refugees

A refugee from Syria hugs her crying daughter moments after reaching the Greek Island of Lesbos from Turkey in an inflatable boat.
UNHCR/Achilleas Zavallis

Refugees and migrants braving seas to flee to Europe in 2015 top one million – UN

30 December 2015
Refugees and migrants fleeing to Europe by sea this year have passed one million, according to figures just released by the UN refugee agency, many on perilous trips aboard inadequate vessels run by people smugglers, with at least 3,735 more believed drowned.
Refugees, primarily from the Syrian Arab Republic, Afghanistan, and Iraq, pass through the Vinojug reception centre for refugees and migrants in Gevgelija, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, on the border with Greece.
UNICEF/Ashley Gilbertson VII

Refugees and migrants fleeing to Europe in 2015 top unprecedented one million – UN

22 December 2015
The number of refugees and migrants fleeing to Europe in 2015 has topped an unprecedented one million – at least 3,600 died or went missing in the crossings – the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) reported today, calling for much more to be done to receive and aid those uprooted by persecution, conflict and poverty.
Mostly Syrian refugees crossing a stretch of wasteland between Hungary and Austria.
UNHCR/Mark Henley

New campaign in Hungary “fuelling xenophobia”

21 December 2015
General News

Hungary is being urged to refrain from “policies and practices that promote intolerance”.

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In Croatia, a refugee family rests in the UNICEF-supported Family Area at the reception centre in Opatovac.
UNICEF/ Tomislav Georgiev

Global forced displacement for 2015 on track to break all records, topping 60 million – UN

18 December 2015
Forced displacement this year is likely exceed all previous records, for the first time topping 60 million, meaning that one out of every 122 persons on Earth has been forced to flee their home, the United Nations refugee agency warned today.
Women and children arrive in the Bentiu Protection of Civilians site for internally displaced people, in Unity State, South Sudan.
UNICEF/Sebastian Rich

UN agency issues guidance to help countries deal with refugee protection and security concerns

18 December 2015
Concerned over growing polarization of political debate concerning refugees in some countries, the United Nations today released guidance aimed at helping States deal with security concerns while maintaining refugee protection, saying the two were not “mutually exclusive.”
Syrian chef Mahmoud and his wife Rasha pose with their four young children at a local park in the Jordanian capital Amman.
UNHCR/Charlie Dunmore

Syrian refugees prepare for new life in US, despite opposition

15 December 2015
General News

Syrian refugees are continuing to arrive in the United States, despite public fears and political opposition.

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Fifteen year old Mohammad sits in front of the Azraq refugee camp in Jordan, where he lives with his family and goes to a UNICEF supported school. He fled in 2015 when the conflict in his hometown in the Golan Heights in south-western Syria intensified.
UNICEF/Badran

Refugees lives at risk, stranded on Jordanian border

8 December 2015
General News

Concern is growing for some 12,000 people who are trying to flee Syria and are stranded in remote areas around the north eastern border of Jordan.

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General view of the Markazi refugee camp, Djibouti.
UNICEF/Jordi Matas

Harsh conditions in Djibouti camp still a welcome relief for Yemini refugees

4 December 2015
General News

The conditions may be harsh but for thousands of refugees from neighbouring Yemen, a UN camp in Djibouti represents a safe haven.

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A woman holds a young boy whose face bears signs of distress, near the town of Gevgelija, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, on the border with Greece.
UNICEF/Tomislav Georgiev

UN refugee agency concerned by violence at Greek border, calls for improved security

3 December 2015
As a result of restrictions imposed by the authorities along the Western Balkans route, tensions have been rising at the border between Greece and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, prompting the United Nations refugee agency to call on the authorities of both countries to manage the border in a manner consistent with human rights and refugee-protection principles.
Children and their parents arrive on the Greek island of Lesbos, in the North Aegean region.
UNICEF/Ashley Gilbertson VII

Flow of refugee and migrant children into Greece doubles, UN agencies report

1 December 2015
About a third of the refugees and migrants who have drowned in the Aegean Sea this year were children, while the number of children applying for asylum in the European Union has doubled compared to 2014, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported today, warning of the increasing perils facing youngsters as winter takes hold.