Uploads from UNHCR, tagged migrants, with geodata

UNHCR News Story: More than 30,000 refugees and migrants make risky sea crossing to Yemen this year

nobody@flickr.com (UNHCR) — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 01:44:58 -0700

UNHCR posted a photo:

Somali refugees rest on the coast of Yemen after their gruelling sea journey from the Horn of Africa.
UNHCR/ R. Nuri

More than 30,000 refugees and migrants make risky sea crossing to Yemen this year

GENEVA, April 26 (UNHCR) – The UN refugee agency announced on Friday that its staff in Yemen have recorded the arrival by sea from the Horn of Africa of more than 30,000 refugees and migrants since the start of the year. This compares to 33,634 arrivals over the same time period in 2012.

UNHCR spokesman Adrian Edwards told journalists in Geneva that most of this year's arrivals were Ethiopian nationals, with the rest coming from Somalia and a very small number from other African countries. "In total, and since 2006 when UNHCR began gathering data, close to half a million people (477,000) have arrived in Yemen by taking the perilous boat journey from the Horn of Africa," he noted.

Recorded arrivals in Yemen of refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants have been rising in each of the past six years. Last year, 107,500 people made the journey. Somalis arriving in Yemen are automatically recognized as refugees by the authorities, while UNHCR conducts refugee status determination for other nationals.

Yemen is frequently used as a transit point by Ethiopians looking to travel to the Gulf States and beyond. Few Ethiopians decide to seek asylum. There are many reports of mistreatment, abuse, or torture among people who make the journey by smugglers boats. Hundreds have died over the years.

Conflict and instability in Yemen have limited the ability of the authorities to address trafficking, particularly along the Red Sea coast where Yemeni smugglers and traffickers are often waiting to receive new arrivals from the Horn of Africa.

However, recently the government has been active in detecting smuggler hideouts and taking action. Last week in Hajjah governorate near the Saudi border, the Yemeni authorities stormed a number of houses operated by human traffickers and freed more than 500 Ethiopian migrants, including women and children. Many of the released Africans showed signs of torture and abuse.

"Although the authorities have been conducting similar raids since 2012, incidents of extortion, exploitation, violence and sexual abuse perpetrated against refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants are on the increase in the region," Edwards said.

Many of the new arrivals are abducted or abandoned at the coast. They make their way, generally by foot, to Haradh district in the north where they often find they are unable to continue on to Saudi Arabia. Many suffer hunger and exposure.

Yemen is a historic transit hub for migrants and stands out in the region for its hospitality towards refugees. The country hosts more than 242,000 refugees, of which some 230,000 are of Somali origin.

Out of the total number of those arriving this year, 7,518 arrived in January, 10,145 in February and 1,806 in March. UNHCR is still recording arrivals for April.

UNHCR News Story: UNHCR urges action to prevent boatpeople tragedy in Bay of Bengal

nobody@flickr.com (UNHCR) — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 02:53:16 -0800

UNHCR posted a photo:

Some of those risking their lives on high seas voyages set off from waterways like this one in Rakhine state, Myanmar.
UNHCR / V. Tan / November
2012

UNHCR urges action to prevent boatpeople tragedy in Bay of Bengal

GENEVA, February 22 (UNHCR) – UNHCR on Friday said it was concerned about the growing number of people dying in the Bay of Bengal after setting out by boat in search of safety and better lives in other countries, including desperate ethnic Rohingya from Myanmar. The refugee agency called on regional governments to do more to prevent further tragedy on the high seas.

UNHCR spokesman Andrej Mahecic, talking to journalists in Geneva, several thousand people were believed to have boarded smugglers' boats in the Bay of Bengal since the beginning of the year, among them Rohingya from Myanmar's Rakhine state or from Bangladesh's refugee camps and makeshift sites.

"Most are men, but there are also increasing reports of women and children on these often rickety boats making the journey southwards. We estimate that of the 13,000 people who left on smugglers' boats in 2012, close to 500 died at sea when their boats broke down or capsized," Mahecic said.

He added that while UNHCR was still gathering data from 2012 on deaths at sea, "It is clear that the Indian Ocean has become for people fleeing their countries one of the deadliest stretches of water in the world."

In the latest incident, only a week ago, some 90 people – believed to be Rohingya – are said to have died of dehydration and starvation during a journey that lasted almost two months. More than 30 survivors were rescued last weekend off Sri Lanka's east coast.

Earlier in February, around 130 people reportedly originating from Myanmar and Bangladesh were also rescued at sea by the Sri Lankan navy. UNHCR is seeking independent access to the survivors to assess their situation and needs.

Mahecic said UNHCR was greatly saddened by this latest terrible ordeal, and commended the quick action of the Sri Lankan navy in rescuing this group and providing immediate medical attention.

Violence in western Myanmar's Rakhine state first erupted last June between different communities there. Some 115,000 people – the majority of them Rohingya – have since been uprooted. Most continue to be internally displaced within Rakhine state, but others have resorted to smugglers to help them flee their country.

About 1,700 people have arrived in recent months on the southern coast of Thailand, where the government has granted them six months of temporary protection until solutions can be found. UNHCR teams are talking to the men, who are held in detention facilities, and to the women and children who are in government-run shelters, to assess their situations.

In addition to those who have landed in Thailand, an estimated 1,800 people have arrived in Malaysia since the start of the year. When notified, UNHCR intervenes to secure their release from detention and seeks access to assess their protection needs.

Mahecic said that UNHCR recognized the regional dimension of the irregular movements of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants by sea. "Genuine cooperative regional approaches that promote sharing of burdens and responsibility could offer asylum-seekers and refugees an alternative to dangerous and exploitative boat journeys," he stressed, adding that "UNHCR offers its expertise and good offices to play a constructive role in this process."

The spokesman noted that repeated tragedies at sea also demonstrated the need for a coordinated regional response to distress and rescue at sea. "We urge states to agree protocols for the safe and quick disembarkation of rescued passengers and the provision of urgent humanitarian assistance. Mechanisms must be in place to assess the needs of, and solutions for, different groups, including access to UNHCR for those in need of international protection," said Mahecic.

