| Rohingya still fear for safety and rights in Myanmar. AP reports that the repatriation of hundreds of Rohingya refugees appeared unlikely to proceed as planned on Thursday as those who were eligible told the Bangladesh government and UNHCR they did not want to return to Myanmar unless their citizenship and safety were ensured . Members of at least 221 Rohingya families were interviewed on Tuesday and Wednesday, but a senior Bangladeshi official said that so far, none had agreed to go back. AFP reports that this morning, no one had arrived to board five buses and 10 trucks that stood waiting. Officials said they would wait a few more hours before deciding whether to postpone the repatriation attempt. Al Jazeera reports that many of the Rohingya who arrived to Bangladesh two years ago have little hope of being able to return home soon and have switched from worrying about their everyday survival to longer-term concerns about being able to access education, security and better healthcare in the refugee settlements. | |
| Ocean Viking rescue ship still stranded at sea. While five EU states agreed to take in the approximately 100 people who disembarked the Open Arms on Wednesday, the Ocean Viking remained at sea awaiting access to a safe port with 356 people on board. They were rescued off the coast of Libya nearly two weeks ago and include more than 100 minors , 90 of them unaccompanied, according to Médecins Sans Frontières, which, along with SOS Méditerranée, operates the ship. The European Commission on Wednesday asked EU Member States to show “solidarity” by accepting the rescued passengers. So far, France is the only country to say it would welcome some of them. Supplies on board the ship are reportedly running low and the situation is “becoming more tense”, according to a doctor onboard. | | |
| US moves to allow longer detention of migrant families. The administration on Wednesday announced a new rule that would allow officials to indefinitely detain families who cross the US-Mexico border while their asylum claims are processed. The new rule would replace the Flores agreement, in effect since 1997, which set a 20-day limit on detaining children and could permit authorities to detain families together for the duration of their immigration proceedings, rather than release them or separate children from their parents. The regulation is expected to face legal challenges and must also be examined by the judge who oversees the Flores settlement. Barring legal delays, it will take effect 60 days after it is published in the Federal Register on Friday. The announcement comes amidst growing concerns about conditions in detention facilities on the border. | | |
| Funding shortfall forces aid programmes in Yemen to shut down. The UN said on Wednesday that it has been forced to close down several aid programmes in Yemen because funding pledged by donor countries had “failed to materialize ”. At a pledging event in February, countries pledged US$2.6 billion to meet the needs of 20 million Yemenis, but UN humanitarian coordinator for Yemen, Lise Grande, said less than half that amount had been received. Of 34 key aid programmes, only three are funded for the entire year and 22 will have to close in the next two months without more funding. The UN said food rations for 12 million people brought to the brink of famine by Yemen’s four-year conflict will be reduced and services for 2.5 million malnourished children will end without a significant injection of funding in the coming weeks. | | |
| To be safe country, Guatemala must strength asylum system. Giovanni Bassau, UNHCR’s regional representative for Central America and Cuba, told Devex that Guatemala currently lacks the capacity to deal with large numbers of asylum-seekers and refugees and that strengthening institutions and systems would take “time and investment ”. Bassau was commenting on a recent agreement signed by outgoing Guatemalan president Jimmy Morales and the US administration designating Guatemala a “safe third country”. If implemented it would mean that people who transit through Guatemala on their way to the United States would have to seek asylum there first. Guatemala’s newly-elected president, who takes office in January, has said he does not support the agreement. | | |
| This school in Arequipa, Peru is leading the way in welcoming Venezuelans forced to leave their country. Three of its teachers and 60 of its students have recently arrived from Venezuela thanks to an open-door policy led by its prinicipal, Alan Alvarez. "In fact, they are very similar to us," he says. "I think they contribute to build our school." | | |
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