refugees

A Nepali construction worker receives his immigration documents which allow him to work in Saudi Arabia.
ILO/Marcel Crozet

Migration will continue to rise, despite pandemic, says UN official

15 January 2021
Interviews

Migration is part of the modern world, and it is not going away despite a COVID slowdown, a UN official has told UN News.

Jorge Bravo from the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), explained to Conor Lennon from UN News that the longer-term trend is showing an increase in the numbers of people leaving their countries of origin to live elsewhere.

Audio -
10'5"
Twenty-four years after the Rwanda genocide, survivor Liberée Kayumba, a Monitoring Officer with WFP, is now helping refugees coming to the country.
WFP/Jonathan Eng

FROM THE FIELD: The genocide survivor helping others avoid starvation

7 January 2021
Humanitarian Aid

During the 1994 Genocide Against The Tutsi In Rwanda, Liberee Kayumba avoided starvation thanks to emergency rations from the World Food Programme (WFP). Today, she is helping to ensure that Burundian refugees in the country have enough to eat.

A refugee from Tigray waits in line with her baby to receive food in the Um Rakuba refugee settlement in Sudan.
WFP/Arete/Joost Bastmeijer

News in Brief 5 January 2021

5 January 2021
News in Brief
  • UNHCR relocates first Ethiopian refugees to new site in Sudan
  • UN appeals to spoilers in Central African Republic election to respect poll results
  • Mounting concern for Bosnia’s migrants left in freezing conditions
Audio -
3'37"
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.

Ethiopian refugees, fleeing clashes in the country's northern Tigray region, cross the border into Hamdayet, Sudan, over the Tekeze river. (file)
© UNHCR/Hazim Elhag

News in Brief 22 December 2020

22 December 2020
News in Brief
  • Tigray: Hundreds of civilians reported killed in artillery strikes 
  • Urgent appeal launched for Tigray emergency  
  • World will soon lose coral reefs without emission cuts, UN report warns 
Audio -
3'19"
Gabriela left Venezuela in search of better jobs opportunities. During her journey, she was often attacked and insulted.
IOM/Muse Mohammed

News in Brief 15 December 2020

15 December 2020
News in Brief
  • Rights chief Bachelet condemns deaths of 255 people in Colombia massacres 
  • Four children among victims of shipwreck carrying Venezuelans to Caribbean 
  • UN refugee agency condemns deadly attack on Niger town 
Audio -
3'52"
Refugees cook food and charge mobile phones at a temporary site after a fire destroyed the main camp at Moria, in Lesvos island, Greece.
UNICEF/Enri Canaj Magnum Photos

Put me out of a job: UN refugee chief’s challenge to world leaders

15 December 2020
Migrants and Refugees

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees has challenged world leaders to put him “out of a job” by addressing the root causes that drive millions to flee their homes due to war and insecurity. 

Ak Dans is a South Sudanese stand-up comedian who was born and raised in Kakuma refugee camp.
Evans Dims

Being born a refugee’s no joke, but worse things can happen: AK Dans 

14 December 2020
Interviews

Irrepressible comedian AK Dans was born in the world’s largest refugee camp, Kakuma, in Kenya, after his mother fled South Sudan in the 1990s. 

He’s now a successful stand-up artist – or was - until the COVID-19 crisis put a temporary halt to his live shows. 

But you can’t keep a good man down for long, and now AK’s latest challenge is taking part in an online show with the support of UN refugee agency, UNHCR. 

Audio -
10'57"
The majority of refugees in Um Raquba are women and children.
© UNFPA Sudan/Sufian Abdul-Mout

News in Brief 9 December 2020

9 December 2020
News in Brief
  • Ethiopia’s Tigray region still at war, warns UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet 
  • Guterres: Ending corruption vital to world’s recovery after COVID-19 
  • Number of displaced worldwide passes 80 million: UN refugee agency 
Audio -
3'24"
17-year-old Agnidrohee Spondon, a grade 10 student, is studying at home during Bangladesh's indefinite national lockdown to suppress the COVID-19 pandemic.
© UNICEF/Jannatul Mawa

News in Brief 1 December 2020

1 December 2020
News in Brief
  • UN appeals for $35 billion to help world’s ‘most vulnerable and fragile’ 
  • 1.3 billion children have no internet access at home 
  • UNHCR appeals to Ethiopia to let it reach hungry Eritrean refugees 
Audio -
3'21"