migrants

Djibouti is a favoured destination for migrants and refugees from countries in the region, notably Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Somalia.
OIM/Alexander Bee

Violence against smuggled migrants widespread, but justice is lacking: UN report

28 June 2021
Migrants and Refugees

Migrants smuggled across borders are often subjected to extreme violence, torture, rape and kidnapping, whether in transit or in captivity, but authorities take little action to address these offences, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said in a report published on Monday. 

Many migrants have lost their lives trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe on board flimsy boats. Pictured here a group of migrants at sea. (file photo)
UNICEF/Alessio Romenzi

Italy failed to rescue over 200 migrants in 2013 Mediterranean disaster, UN rights body finds

27 January 2021
Human Rights

A UN rights committee said on Wednesday that Italy failed in its international obligations to protect the right to life of more than 200 migrants on board a vessel that sank in the Mediterranean Sea, in 2013. 

A 33-year-old man from Afghanistan, pictured with his family on the Greek island of Lesvos, is hoping to be relocated to Germany.
© UNICEF/Canaj Magnum Photos

The virus that shut down the world: The plight of refugees and migrants

29 December 2020
Migrants and Refugees

In part four of our review of the global impact of COVID-19, UN News considers the new challenges faced by refugees and migrants during 2020; from a heightened risk of catching the COVID-19 virus in crowded camps, to being stranded due to travel restrictions, and becoming the targets of criminal gangs.

A migrant at what remains of the Lipa Emergency Tent Camp in northern Bosnia and Herzegovina, after it was destroyed in a fire.
IOM 2020/Ervin Causevic

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Migrant lives at ‘immediate risk’, warn UN agencies

28 December 2020
Migrants and Refugees

United Nations agencies and humanitarian partners have called on authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina to act urgently to help hundreds of migrants, stranded and without shelter, amid freezing winter temperatures. 

The fire rages at the Lipa emergency camp in Bosnia and Herzegovina that housed about 1,400 migrants.
IOM 2020/Ervin Causevic

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Thousands of migrants lose shelter, after camp destroyed in fire

24 December 2020
Migrants and Refugees

The closure and subsequent fire, on Wednesday, at a migrant camp in Bosnia and Herzegovina has left thousands of migrants without shelter and protection, amid plummeting winter temperatures, the UN International Organization for Migration (IOM) has reported. 

Women migrant workers at a ceramics factory in northern Thailand. As part of the labour force, migrant workers support local businesses and also communities back home.
UN Women/Pornvit Visitoran

Integral to societies, migrants are central to COVID-19 recovery: Guterres

18 December 2020
Migrants and Refugees

The UN marks International Migrants Day on Friday, highlighting their essential contribution to societies everywhere, and underlining migrants' central role in recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. 

Displacement sites across Yemen continue to see an increased number of people of people seeking refuge from violence.
IOM/Olivia Headon

FROM THE FIELD: Protecting the displaced in the time of COVID-19

7 May 2020
Health

Refugees and displaced people living in camps are amongst the most vulnerable communities across the world and more likely to catch COVID-19 than others, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Migrants look out to sea in Lesvos, Greece (file).
IOM/Amanda Nero

Tragedy of Mediterranean deaths continues, as seven drown, 57 rescued: UN migration agency

11 June 2019
Migrants and Refugees

A rescue operation on the Mediterranean concluded on Tuesday with confirmation that seven people drowned and 57 were rescued, following a shipwreck off the Greek island of Lesvos, the UN migration agency, IOM, said.

Migrant numbers are often overestimated, according to the first Report on the Health of Refugees and Migrants in the WHO European Region.
Photo/World Health Organization

FROM THE FIELD: For refugees and migrants in Europe, healthcare’s essential but a challenge to find

8 February 2019
Migrants and Refugees

There are some 68.5 million people currently displaced around the world, with 25.4 million crossing national borders in search of safety.

The Spanish Coast Guard vessel, Maria Zambrano, docking in the port of Algeciras, Spain, after rescuing 146 Moroccan refugees and migrants on the Mediterranean Sea.
© UNHCR/Markel Redondo

Dozens of migrants dead and missing, adds to mounting toll off Spanish coast

21 December 2018
Migrants and Refugees

A group of migrant boats stranded at sea, was rescued off the Spanish coast on Thursday, and at least 25 people are believed to be dead or missing, including a pregnant woman, the UN Refugee Agency, UNCHR, has reported.