Republic of the Congo since the start of the year, more than the 1,445 fatalities resulting from Ebola. Reuters reports that new displacement caused by ethnic violence between Lendu farmers and Hama herders in the north-eastern province of Ituri has hampered a measles vaccination drive and complicated efforts to control the spread of the virus. UNHCR reported earlier this week that thousands of those forced to flee their homes are seeking sanctuary in the provincial capital, Bunia , but health officials worry that overcrowding in camps may increase the risk of the virus spreading. The head of the local health authority told Reuters that insecurity had prevented vaccinations of children against measles in certain areas of the province last year. The health ministry is now stepping up efforts to vaccinate infants. | | |
| Syrian siblings struggle to stay connected across six different countries. Before the war, the Zydia family came together every Friday to eat and talk. Now it has been seven years since they were all in the same room. The six adult siblings fled to six different countries, and restrictive visa and family reunification rules have kept them apart. PRI reports that such forced family separations have torn the social fabric of traditional Syrian culture, which had revolved around tight-knit networks of extended family for centuries. A report released last year by UNHCR and Columbia University found that family separation among Syrian refugees in Jordan had created deep-seated anxiety and feelings of loss. According to UNHCR’s Global Trends report released yesterday, Syria remained the top country of origin for refugees in 2018, with 6.7 million Syrians living as refugees at the end of the year. | | |
| German foreign minister lobbies for refugee higher education. Currently, only 1 per cent of refugees worldwide have access to higher education. Speaking at the opening of a two-day conference on the world’s largest higher education scholarship programme for refugees, called DAFI, German Foreign Minister Heiko Mass called the figure “frighteningly low ”. The vast majority of the funding for DAFI, which provides scholarships to refugee students, comes from the German government. Although the number of DAFI students has almost tripled in recent years, reaching almost 7,000 in 2018, DW News reports on UNHCR’s new goal to ensure that 15 per cent of refugees can access higher education by 2030. | | |
| Syrian refugee Ehab had a promising idea for a business selling high-tech programming kits, but it was teaming up with Jordanian programmer Amani that helped turn his idea into reality. She helped him develop a business plan and secure seed funding for the business which they now run together . Ehad also credits his success to the support he received in the city he now calls home – Amman. The city is part of a growing network of municipalities around the world that have committed to welcoming refugees and the opportunities they bring. | | |
Canada took in more refugees than any other country in 2018, resettling 28,100 refugees. Two thirds of them were privately sponsored by Canadian citizens.
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