Migrants and Refugees

Demonstrations in support of Ukraine have taken place in numerous places in London, including in Trafalgar Square.
Unsplash/Ehimetalor Akhere Unuabona

UNHCR calls for better oversight of UK ‘Homes for Ukraine’ scheme

13 April 2022

The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, has highlighted the need for “adequate safeguards” and vetting measures to be put in place against the possible exploitation of Ukrainian women, under the United Kingdom’s “Homes for Ukraine” scheme.

World Food Programme (WFP) convoys loaded with relief and nutritious foods stand by to deliver to communities in Ethiopia’s Tigray and Afar.
WFP Ethiopia

Sub-Saharan Africa under threat from multiple humanitarian crises

8 April 2022
Africa

The number of hungry people in the Sahel and West Africa has quadrupled over the last three years, currently reaching 41 million, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) reported on Friday.

Gerardo Barrios Square and National Palace in El Salvador.
Unsplash/Mauricio Cuéllar

El Salvador: Response to the rise in gang killings ‘cruel and inhuman’

5 April 2022
Americas

The introduction of a series of measures in El Salvador in response to a rise in gang killings, has prompted the grave concern of the UN human rights office, which noted on Tuesday a pattern of “unnecessary and excessive use of force” by police and military forces.

Ukrainian refugees arriving in Mlyny, Poland, await onward transportation in a repurposed shopping centre. Rooms are crowded and the facilities are not equipped to provide all necessary services.
© IOM/Jorge Galindo

First Person: A first in psychological aid, for Ukraine refugees in Poland

4 April 2022
Europe

Many of the millions of refugees forced to leave Ukraine because of the Russian invasion are traumatized and need mental health support. In one Polish transit site, volunteers like Aurang Zeb Khan, have been trained by the UN migration agency (IOM) to administer psychological first aid.

Newly arrived Congolese refugees in the south west Kisoro District of Uganda.
© UNHCR/Calvin Odur

Thousands escape to Uganda following violent clashes in DR Congo

1 April 2022
Africa

Recent violent clashes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have forced thousands to escape to neighbouring Uganda, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, reported on Friday. 

Bread distribution inside a subway station in Kharkiv, Ukraine.
© WFP

First Person: ‘I fear I will never see my husband again’

1 April 2022
Europe

Nataliia Vladimirova fled her home in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on the first day of the Russian invasion, on 24 February, with her four-year-old daughter Oleksandra and mother-in-law. They are amongst the thousands of Ukrainian refugees with temporary protection status in Portugal. She shares her heart-wrenching story of family separation and loss, with UN News.

Children learn and play in the corner of a school gymnasium in Poland, set up to host refugee families who have fled the war in Ukraine.
© UNICEF/Joe English

Ukraine: UNESCO’s response to children’s education needs

30 March 2022
Europe

Since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, more than 4 million people have fled the country - two million of them, are children. As the UN agency mandated to coordinate and lead on global education, UNESCO is carefully mapping exactly how host countries are supporting and providing education, to help keep young Ukrainian refugees on track - their lives totally upended in a matter of weeks.

A busy street in the Kutupalong Rohingya refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh.
© UNHCR/Amos Halder

Response plan launched to support 1.4 million Rohingya and Bangladeshis

29 March 2022
Asia Pacific

“Robust and sustained international support” is again needed for Rohingya refugees and the Bangladeshi communities generously hosting them, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Tuesday.

A refugee from Ukraine hugs her son in a reception centre set up in the sports hall of a school in the Polish border town of Medyka.
© UNHCR/Valerio Muscella

World football goes for goal, in aid of Ukraine

29 March 2022
Europe

With the number of refugees fleeing Ukraine rapidly approaching four million, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) and the World Food Programme (WFP) on Wednesday launched a new emergency appeal, with an assist from some top football players who know firsthand what it’s like to flee for your life from a warzone.

Migrants from Nigeria who were rescued by the Libyan Coast Guard as their boat was capsizing, crouch in a courtyard at a detention centre, where they are being held, in Libya. (file)
© UNICEF/Alessio Romenzi

Libya detention centres remain places of violations and abuse: experts

28 March 2022
Africa

Many of Libya’s migrant detention centres remain places of terrible and systematic abuse, that may amount to crimes against humanity, top rights investigators said on Monday.