Forced back home by the pandemic, Venezuelan grandmother sees no choice but to flee once again
With lockdown making it all but impossible for many Venezuelan refugees and migrants to meet their basic needs, thousands have headed home – only to have to flee again. By Ángela Méndez-Triviño in Riohacha, Colombia When Rosalba* decided to flee her native Venezuela,...
Birth registration gaps leave South Africans in limbo
UNHCR is working with the South African government to help people at risk of statelessness obtain vital identity documents. By Pumla Rulashe in Brits, South Africa Mpho Modise can only guess her age and it embarrasses her. “I would say I am about 33,” she says. She is...
Record 20,000 students engage in refugee policies through the 2020 Model UN Refugee Challenge
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, has announced today the winners of the first Model UN Refugee Challenge, which encouraged students worldwide to develop policies to help refugees during their Model UN (MUN). In 2020 more than 20,000 students from 75 countries joined the...
8 winning ideas from Model UN students to help refugees
UNHCR challenged students to tackle issues related to forced displacement in their debates. Here’s a summary of their winning ideas and the thinking behind them. By Pauline Eluère in Geneva Have you heard of Model United Nations (MUN)? These simulations of the UN, in...
Forced displacement passes 80 million by mid-2020 as COVID-19 tests refugee protection globally
While a full picture for 2020 is yet to be established, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, estimates that global forced displacement surpassed 80 million at mid-year, according to a report on trends in global forced displacement released today in Geneva. At the beginning...
Central America and Mexico reaffirm commitment to address the needs of hundreds of thousands forced to flee
MIRPS countries commit to continue advancing effective responses to forced displacement in Central America during their third annual meeting. 8 December 2020 – The seven countries that form part of the Comprehensive Regional Protection and Solutions Framework (MIRPS)...
‘Walking in their shoes has given me the tools I need to serve’
UNHCR has over 17,000 personnel. Meet Elvia Peñaranda, a Venezuelan UN Refugee Volunteer who draws on her own experiences to assist Venezuelans refugees and migrants in Colombia. By Fernando Hernández Parada in Cúcuta, Colombia Name: Elvia Eduviges Peñaranda, 38, from...
UNHCR poised to resume aid delivery to displaced in Tigray
This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Babar Baloch – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today’s press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, stands ready to resume its full humanitarian activities...