To help move this process forward, UNHCR is facilitating discussions between interested governments and international organizations at a regional meeting on irregular movements by sea to be held in Jakarta in March.

Amid continuing news reports of boats being pushed back to sea by some countries, UNHCR also urges states in the region to keep their borders open to people in need of international protection and to offer assistance and protection until solutions can be found.

In parallel, UNHCR has been advocating with the Myanmar government to urgently address the root causes of the outflow. The Rohingya are not recognized as citizens of Myanmar and face many restrictions in their daily lives in Rakhine state.

UNHCR News Story: A record 107,500 people reach Yemen in 2012 after risky sea crossing

nobody@flickr.com (UNHCR) — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 07:46:25 -0800

UNHCR posted a photo:

Aid workers from a UNHCR partner organization help people who have just reached the Yemeni shore by boat.
UNHCR/ SHS

A record 107,500 people reach Yemen in 2012 after risky sea crossing

GENEVA, January 15 (UNHCR) – The UN refugee agency announced on Tuesday that some 107,500 African refugees and migrants made the perilous sea journey from the Horn of Africa to Yemen in 2012, the largest such influx since UNHCR began compiling these statistics in 2006. The previous record high was in 2011, when more than 103,000 people arrived in Yemen on smugglers' boats.

Some 84,000, or more than 80 per cent, of the arrivals were Ethiopian nationals, while Somali refugees constituted the rest. Many migrants use Yemen as a transit stop en route to states in the Persian Gulf.

Despite economic and security difficulties last year, Yemen continued to receive and host a record number of people fleeing the Horn of Africa in search of safety, protection and better economic conditions. All Somali arrivals are automatically recognized as refugees by Yemeni authorities.

UNHCR conducts refugee status determination for Ethiopians and other nationalities seeking asylum in Yemen. A very low percentage of Ethiopian arrivals decide to seek asylum, either due to a lack of awareness and access to asylum mechanisms or because they do not meet the criteria to be recognized as refugees. However, for the vast majority of Ethiopian migrants protection space is nearly non-existent and they are often extremely vulnerable.

In Yemen, staff from UNHCR and its local partners conduct daily patrols along the Gulf of Aden coast to provide assistance to all new arrivals that pass through strategically positioned reception and transit centres. However, there are substantial difficulties in responding to the various protection risks that new arrivals face in transit and upon arrival in Yemen.

Boats crossing to Yemen are often overcrowded and smugglers, in order to avoid the Yemeni coastguard, sometimes force the passengers into the water, often far from the shore and in stormy weather. UNHCR estimates that at least 100 people have drowned or gone missing while trying to cross the Gulf of Aden or the Red Sea in 2012.

New arrivals are at risk of exploitation, violence and sexual abuse. The situation is particularly difficult along the Red Sea coast, where Yemeni smugglers and traffickers are often waiting to receive new arrivals. Traffickers mainly target Ethiopians looking to travel onwards to Persian Gulf states.

Conflict and instability in the north and south of the country has curbed the ability of Yemeni authorities to address trafficking. In 2012, there was a proliferation in smuggling and trafficking and a significant increase in reported cases of violence and abuse perpetrated against new arrivals. The increased presence of armed gangs of smugglers and traffickers is an additional risk to aid workers.

"The continually growing mixed migration movement from the Horn of Africa is an issue affecting the region beyond Yemen," UNHCR spokesman Adrian Edwards said in Geneva on Tuesday. "We welcome the decision of the authorities in [the Yemen capital] Sana'a to host a regional conference this year with UNHCR as part of wider efforts to develop a strategy to manage the flow of mixed migrants, and prevent and reduce smuggling and trafficking in the region."

Yemen is a historic transit hub for migrants and stands out in the region for its hospitality towards refugees. The country currently hosts more than 236,000 refugees, virtually all of them of Somali origin. There are also more than 300,000 internally displaced Yemeni civilians in the north due to recurring conflict since 2004.

Meanwhile, in the south, more than 100,000 internally displaced people have returned to their areas of origin in Abyan governorate as the conflict subsided and conditions improved. UNHCR has been advocating with the government and international community to ensure the sustainability of these returns.

On December 30, the UN refugee agency airlifted emergency relief items to Aden, including blankets, plastic sheets and sleeping mats for the returnees. The aid and further assistance arriving by sea will help some 30,000 vulnerable Yemeni families.

UNHCR News Story: 80,000 internally displaced people return home to southern Yemen

nobody@flickr.com (UNHCR) — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 07:58:05 -0800

UNHCR posted a photo:

The internally displaced people who UNHCR registered after they fled fighting are heading back to their homes in southern Yemen.
UNHCR / R. Nuri

80,000 internally displaced people return home to southern Yemen

GENEVA, 16 November (UNHCR) – The UN refugee agency has helped more than 80,000 internally displaced Yemenis return to their homes in the south of their country, the first significant fall in the number of displaced in the area since fighting erupted 18 months ago.

"In southern Yemen, UNHCR is seeing growing numbers of internally displaced people returning to their homes," UNHCR spokesman Adrian Edwards told a news conference. "Over the past four months, and working with the Yemeni authorities, we have helped more than 80,000 people go home, and further returns are on-going. "

The decline in displacement follows the re-establishing of government authority in the southern province of Abyan in July.

"This is the first significant displacement decline since May 2011 when fighting between government troops and militants erupted in the south of Yemen," Edwards said.

Initially, returns were slow due to the widespread presence of landmines and unexploded ordnance, as well as extensive damage to infrastructure. In many cases people also wanted to see more evidence of improved security. However, after de-mining by the Yemeni government and other improvements in security more families are now making the decision to return.

Many of the returns have been from Aden, where more than 23,000 of the 25,000 IDPs who were sheltering in schools and other public buildings have now returned to Abyan. This has allowed normal teaching to resume, although schools still need repairs after having served as IDP sites for over a year.

The 1,500 IDPs still living in Aden schools will be relocated into eight buildings that UNHCR, with the agreement of the government, is rehabilitating to serve as temporary accommodation.

