| Satellite images show Myanmar not prepared for return of Rohingya refugees. Findings from a new report by an Australian think tank contradict assurances by the Myanmar government that preparations are well underway for the return of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees from neighbouring Bangladesh. An analysis of satellite imagery showed “no sign of reconstruction” in the majority of former Rohingya settlements destroyed during a 2017 military-led crackdown in Rakhine State. The report by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, released today, describes a pattern of “securitization” in the region since 2017, with six facilities suspected to be military bases built on top of former Rohingya settlements. Researchers also found evidence of further destruction of Rohingya settlements in 2018 and 2019. “The preparations that are being made raise significant concerns about the conditions under which returning Rohingya would be expected to live,” said ASPI researcher Nathan Ruser. | |
| Guatemalan president seeks to unblock asylum deal with US. The BBC reports that Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales on Tuesday filed an appeal against a constitutional court ruling last week that prevented him from signing an agreement with the United States that would require asylum-seekers passing through Guatemala to apply for asylum there rather than continuing to the US. Morales argued that the injunction was unlawful and would damage ties with the US. Earlier on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump warned on Twitter that his administration was considering imposing tariffs on Guatemalan exports or taxing money sent home by migrants because of the country’s failure to sign a “safe third country” agreement. | | |
| More people brought to bombed Tajoura detention centre in Libya. Libya’s coast guard said it intercepted a rubber boat carrying 38 people on Tuesday and that the passengers were transferred to the Tajoura detention centre in Tripoli. More than 50 people detained at the Tajoura centre were killed when it was hit by an air strike on 3 July. UNHCR has called for its closure and for an end to all returns of refugees and migrants intercepted at sea to Libya and to their arbitrary detention there. Tajoura is reportedly located next to a weapons depot that has made it a target in the ongoing clashes between rival factions in Tripoli. | | |
| Hunger looms for Venezuelans in Colombia as aid falls short. Reuters reports from Colombia’s northern Guajira region bordering Venezuela where 18 community kitchens run by the UN World Food Programme fed nearly 100,000 Venezuelan refugees and migrants in June. A funding shortfall is threatening the future of aid programmes like these, which many Venezuelan families depend on for their survival. The WFP has only received just over half of the US$76 million it needs to respond to the needs of Venezuelans in Colombia in 2019. Meanwhile, a UN-led appeal requesting US$738 million to help fleeing Venezuelans in the region is less than a quarter funded . Colombian Foreign Minister Carlos Holmes Trujillo has promised to keep his country’s doors open but has asked for more international help to deal with the influx. | | |
| Rohingya refugees begin to regreen deforested areas. The New Arab reports on efforts by Rohingya refugees to reverse the impact on the local environment of the arrival in 2017 of some 700,000 refugees, which led to large areas being cleared of forest to make way for settlements. With encouragement from NGOs and UN agencies, refugees are now growing vegetables next to their shelters or cultivating small plots on the edge of settlements. Fresh-food markets have appeared in the settlements, with local Bangladeshi farmers trading alongside enterprising refugees. Meanwhile, trees and other vegetation are being planted to stabilise hillsides and help absorb rain into the groundwater. | | |
| Projects help refugees re-enter academia in Europe. Researchers and academics who come to Europe as refugees face immense challenges resuming their careers. The European Commission’s Horizon magazine looks at some of the projects being coordinated by the Brussels-based Academic Cooperation Association aimed at helping refugees break through the “glass wall ” that often closes off academia to newcomers. The BRiDGE project is supporting 220 refugee academics with career advice, training and mentoring as they attempt to establish themselves in academic roles in Europe. Another project brings together higher education institutions and national academic bodies to share best practices when working with refugee researchers and students, such as how to evaluate those who lack documentary proof of their qualifications. | | |
| Mario managed to graduate from his high school in Tegucigalpa, Honduras despite the gang violence that has forced many other students and teachers to flee. In this letter to his former teacher, Mario thanks him for the support that helped him stay in school and out of trouble. | | |
Colombia’s national registry estimates that about 23,000 children born in Colombia to Venezuelan parents are waiting to be granted Colombian nationality.
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