Refugees and Migrants

Manizha Sangin arrived in Russia as young refugee, when her family fled the violence of the civil war in Tajikistan. Today, she is a high-profile singer, representing Russia in the final of the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday, with the song “Russian Woman”. Ms. Sangin is also a UN Goodwill Ambassador for the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), and a domestic abuse activist.

Migrants must be allowed to stay in Chile while their cases are being individually assessed or risk “irreparable harm”, a group of UN-appointed independent human rights experts said in a statement on Wednesday. 

Misrah, an undocumented migrant worker, and her family, left their home in Ethiopia hoping for a better life. Instead, her three children are now dead, drowned during a perilous sea crossing across the Gulf of Aden, when the overloaded boat smuggling them into the country capsized.

Disturbing reports of targeted attacks against civilians have continued to emerge from the northern Mozambique town of Palma, marking a serious escalation of violence and volatility in the Cabo Delgado region.

In eastern Sudan, renewable energy is being trialled as a power source in UN-run refugee camps, where an influx of thousands of people fleeing conflict in Ethiopia is putting a strain on local resources, and host communities.

At least 20 people have drowned after smugglers threw dozens of migrants overboard as they sailed from Djibouti to Yemen, UN migration agency IOM said on Thursday.

Independent UN human rights experts castigated Malaysia on Wednesday over its decision to deport more than1,000 detained migrants back to crisis-ridden Myanmar – despite a court order to suspend their return, pending a judicial review. 

Whilst the global economy has taken a battering during the COVID-19 pandemic, online commerce has thrived. A UN-supported initiative is helping refugees and migrants around the world to access the tools and customers they need to build their businesses and improve their livelihoods.

The United Nations Secretary-General, on Monday, applauded the announcement by the President of Colombia that the country will provide temporary protection to all Venezuelans in its territory. 

Two migrants, one young and one old, have been sharing their experiences of migrating to a small town in Costa Rica in Central America.