The government has been covering transportation costs – around US$70 per family -- for people returning to Abyan. Security personnel man checkpoints along the route to ensure safe passage, and in Abyan itself UNHCR and other agencies are providing further support.

As the lead international agency responding to IDP and returnee needs for shelter UNHCR has distributed shelter repair kits to some 32,000 people, and non-food items packages to 33,000 people. These packages include mattresses, blankets, kitchen sets, plastic sheeting and tools. UNHCR plans to help 180,000 people in Abyan with shelter and non-food relief kits.

"Currently, the challenges include widespread damage to property and infrastructure, a still fragile security situation, and patchiness in provision of public services," said Edwards. "Continuing international support and stable security will be essential for returns to become sustainable, and particularly if internal displacement in southern Yemen is to be brought to an end during 2013."

Meanwhile in northern Yemen more than 300,000 people are still displaced from a conflict that has been running on and off since 2004 between Yemeni government forces and al Houthis. Insecurity continues to hinder returns there, while tribal clashes earlier in 2012 generated over 6,000 new IDPs in the northern governorates.

Despite the challenges it faces, Yemen remains one of the most generous refugee hosting countries with over 232,000 refugees, mainly Somalis. While 2011 saw a record new influx of 103,000 refugees and migrants, so far in 2012 there have been over 90,500 new arrivals, mainly Ethiopians.

UNHCR Yemen carries out its crucial humanitarian interventions throughout the country with nine offices and some 200 national and international staff on the ground, In 2011 UNHCR's national implementing partners Society for Humanitarian Solidarity (SHS) received the Nansen award for their life-saving assistance to the thousands of refugees and migrants who arrive on the shores of Yemen every year after crossing the Gulf of Aden by boat.

UNHCR News Story: Q&A: Economist seeks to boost refugees' productivity through labour mobility

nobody@flickr.com (UNHCR) — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 01:22:33 -0800

UNHCR posted a photo:

Ali Mansoor, Chair-in-Office of the Global Forum for Migration and Development, believes temporary labour migration programmes can help refugees while meeting labour needs in emerging economies.
UNHCR/ F.Lejeune-Kaba/ November 2012

Q&A: Economist seeks to boost refugees' productivity through labour mobility

GENEVA, November 15 (UNHCR) – The UN refugee agency and the International Labour Organization (ILO) recently organized a workshop in Geneva on labour mobility for refugees*. The purpose was to explore possibilities for refugees to access existing labour migration programmes and to ensure that they have the same opportunities as any qualified migrant. The workshop was supported by this year's Chair-in-Office of the Global Forum for Migration and Development, Ali Mansoor, an economist from Mauritius who came up with the concept. The GFMD forum gathers governments in an informal way to discuss issues relevant to migration and how it could best be used to contribute to economic and social development. UNHCR's communications officer Fatoumata Lejeune-Kaba spoke with Ali Mansoor about the initiative and how it could be put in practice. Excerpts from the interview:

How did the idea of a specific labour migration project for refugees come about?

We tried to use our chairmanship to explore how migration and development policies can best improve the welfare of individuals. We call them migrants but they are people first. Refugees are also people on the move, so we need to include them. They are people who through bad circumstances are kept in limbo, sometimes for many years. They are neither able to achieve their potential, nor contribute to the societies where they are, although they would like to and could be productive. From a human and economic point of view it's a huge waste so naturally we thought: What could we do differently?

Why did you think that such a project would be needed?

There are emerging markets which need labour and they'll need even more labour as they continue to emerge. As economists we wanted to see how to make these emerging markets work and how this demand for labour can be used to improve the welfare of refugees.

How will it work?

I think that multiple solutions are needed. On the one hand, we need to build the scheme based on what countries are willing to do. Given the nature of policy making it will take some time before we come up with precise answers. However, there are some countries which have permanent immigration and a larger number that are keener on temporary labour. One suggestion that I have made is to encourage emerging economies to offer a temporary labour migration programme for refugees to prepare them for more permanent solutions elsewhere. If we could get an agreement that those that are willing to take permanent labour could work with those that need temporary labour, then maybe we can find a win-win situation.

On the other hand, it has to be demand- driven by employers. The notion would be to let employers have a certain quota, where people from refugee camps who they think would meet their needs can be processed on an expedited basis.

Do you have indications that governments will be willing to support your idea?

We have a variety of situations across the world. There are governments who are more welcoming and governments which find it harder to start something new. Countries interested in trying this out can show whether this idea works. Countries which are more reluctant may then decide to participate if the scheme works well. The key however is not to get all countries to sign on. It is to get at least a few who are willing to try. If people worry that refugees will become a burden these fears will be overcome if those who come are productively employed.

How about the risk of compromising refugee status if they are migrant workers?

I don't see why it should be impossible to design systems where people can still be given the protection they need while changing from being a dweller of a refugee camp to somebody living a normal life in a normal house with a normal job. The transition from one to the other doesn't necessarily mean that you have to give up the protection you have.

One of your other projects is to enhance mobility within Africa; do you see refugees fitting into that as well?

The reality is that there is a huge demand for labour within Africa for Africans from neighbouring countries. The largest proportions of Africans who are outside of their country are actually in another African country. All we need to do is recognize this and provide a framework. Several African governments have expressed an interest to explore this together but they will need financial support. Within this framework, hopefully there is also space for refugees to be productively employed in another country rather than be unproductively stuck in camps.

If we are talking about temporary employment what happens afterwards for the refugees?

A temporary labour migration scheme hosted by an emerging economy could be a contribution by preparing people better and improving their skills before they go to a permanent immigration country. This may make it more attractive for countries to take in refugees on a permanent basis and they may be able to expand the number of places. But we also need to look at how this idea could work in practice. Emerging markets willing to participate will need some sort of a workable guarantee that refugees will leave after the end of the temporary labour migration scheme, for example through another country offering permanent settlement.

If conditions which led people to leave home have changed, they could also go back home. The temporary labour migration programme would have enabled them to build up skills and savings, which they can use to rebuild their country and their lives back home.

