| UN calls for Libya ceasefire and humanitarian corridor for trapped civilians. As indiscriminate shelling and heavy gunfire continue to cause destruction and displacement in the Libyan capital, the UN stepped up calls on Tuesday for an immediate ceasefire and the creation of humanitarian corridors for trapped civilians to leave. UNHCR said that in areas affected by the conflict “there is an increasing sense of desperation ”, with water, food and fuel all in short supply and people afraid to leave their homes. While UNHCR and other aid agencies have reached thousands of displaced people in shelters and urban areas, the volatile security situation has hampered or cut off access to some areas. In a statement on Tuesday, UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet expressed grave concern for thousands of civilians trapped by the fighting in Tripoli. “Thousands of children, women and men’s lives are at risk,” she said, noting that 22 civilian deaths have already been documented. According to the latest figures, more than 42,600 people have fled their homes since the start of the conflict earlier this month. | |
| 45,000 children may become stateless in post-IS Iraq, report warns. An estimated 45,000 children, most of whom were born in areas controlled by the Islamic State group, risk being excluded from Iraqi society because they lack documentation, according to a new report by the Norwegian Refugee Council. The report, ‘ Barriers from Birth ’, finds that birth certificates issued by IS are not recognized by the government, while many displaced families lost documentation as they fled. Without valid documents, children are barred from attending school and denied access to health care. Obtaining documentation for children from families accused of IS affiliation is “nearly impossible”, said the NRC, which warned that the number of undocumented children is likely to increase with the expected return of more than 30,000 Iraqis from Syria. The Norway-based group said it received an average of 170 requests for help each month involving cases of unregistered children. | | |
| Refugee settlements in Bangladesh brace for Cyclone Fani. Single red flags containing a black square were hoisted today in multiple locations across refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar District. One flag signals a potential threat from a developing cyclone. UNHCR said it had pre-positioned 135 containers of emergency aid across the camps in preparation for responding to a cyclone and that refugee volunteers are taking the lead on delivering community messaging. Cyclone Fani is expected to make landfall in Bangladesh on 4 May and could bring heavy rainfall and strong winds. | | |
| Asylum-seekers in the US await their fate in a backlogged system. Asylum-seekers in the US often wait years for their claims to be adjudicated because of bottlenecks in the immigration courts. This week, President Donald Trump ordered officials to prepare a regulation that would ensure cases are adjudicated within 180 days. In addition, those who enter the country irregularly would be barred from working while their cases are adjudicated. The New York Times talked to four people about how they have fared in the US during asylum processes lasting several years. Three of them secured work permits, which meant they have been able to support themselves during the process. | | |
| Bringing the classroom to Lebanon’s out-of-school refugee children. Of nearly 500,000 school-age Syrian refugee children in Lebanon, fewer than half are receiving a formal education. This short film by the New Humanitarian looks at the work of a local NGO, Salam Lebanese Association for Development and Communication, and one of its volunteers, Maher Hamdan, to reach Syrian children living in remote informal settlements in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley. Salam LADC’s mobile classroom and teachers like Hamdan are bridging a vital gap for young refugees like Hasan Al Omr, who had not been to school since his family fled to Lebanon three years before because it was “too far and expensive”. | | |
| How technology could revolutionize refugee resettlement. The Atlantic reports on a new software programme called “Annie ” being used by HIAS, a non-profit refugee resettlement agency, to place refugees in US cities where they are most likely to be welcomed and find success. The software uses a matching algorithm that draws on large amounts of data from past placements to allocate refugees with no ties to the US to their new homes. Previously such decisions were based largely on local capacity, with limited emphasis on the needs and characteristics of individual refugees. Switzerland is testing its own version of Annie, and Sweden is also considering using the programme. | | |
| Somali-American model and former refugee Halima Aden will become the first model to appear in Sports Illustrated’s popular swimsuit issue wearing a hijab and burkini. The photos were shot at a beach in Kenya, where Aden spent the first seven years of her life at Kakuma refugee camp. “Being in Sports Illustrated is so much bigger than me,” said Aden in an Instagram post. “It’s sending a message to my community and the world that women all different backgrounds, looks, upbringings… can stand together and be celebrated.” | | |
Some 51 per cent of Syrian refugee children in Lebanon are out of school.
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