Statement from Santiago, Chile, by UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi
My visit to Chile – the first by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees – comes amidst the largest population movements in Latin America’s recent history. Chile is among the nations most affected by the mass exodus of refugees and migrants from Venezuela,...
UNHCR urges Europe to allow 507 rescued passengers to disembark
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is today calling on European governments to allow the immediate disembarkation of 507 people recently rescued on the Central Mediterranean who remain stranded at sea. Many are reportedly survivors of appalling abuses in Libya and are from...Gillian Triggs appointed UNHCR’s Assistant High Commissioner for Protection
UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi has today welcomed the appointment of Ms. Gillian Triggs as Assistant High Commissioner for Protection to oversee the agency’s international protection work for millions of refugees, internally displaced, stateless and...Amidst escalating violence in Mali, UNHCR issues new protection guidelines
This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Andrej Mahecic – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today’s press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. In light of the deteriorating humanitarian and security situation, UNHCR, the UN...
More than half a million Rohingya refugees receive identity documents, most for the first time
This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Andrej Mahecic – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today’s press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. As of Wednesday, more than 500,000 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar have been...
Indigenous people from Venezuela seek safety across the border in Brazil
After violence broke out in their native Venezuela, hundreds of members of the Pemon indigenous group fled to a village across the border in Brazil. By Roger Burks in Tarauparu, Brazil One night in February, the inhabitants of a tiny indigenous hamlet in one of the...
Colombia acts to ensure children born to Venezuelan parents are not left stateless
The Colombian Government has taken a major step in combatting statelessness by ensuring that children born in the country to Venezuelan parents are able to acquire Colombian nationality. The measure, which was announced on Monday, is expected to benefit the 24,000...
UNHCR concerned at new measures impacting rescue at sea in the Central Mediterranean
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, is concerned about last night’s decision by the Italian...