*The Summary Conclusions of the workshop and other documents from the expert meeting are available at www.unhcr.org/mobility and on www.www.refworld.org.

UNHCR News Story: Travelling photo exhibition on State of World's Refugees opens in New York

nobody@flickr.com (UNHCR) — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 01:35:17 -0700

UNHCR posted a photo:

One of the photographs highlights the importance of education. It shows three young Afghan girls attending school in Pakistan, which might be difficult in some conservative areas of their homeland.
UNHCR/Sam Phelps/ November 2011

Travelling photo exhibition on State of World's Refugees opens in New York

NEW YORK, United States, June 25 (UNHCR) – A new travelling exhibition of photographs featured in a flagship UNHCR publication about refugees around the world has opened to the public at the United Nations building in New York.

The exhibit consists of 26 enlarged photos from "The State of the World's Refugees 2012," which was launched in New York on May 31 by UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres. The book, which is published every few years, explores key trends in forced displacement from 2006 to 2011. It also looks at the situation of stateless people.

The photos on display show the lives of the displaced as well as the vital and life-saving work that UNHCR conducts in the field. The exhibition, which opened last week in the UN Headquarters Visitors' Lobby, also includes videos depicting the stories of people who are either refugees, forcibly displaced within their own country, or stateless.

The powerful images were taken by professional photographers as well as by UNHCR field staff. They show people in rural camp settings and urban areas and depict the humanity and resilience of people forced from their homes.

The photographs include the cover image from the book, a striking aerial shot of makeshift shelters on the edge of Dadaab, the world's largest refugee complex with almost half-a-million Somali refugees. The homes look like mushrooms sprouting out of the arid red soil.

Another stunning image from the Horn of Africa, by Nansen Refugee Award laureate Alixandra Fazzina, shows a line of desperate people wading out to a boat off the coast of northern Somalia, hoping for a safe passage across the dangerous Gulf of Aden to Yemen. Only 11 people survived the journey.

A photo from Greece shows young migrants and asylum seekers looking out through the barred gate of a detention centre on the island of Lesvos. In the western Kyrgyzstan town of Osh, a woman stands in the shell of the home she was forced to flee to escape inter-ethnic violence in 2010. She has a look of sadness and resignation on her face.

A photo from a refugee camp in Pakistan highlights the importance of education; it shows three young Afghan girls attending a class in school, which might be difficult in some conservative areas of their homeland.

The exhibition also looks at UNHCR's mandate to help the estimated 12 million stateless people in the world. An atmospheric portrait by professional photographer Greg Constantine shows a Crimean woman who was deported to Uzbekistan in 1944. In 1997, she returned to Ukraine and eventually acquired citizenship there.

"This exhibit reminds us that the plight of the world's displaced affects every one of us," said Udo Janz, director of the UNHCR office in New York. "International cooperation and support is imperative to improve the availability and quality of protection for the displaced and to pursue lasting solutions to their plight."

The exhibition will run until August 7 and is expected to be shown in other cities around the world, including later this year in Geneva to coincide with an annual dialogue chaired by High Commissioner Guterres between UNHCR and its partners.

2011 Global Trends

nobody@flickr.com (UNHCR) — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 01:35:14 -0700

UNHCR posted a photo:

An Italian Coastguard boat approaches the quay on Lampedusa Island, Italy, to disembark 142 migrants, including 30 women and three children, who were rescued after setting off by boat from Tripoli. They came from West African nations.
UNHCR / F.NOY / may 2011

UNHCR report on asylum in industrialized countries

nobody@flickr.com (UNHCR) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 02:01:33 -0700

UNHCR posted a photo:

A boat of Italian Cost Guards is approaching Lampedusa to disembark 142 migrants, including 30 women and 3 children, coming from Tripoli. They are from Nigeria, Gambia, and West Africa. They used to work in Tripoli in in Libya, but as they did not feel safe anymore, they left. Their boat could not make it to Lampedusa. The Italian cost guards had to transfer the passengers on their own vessel.
UNHCR / F.NOY / may 2011

UNHCR News Story: Fear of compulsory recruitment drives Eritrean teen to flee home

nobody@flickr.com (UNHCR) — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 02:17:36 -0700

UNHCR posted a photo:

Young Eritreans rest in Ethiopia after crossing the border.
UNHCR / G. Beals / February 2012.

Fear of compulsory recruitment drives Eritrean teen to flee home

MAI-AINI REFUGEE CAMP, Ethiopia, March 19 (UNHCR) – Gebre* knew the dangers as well as any 13-year-old. He understood that to be captured fleeing his country by the Eritrean border guards could mean jail or worse. And anyone taking the route to Ethiopia via Sudan could be held for ransom.

But what was certain was that soon Gebre would be old enough to serve in the Eritrean military, where service is tough and lasts for decades. He discussed the matter with his family and together they agreed that he was better off risking a litany of woes than a life of lost opportunity.

And so the night after his family paid 25,000 Eritrean Nakfa (US$1,650) to smugglers, he stepped into the boot of a car and was driven across the border to Sudan. From there, he crossed into Ethiopia and reached Mai-Aini camp.

Like other Eritrean refugees here, Gebre sees Mai-Aini as a way station to bigger and better things. Three years after his arrival in Ethiopia, he is in touch with his grandmother to sponsor his residency in Canada, where she lives. "I've already started the process," says the 16-year-old. "I'll be there soon."

There are currently 1,124 unaccompanied or separated minors in Mai-Aini camp. Some arrive because they are too young to understand the consequence of crossing a border between two hostile states or because they feel they have no opportunities left at home. Others are looking for siblings who have themselves fled earlier.

Close to 4,000 refugees have left the camp and continued on to neighbouring countries since its establishment in 2008. Recently, four drowned attempting to cross the Tkeze River between Ethiopia and Sudan. "[Some] people come to Ethiopia as a transit stop," says Meleku Gutema, a UNHCR protection assistant at Mai-Aini camp. "They are looking to go to a third country, either to reunite with other family members or to get better job opportunities abroad."

