refugees

Snowfall in the Bekaa Valley, the region in eastern Lebanon most affected by a massive winter storm which struck on 10 December 2013.
UNHCR/A. McConnell

Syrian refugees in Lebanon most vulnerable during winter

28 December 2016
General News

Syrian refugees in Lebanon are at their most vulnerable and need the most assistance during the winter months, according to a representative from the UN’s Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in the region.

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Risking their lives to reach Europe from North Africa, a boatload of people, some of them likely in need of international protection, are rescued in the Mediterranean Sea by the Italian Navy.
UNHCR/A. d'Amato

Latest Mediterranean tragedy pushes number of people perishing in 2016 beyond 5,000 – UN

23 December 2016
Highlighting that the number of casualties in the Mediterranean Sea this year has crossed 5,000 with the latest reports of about 100 people feared to have drowned, the United Nations refugee agency has called on countries to increase pathways for admission of refugees.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (rear centre right) and his wife Yoo Soon-taek (rear centre left), pose with the staff of the Habibi & Hawara Restaurant in Vienna.
UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

Viennese restaurant turns Syrian refugees into “entrepreneurs”

21 December 2016
General News

A new “fusion” restaurant in the Austrian capital Vienna, has found the special ingredient to turn Syrian refugees into budding entrepreneurs with a chance to open their own businesses.

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Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Zainab Bangura briefs the press. At left is Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the Secretary-General.
UN Photo/Mark Garten

United Nations news in brief: 8 December 2016

8 December 2016
Following are brief summaries of some of today’s news stories from around the UN system. Click on the links provided for more detailed coverage.
Somali migrants make up the majority of detainees in Ganfouda detention centre, Libya, according to the authorities.
<a href=http://bit.ly/2gcDpNo>IRIN/Zahra Moloo</a>

UN refugee agency reshapes protection ‘toolkit’ for a world on the move

8 December 2016
The United Nations refugee agency has updated its ‘toolkit’ for protecting vulnerable people on the move, in response to a sharp increase in global flows of both refugees and migrants in the decade since it was published.
Internally displaced Iraqis push their emergency aid relief package, containing mattresses, blankets, a stove and other essentials to their tents at Qaymawa camp.
UNHCR/Rasheed Hussein Rasheed

UN refugee agency steps up support as winter bites for displaced in Iraq and Syria

25 November 2016
With winter approaching and temperatures falling, the United Nations refugee agency is preparing to open more camps and increase life-saving assistance to support the nearly 15 million people displaced by fighting in Iraq and Syria.
François Crépeau, Special Rapporteur on human rights of migrants.
UN Photo/Jean-Marc Ferré

Australia’s human rights record “blemished” by migrant issue

18 November 2016
General News

Australia’s human rights record has been “blemished” in recent years by the harsh treatment of migrants and asylum seekers, according to a UN independent expert.

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Sigrid Kaag.
UN Photo/Pasqual Gorriz

“Optimism” in face of protracted crisis in Lebanon

10 November 2016
General News

A mood of optimism has taken hold in Lebanon since the recent election of a new president despite the challenges posed by a protracted crisis there, the UN Special Coordinator for the country has said.

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Refugees and migrants disembark a Spanish coast guard vessel at the port of Palermo, Sicily, Italy on 13 May 2016. In 2015, Italy received 150,000 asylum-seekers, and the country is on track to receive a higher number in 2016.
UNICEF/Ashley Gilbertson VII

Pregnant women, children among the victims in latest Mediterranean tragedy – UNICEF

4 November 2016
A number of children and pregnant women were among the 240 people reported to have drowned off the coast of Libya while attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea this week, the United Nations Children's Fund said.
Refugees from Somalia.
UNHCR/B.Bannon

African refugees in Egypt “forgotten”

3 November 2016
General News

A “forgotten population” of refugees from across Africa is living in limbo in Egypt according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

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