UN agencies warn conflict and the COVID-19 pandemic present a significant threat to life in Libya
Joint statement by OCHA, UNHCR, UNICEF, UNFPA, WFP, WHO, IOM. Conflict and the COVID-19 pandemic present a significant threat to life in Libya. The health and safety of the country’s entire population are at risk. Close to 400,000 Libyans have been displaced since the...
Nigeria violence sees 23,000 refugees flee into Niger in one month
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. Ongoing violence in parts of north-western Nigeria forced an estimated 23,000 people to...
UNHCR warns stateless people risk being left behind in coronavirus response
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is urging Governments worldwide to pay urgent attention to the plight of millions of stateless people and to follow a set of recommendations the organization has issued today to ensure their coverage in the COVID-19 response. “Millions of...
UNHCR urges sustained support to protect world’s forcibly displaced from “devastating” impact of coronavirus
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is seeking US$745 million as it races to prepare for and prevent outbreaks of COVID-19 among refugees and other displaced populations around the globe. This is UNHCR’s portion of the revised UN Global Humanitarian Response Plan appealing...
Surging violence uproots thousands of people in eastern Congo
This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Charlie Yaxley – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today’s press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, remains alarmed at an ongoing surge in violent attacks...
Conflict and heavy floods force tens of thousands of people to flee their homes in Somalia, amidst COVID-19 threat
This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Charlie Yaxley – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today’s press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. Heavy flooding, conflict, a crippled economy, impending desert locust swarms and the...
UN issues US$6.7 billion appeal to protect millions of lives and stem the spread of coronavirus in fragile countries
The UN’s Humanitarian Chief, Mark Lowcock, has called for swift and determined action to avoid the most destabilizing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic as he releases a US$6.7 billion appeal and an updated global plan to fight coronavirus in fragile countries. COVID-19...
Joint statement by UNHCR, IOM and UNODC on protection at sea in the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea
Five years on from the 2015 ‘boat crisis’ in the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea, in which thousands of refugees and migrants in distress at sea were denied life-saving care and support, we are alarmed that a similar tragedy may be unfolding once more. We are deeply...