There is currently no agreement between Ethiopia and Eritrea which would allow repatriation. Informal repatriation, especially of minors, could take place through the International Committee of the Red Cross until 2009. Now this has been stopped and even messages to families cannot be forwarded.

Unaccompanied youth under the age of 17 live in a special group care section of the camp. Social workers visit every day. Each stone house, where up to six children live, is provided a daily ration of food. The youngsters often cook their own meals and make bread in a common kitchen.

Eleven-year-old Johanas* left Eritrea out of boredom and a dare. He sat with friends in his home village of Sanafa and talked about the dangers of the other side. Everyone had been told that Ethiopians regard Eritrean migrants as spies and that they would be arrested.

"We were just talking and playing with each other," says Johanas. "They told me that I was not man enough to cross the border and I told them I was." Now the boy longs for his mother and two younger sisters. "I need to go back," he says. "I need my mother to sing songs to me."

For the most part, what keeps most of the young in the camp is fear of what lies beyond the next border and the hope that relatives will come to their assistance. Smugglers and traffickers are known to ply the routes to Egypt, Israel and Libya and everyone has heard horror stories of children who left. UNHCR and the government refugee agency, ARRA, have been trying to raise awareness of the dangers.

Abeba,* 15, crossed the border with Ethiopia after walking three hours from her village. One of her girlfriends told her that she wanted to be a refugee and asked her if she would be one too. Abeba was quick to agree, mostly because she missed her sister Gidena,* 21, who had fled months earlier to Ethiopia. When Abeba arrived at Mai-Aini camp in April 2009, she found that her sister had left three months earlier for Israel.

The two sisters are in contact but Napsenet forbade her younger sibling to attempt the crossing to Israel. "She told me that if you come there illegally there are bandits. They will torture you, they will rape you," Abeba says. "So my sister told me, 'Don't you go that way. It is dangerous and it is not for you.'"

Unfortunately many other unaccompanied minors will attempt to make the crossing regardless.

* Names changed for protection reasons.

By Greg Beals in Mai-Aini Refugee Camp, Ethiopia

UNHCR News Story: More than 1,500 drown or go missing trying to cross the Mediterranean in 2011

nobody@flickr.com (UNHCR) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 02:30:01 -0800

UNHCR posted a photo:

Italian coastguard vessels arrive at Lampedusa Island after rescuing people on the Mediterranean.
UNHCR / F.NOY / may 2011

More than 1,500 drown or go missing trying to cross the Mediterranean in 2011

GENEVA, January 31 (UNHCR) – The UN refugee agency on Tuesday released figures showing that more than 1,500 irregular migrants or refugees drowned or went missing last year while attempting crossings of the Mediterranean Sea.

"This makes 2011 the deadliest year for this region since UNHCR started to record these statistics in 2006. The previous high was in 2007 when 630 people were reported dead or missing," Senior Communications Officer Sybella Wilkes told journalists in Geneva, while adding that at least 18 people had drowned this year to date after setting off from Libya for Europe.

"Our teams in Greece, Italy, Libya and Malta, warn that the actual number of deaths at sea may be even higher," Wilkes said. "Our estimates are based on interviews with people who reached Europe on boats, telephone calls and e-mails from relatives, as well as reports from Libya and Tunisia from survivors whose boats either sank or were in distress in the early stages of the journey," she explained.

Wilkes also revealed that a record 58,000 irregular migrants, asylum-seekers and refugees managed to make it to European shores last year after setting off in boats from Asia or North Africa. The previous high was in 2008, when 54,000 people reached Greece, Italy and Malta.

During 2009 and 2010, border control measures sharply reduced the number of arrivals in Europe. The frequency of boat arrivals increased in early 2011 as the governments in Tunisia and Libya collapsed.

The majority of last year's arrivals by sea landed in Italy (56,000, of whom 28,000 were Tunisian) while Malta and Greece received 1,574 and 1,030 respectively. The majority arrived in the first half of the year and most were migrants, not asylum-seekers or refugees. Only three smuggler's boats arrived after mid-August.

UNHCR's Wilkes said that so far this year, "despite high seas and poor weather conditions," three boats had attempted the perilous journey from Libya and one of them – carrying 55 people – had gone missing.

"Libyan coastguards informed UNHCR that 15 dead bodies, all identified as Somali, were found washed up on the beaches [of Libya] last week, including 12 women, two men and a baby girl. On Sunday, three more bodies were recovered," Wilkes said. It was later confirmed that all those who drowned were Somali residents of the makeshift site in Tripoli known as the Railway Project.

The other two boats made it to Malta and Italy, but required rescuing. The Italian coastguard saved 72 Somalis, including a pregnant woman and 29 children, on January 13. The second boat was rescued two days later by the Maltese armed forces with the support of the US navy and a commercial vessel. In total 68 people were rescued from a drifting dinghy.

"UNHCR welcomes the ongoing efforts of the Italian, Maltese and Libyan authorities to rescue boats in distress in the Mediterranean. We renew our call to all shipmasters in the Mediterranean . . . to remain vigilant and to carry out their duty of rescuing vessels in distress," Wilkes said.

UNHCR News Story: Nansen Award winner turns her lens on the Flowers of Afghanistan

nobody@flickr.com (UNHCR) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 06:17:27 -0800

UNHCR posted a photo:

A young Afghan works hard in tough conditions in a small factory in Istanbul
Alixandra Fazzina/NOOR

Nansen Award winner turns her lens on the Flowers of Afghanistan

ISTANBUL, Turkey, January 27 (UNHCR) – Alixandra Fazzina, winner of the prestigious Nansen Refugee Award in 2011, has spent much of her career as a photographer recording the humanitarian consequences of war, including the plight of refugees. Using some of the cash prize that came with the Nansen Medal, she has been following unaccompanied children who make their way towards Europe from Afghanistan. She believes their's is a story that needs to be highlighted. Mostly boys, they are vulnerable to abuse and exploitation by criminal networks. Fazzina has recorded some of their stories in a special website, "Flowers of Afghanistan." The following is an edited and abridged version of one of the stories, which follows Danesh, a 15-year-old from volatile Kapisa province in Afghanistan. She met and photographed him in a freezing cold basement in Istanbul, where he and other young men toil away for 15 hours a day cutting up animal furs to make waistcoats. They must also sleep in the dingy room. Danesh, who never went to school, had left Afghanistan four years earlier. He received his education on the road. His goal, like many of the young Afghans in Istanbul, is to reach Western Europe.

