Australia announced yesterday that it would be closing its controversial migrant detention center on Manus island in Papua New Guinea following a court order earlier this year. Refugee and human rights groups welcomed the announcement, although it remains unclear what lays ahead for the more than 800 asylum seekers currently housed at Manus and the many others in the same situation at other offshore detention facilities.
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Photo: UNHCR/Sebastian Rich
This Major Policy Shift Will Save the Lives of Refugee Children in Central America
At a time when immigration has again become a hot-button political topic across the West, President Obama announced new measures last month to help people from Central America escape the daily violence that defines many of their lives.
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Photo credit: UNDP-Zambia
One of the most stable democracies in Africa faces a tough test
Despite being considered one of the most stable democracies of southern Africa, Zambia is facing a serious political crisis ahead of local, parliamentary, presidential elections and a constitutional referendum. With only a week left before the polls, changes to the constitution, questionable appointments to the Constitutional Court and an expected close election makes many observers worried that a contested result is now an inevitable outcome.
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Campaign posters in Turkey, by Osman Orsal (VOA) - Voice of America, Public Domain
More than a week after the attempted coup, things are looking bleak for democracy in Turkey
Earlier this month, Turkey experienced a surprising coup attempt that shocked the country and international community. A week later, the aftermath is still unfolding. However current developments highlight that while Turkey survived the coup attempt, democracy there is still under threat.
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Refugees and migrants have pitched their tents on a loading dock in Calais, France / Photo Credit: UNHCR/Christophe Vander Eecken
After Brexit, Thousands of Refugees Stuck in France May Actually Get Easier Access to the UK
The Brexit fallout contains multitudes, and there is now a good chance that thousands of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants will soon have a far easier time making it to British soil. This could bring the Syrian refugee crisis to the UK in a way it has largely escaped until now.
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Refugees wait in line for food outside the Souda refugee camp in Chios, Greece / Photo Credit: Kimberly Curtis
Two Thousand Refugees Are Trapped on a Tiny Greek Island
Three months after the EU-Turkey deal went into effect, very few of the estimated 2,000 refugees on the Greek island of Chios feel lucky. Instead, out of the international spotlight and with no information on what their future may hold, they feel forgotten and left behind.
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Photo Credit: Juan Manuel Herrera/OAS
The Organization of American States is in Crisis
The regional organization is facing serious problems due to severe budget shortfalls and deeply divided opinions on how to address the ongoing political and economic crisis facing Venezuela. The crisis could have profound implications for human rights, stability and the rule of law in the Americas.
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Photo credit: United Nations Photo via Flickr
No group illustrates the potential impact of long term refugee status like Palestinians
Unlike other refugee groups that fall under the mandate of UNHCR with the 1951 Refugee Convention, the UN created the Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in 1949. The long-standing nature of a temporary agency has led to some unique challenges in serving those who have held refugee status for 66 years.
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Photo credit: World Humanitarian Summit via Flickr
How the Sustainable Development Goals Drove the Conversation at the World Humanitarian Summit
The World Humanitarian Summit ended yesterday evening — and though it may come as a surprise to many, much of the discussion in Istanbul focused squarely on the Sustainable Development Goals – the set of 17 anti-poverty goals established at the United Nations Summit last September.
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Q & A with Humanitarian Superstar Jan Egeland
UN Dispatch talked with Jan Egeland, the secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council and special advisor to the Syrian peace talks on the issue of humanitarian access and the protection of civilian. As one of the largest organizations in the world working on the issue of displacement, Egeland is in a great position to explain what needs to come out of the summit, as well as what needs to be done now.
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