As displaced Syrians return home, others wait and hope for more aid
With more than 7.4 million Syrians still displaced inside the country, a lack of housing, work and services is preventing many from going home, with more international support needed to ensure returns are possible and sustainable By Hameed Maarouf and Celine Schmitt...
High Commissioner’s statement at the Brussels Syria Conference
By Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Thank you, Chair. Year after year I have stood in this very forum to advocate on behalf of the Syrian people – especially the millions of Syrians who, over 14 years, were forced to flee their homes: 13 million of...
If we neglect immediate humanitarian needs in Syria, social and political divisions will not heal
Without global support, millions of Syrian refugees and displaced people will see their dream of return ruined, warns Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees By Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Ibtihal and her family returned home to the...
Forcibly displaced Syrian women’s crucial role in rebuilding a free Syria for all
This International Women’s Day, I call on the international community to support the efforts of forcibly displaced Syrian women in shaping their nation’s future By Nour Jarrouj The past 14 years have been etched onto my soul. I remember vividly the day the...
Amid funding crunch, UNHCR issues urgent call to protect women and girls from surging violence
GENEVA – On this year’s International Women’s Day, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, warns that critical funding shortages are leaving displaced women and girls at unprecedented risk. Reports of conflict-related sexual violence have surged by 50 per cent in recent years....
UNHCR urges more support in Syria as 1 million displaced in north-west yearn for home
This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Céline Schmitt in Damascus – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today’s press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. GENEVA – Up to 1 million internally displaced people (IDPs) living in...
Aid efforts in Burundi buckling as more Congolese arrive in largest influx in decades
This is a summary of what was said by Faith Kasina, Regional Spokesperson for East and Horn of Africa and Great Lakes – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today’s press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. BUJUMBURA, BURUNDI – As conflict in the...
Mexico marks a milestone: 50,000 refugees and asylum-seekers find stability and rebuild their lives
GENEVA – Since 2016, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, has supported the integration into Mexican communities of 50,000 refugees and asylum-seekers, a notable example of solidarity by the country and its people. “Mexico has become a country where people forced to flee can...