Danesh's Story:

"My whole family is dead. I have no one. In my mind, I can remember only bits of what happened because I was small. My father and brothers and sisters died when a rocket fell on our house and exploded; only my mother survived because she was in another place. After that, she remarried but my stepfather was killed in the fighting. Then one day [when Danesh was 12] I was walking along the roadside going to the bazaar with my mother and I had gone down to the river to drink some water when a lorry came from the other side. She fell under the truck [and was killed].

"I was taken by a relative to his house and spent some time living with him . . . I was just working in the streets selling small things, like sweets and socks, when a stranger came up to me. I think he was a Taliban . . . and although he looked dangerous, he treated me very kindly.

"He gave me a weapon like an AK47 [assault rifle], grenades and a big bundle of banknotes. The first time I fired the gun I fell over, but the man just told me to be stronger. I was young and didn't really want to cooperate.

"I had heard before about kidnappings of children, and many were even taken from around my house. My uncle once warned me that they take the organs of children, their stomachs and their hearts, while many teenagers are taken to be trained for the fight against the government.

"My relative got angry and told me to throw away the weapons and everything. After that he forbade me from leaving the yard, and so I just sat there for two months like a prisoner. During that time the war was quiet for a bit and when the attacks decreased for a few days, I was ordered to leave with a family that was headed to Iran.

"One night, a car came to the village and I was sent off with the husband, his wife and their three children. We drove to Kabul and from there we took buses to Kandahar and Nimroz [in south-west Afghanistan] . . . In Nimroz, we slept at a mosafer khana [guesthouse], but when I woke up the next morning the family were gone. I stayed there for two more nights, helping the owner to wash dishes, but then when he demanded money, he slapped me two times and told me to go away. I was sitting crying in the street when someone asked me why I was so upset and so I told him my story. The man was called Nik and he said that I could come to Iran with him.

"We crossed the border with a large group of travellers and spent one week walking across the mountains. Sometimes villagers gave us food on the way and sometimes Nik had to carry me. When we reached Zaidan, a kind Afghan family gave us shelter and they showed us a guide who could help us to continue our journey.

"It was seven or eight days before we reached Bandar Abbas [on the Persian Gulf] . . . After three months Nik suddenly told me that we would leave to Tehran, but when we went to take the bus the police caught us . . . In the gaol, we were separated and I was put in a place for the under eighteens. But Nik said that I was his brother and I kept saying that he was my brother, so after two weeks we were released.

"At first in Tehran I couldn't work because of my age, but I started helping to make brick walls on a building site. Then Nik decided to go back to Afghanistan and I was left alone again. I started working in a bazaar for a shop that sold fruit, where I earned US$100 a month. I had applied for a refugee card, but before I could get it I was caught once again by the police [and beaten].

"During those two long years I was just growing up, watching other Afghans come and go and earning money. I saw lots of people arriving like ants and leaving for Europe . . . Then one day in the market I met a boy called Abdul and he had a plan to go to France. I trusted him and since I'd managed to collect around US$700, I was convinced that we would go to Turkey together. The agents were asking for US$1,100 so we agreed that someone in Tehran would keep hold of my savings and when I reached Turkey he would hand over the money and I would pay the rest as soon as I found a job. I was betrayed.

"When I reached Van [in south-east Turkey], the smugglers kept me locked up for 10 days and told me that I had to pay all the money plus the costs of my stay with them. I was imprisoned in a basement without windows . . . After that they increased the pressure on me and I was put in another underground room that was really cold and wet and there they started to beat me.

"I was lucky because Abdul managed to talk to the kidnappers and he convinced them that I am a reliable person and I would pay as soon as I started earning money. The agents took me to Ankara and put me to work for a month until I had paid them as much as I could, but still I have debts to them. After they set me free I headed to Istanbul and one month ago I found a job at this kargah [factory], where I cut fur for around US$200 a month.

"Many people are advising me now that my future will be better in Europe and so many others have gone. I'm thinking about first paying back the money I owe to the smugglers and then I will begin saving for the next stage of my journey . . . One day soon I would like to stop and have a safe and calm life without any adventures. By seventeen, I'd definitely like to be growing up somewhere in Europe."

By Alixandra Fazzina

Visit the Flowers of Afghanistan website
theflowersofafghanistan.com/

UNHCR News Story: A record 103,000 refugees and migrants cross the high seas to Yemen in 2011

nobody@flickr.com (UNHCR) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 00:53:43 -0800

UNHCR posted a photo:

Most of the new arrivals reach Yemen's shores in desperate condition – dehydrated, malnourished and often in shock.
© SHS / October 2006.

A record 103,000 refugees and migrants cross the high seas to Yemen in 2011

GENEVA, January 20 (UNHCR) – Despite growing instability and a worsening security situation in Yemen, a record 103,000 refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants risked the perilous high seas to reach the Middle East nation from Africa.

Last year saw an almost 100 per cent increase from 2010, when 53,000 people made the same journey across the Gulf of Aden or the Red Sea. The previous highest recorded number of arrivals was in 2009, when at least 78,000 people crossed. UNHCR has been gathering data on the mixed migration flow from the Horn since 2006.

"Among those who made the crossing last year, more than 130 are known to have drowned," UNHCR spokesman Adrian Edwards told journalists in Geneva on Friday. "Most of the new arrivals reach Yemen's shores in desperate condition – dehydrated, malnourished and often in shock."

Those crossing the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden from Somalia and other Horn of Africa countries face extreme risks and challenges at every stage of their journey. These include physical and sexual violence as well as trafficking. Once in Yemen they face new difficulties such as inadequate access to basic services as well as limitations to the freedom of movement and lack of access to employment.

"The latest data also shows a striking increase in the number of Ethiopians arriving in Yemen – who now account for three out of every four arrivals," Edwards said, while noting that until 2008 the majority of those making the crossing were Somali refugees fleeing violence and human rights abuses in their country. Ethiopian nationals have since been in the majority.

On arrival in Yemen, Somalis are automatically recognized as refugees, which ensures access to documentation and relatively unhindered movement. Some 25,500 Somali refugees arrived in Yemen last year, bringing the total in the country to more than 200,000. UNHCR and its partners manage a network of reception centres along the coast, providing protection and assistance.

For Ethiopians, the situation in Yemen is far more challenging and dangerous. Out of some 76,000 who arrived in 2011, one in five applied for asylum in Yemen. That is a 10 per cent increase from 2010.

UNHCR's Edwards said many Ethiopian arrivals still say they left home for economic reasons and they see Yemen as a transit country in their journey to Persian Gulf states. Fearing detention and deportation, they avoid contact with the authorities. They are at risk of robbery, abuse and extortion at the hands of smugglers and traffickers.

"We are particularly alarmed by an incident earlier this week in which three Ethiopians were killed by smugglers operating along Yemen's Red Sea coast," the UNHCR spokesman said. According to initial reports, the Ethiopians were shot while trying to escape from the smugglers, who were attempting to extort money. The incident happened in Taiz governorate on January 13.

"These deaths are tragic and underline the serious risks African refugees, potential asylum-seekers and migrants face in crossing the Gulf of Aden or the Red Sea. It is our hope that the Yemeni authorities will find the perpetrators and bring them to justice," Edwards said.

Instability and the reduced police presence in Yemen are giving human traffickers and smugglers more room to operate. It is also frequently preventing patrols along Yemen's shores by humanitarian teams as they try to reach new arrivals before the smugglers. Reports of abductions of migrants or refugees upon arrival in Yemen persist – mostly for ransom or extortion. While the main targets seem to be Ethiopian new arrivals some Somali refugees have been also abducted.

Another worrying trend has been the prevalence of violent physical and sexual abuse of refugees and migrants by the smugglers. UNHCR last year recorded instances of rape, sexual assault and physical abuse. The refugee agency and its partners provide medical assistance and counselling to survivors.

UNHCR News Story: Landmark UNHCR conference opens with appeal for the world's forcibly displaced, stateless

nobody@flickr.com (UNHCR) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 05:02:48 -0800

UNHCR posted a photo:

UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres addresses the opening of the ministerial meeting in Geneva on Wednesday 7 December 2011.
UNHCR Photo / Jean-Marc Ferré

Landmark UNHCR conference opens with appeal for the world's forcibly displaced, stateless

GENEVA, December 7 (UNHCR) – UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres on Wednesday opened the largest conference of its kind in UNHCR's 60-year history with an appeal for urgent reinforcing of the international system that deals with the world's millions of stateless people and forcibly displaced.

In his opening address to the ministerial meeting in Geneva's Palais des Nations, Guterres warned that a succession of political crises and the global economic downturn were contributing to a significantly more challenging environment for protecting people who are forced to flee their homes. And he took a swipe at those playing on public uncertainty and anxiety to promote xenophobia.

"Populist politicians and irresponsible elements of the media exploit feelings of fear and insecurity to scapegoat foreigners, try to force the adoption of restrictive policies, and actively spread racist and xenophobic sentiments," he said, adding that governments and social and political movements needed to be more courageous in confronting intolerance. "Refugees are not a security threat, but rather the first victims of insecurity."

The UN refugee agency was created in December 1950, initially as a response to displacement in Europe in the wake of World War II. The 1951 UN Refugee Convention came about a few months later and has since become one of the most widely accepted international human rights instruments – responsible for saving millions of refugee lives.

UNHCR's work has expanded, meanwhile, to include statelessness and helping some of the millions of internally displaced people. At the start of this year, the global population of refugees, asylum-seekers and people displaced internally by conflict, stood at 43.7 million people. The number of stateless people is harder to determine, but is estimated at 12 million or more.

Guterres spoke of four challenges to providing the kind of protection that the Refugee Convention aspired to: failures of states to live up to their Convention obligations; disproportionate burdens for developing countries, who host 80 per cent of the world's refugees; the millions of refugees left stranded in protracted displacement limbo; and the complicating effects of factors such as population growth, food and water insecurity. He also warned that climate change was increasingly exacerbating other drivers of forced displacement.

"A growing number of people are uprooted by natural disasters or lose their livelihoods to desertification, with climate change now found to be the key factor accelerating all other drivers of forced displacement," he said. "These persons are not truly migrants, in the sense that they did not move voluntarily. As forcibly displaced not covered by the refugee protection regime, they find themselves in a legal void. So while the nature of forced displacement is rapidly evolving, the responses available to the international community have not kept pace."

The High Commissioner called on states to look at ways to strengthen their own protection mechanisms for the displaced and stateless. He also announced a commitment by UNHCR to do more to fight sexual and gender-based violence – with particular focus on women and girls of concern to UNHCR.

"What I am asking of you here today is not a new convention or an extended mandate," he said. "What I am asking is for all of us assembled here to assume our shared duty … to open up the way for innovative responses that will help protect people in need, benefit the social cohesion of society and strengthen global peace and security."

United States Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, in a special address, reaffirmed her government's support for UNHCR while calling on governments to work closer together to help the stateless and the displaced. "We have to do a better job of breaking down barriers, both within our governments and between our governments and multilateral organizations," she said. "If we do what is necessary today, we can alleviate a lot of suffering."

Clinton said the United States would be delivering 28 pledges to the meeting, including one aimed at spreading awareness about "one of the major causes of statelessness, which is discrimination against women." She said at least 30 countries prevent women from acquiring, retaining or transmitting citizenship to their children or their foreign spouses. And in some cases nationality laws strip women of their citizenship if they marry someone from another country."

She urged other nations to join the US initiative to "build awareness about these issues and support efforts to end or amend such discriminatory laws."

The Secretary of State also said more needed to be done to support host nations, such as Kenya, "that have shown great compassion and concern, often at the expense of their security and needs." Kenya's Immigration Minister Otieno Kajwang told delegates Kenya now hosts more than 600,000 refugees from conflict-torn Somali. "Kenya is overwhelmed," he said, while noting the monetary costs and the security challenges. He insisted that host countries "are entitled to burden-sharing by the international community."

Clinton, meanwhile, cited a former Somali refugee resettled in the United States, Fatouma Elmi, as "evidence of the wisdom of investing in women." Elmi, who fled Somalia when war broke out in 1991, helps refugees build new lives in the US. She is part of the US delegation.

UNHCR's two-day ministerial conference is expected to see governments making a number of commitments to better standards of national and international protection for the forcibly displaced and stateless. On Wednesday evening, several countries are expected to formally accede to one of the refugee or statelessness conventions. A final communiqué will be issued on Thursday.

Representatives from almost 150 countries are attending, including about 70 other ministerial-level government officials. The conference is the culmination of political and diplomatic efforts over many years by UNHCR to rally renewed support and commitments for the fundamental legal treaties that enable the agency to provide protection and assistance to people worldwide.

In a year of commemorations, UNHCR has celebrated important milestones for two of those treaties – the 60th anniversary of the UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 50th anniversary of the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. The UN refugee agency reached its own 60th birthday last December.

Keynote speeches:

Opening Statement by High Commissioner António Guterres
www.unhcr.org/4ecd0cde9.html

Remarks by US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton
www.unhcr.org/4edf43a76.html

Video Message by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
www.unhcr.org/4edf44116.html

To watch the video: unhcr.org/v-4edf97a26

UNHCR News Story: Pakistan: Flood Relief

nobody@flickr.com (UNHCR) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 02:09:15 -0700

UNHCR posted a photo:

Kazbano, 16 years old stands outside her family's tent in a UNHCR emergency relief camp for flood affected communities alongside a road between the city of Hyderabad and Thatta, Thatta District, Sindh, Pakistan
UNHCR / S. Phelps / September 2011

Pakistan: Flood Relief

Floods in Pakistan have ruined crops and destroyed homes. The rains have ended but displaced people will need help for weeks or months to come.

To watch the video: unhcr.org/v-4e92e7a96

UNHCR News Story: UNHCR concerned at detention of asylum-seekers, releases new guidelines

nobody@flickr.com (UNHCR) — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 05:12:12 -0700

UNHCR posted a photo:

A mother and her children at a detention centre in Greece. UNHCR advocates for alternatives to detention, especially for vulnerable asylum-seekers such as mothers and children.
UNHCR / J. Björgvinsson / June 2010

UNHCR concerned at detention of asylum-seekers, releases new guidelines

GENEVA, September 21 (UNHCR) – The UN refugee agency on Friday issued new guidelines on the detention of asylum-seekers and said UNHCR was concerned at its growing use in a number of countries.

"The guidelines represent UNHCR policy and are intended as advice for governments and other bodies making decisions on detaining people," spokesman Adrian Edwards told journalists in Geneva on Friday.

As a principle, UNHCR opposes detention of people seeking international protection. The new guidelines make clear that seeking asylum is not a criminal act, and that indefinite and mandatory forms of detention are prohibited under international law, Edwards explained.

"We are disappointed that many countries continue to hold asylum-seekers in detention, sometimes for long periods and in poor conditions, including in some cases in prisons together with common criminals," he said.

UNHCR is particularly concerned that detention is in growing use in a number of countries. Edwards said that the refugee agency's research "shows that irregular migration is not deterred even by stringent detention practises, and that practical alternatives to detention do exist. In addition, there are well-known negative and at times serious physical and psychological consequences for asylum-seekers in detention."

The new guidelines, reflecting the current state of the international law, supersede the last ones issued by UNHCR in 1999. They recognize the phenomenon of irregular migration as well as mixed movements of refugees and migrants that can strain asylum systems in many countries.

This is a particular challenge for governments, and some of them respond through detention policies and practices, extending it – at times – to asylum-seekers. "The fundamental right to liberty and the prohibition of arbitrary detention applies to all people regardless of their immigration or other status," Edwards stressed.

The right to seek asylum entails open and humane reception arrangements for asylum-seekers. Recent research on alternatives to detention, commissioned by UNHCR, shows that with community-based supervision arrangements, more than 90 per cent of asylum-seekers comply with conditions of release from detention.

"UNHCR calls on states to make better use of alternatives to detention. These can include various forms of reporting requirements to community and supervision schemes or accommodation in designated reception centres, but with guaranteed freedom of movement," the spokesman said.

Such solutions are important features of immigration and asylum regimes. Alternatives to detention are also far more cost-effective than detention. UNHCR will continue to carry out research to identify and promote good practices related to alternatives to detention of asylum-seekers and remains fully engaged on this issue at international and national levels.

"We stress our view that unaccompanied children should not be detained," Edwards said. "UNHCR calls on governments to also pay special attention to vulnerable asylum-seekers such as victims of torture and trauma, older persons or persons with disabilities," he added.

The UN refugee agency believes detention should be a measure of last resort, prescribed by national laws and implemented only where necessary and proportionate to a legitimate purpose – in conformity with international standards.

"In line with the growth in international, regional and national monitoring and inspection bodies, we stress that detention should be subject to independent monitoring and inspection, including by UNHCR," Edwards said.

UNHCR Detention Guidelines (pdf):
www.unhcr.org/505b10ee9.html

UNHCR News Story: Almost 64,000 risk the high seas to Yemen in first seven months

nobody@flickr.com (UNHCR) — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 01:34:24 -0700

UNHCR posted a photo:

Exhausted new arrivals recover on a beach after crossing the ocean to southern Yemen.
SHS / A. S. Hussein / 2011

Almost 64,000 risk the high seas to Yemen in first seven months

NAIROBI, Kenya, August 28 (UNHCR) – The flow of refugees and migrants from the Horn of Africa across the perilous high seas to Yemen hit a record total of more than 63,800 in the first seven months of the year.

The January to July figure was up 30 per cent on the 48,700 recorded in the same period for 2011, which was itself a record year for crossings. Last year, more than 103,000 refugees and migrants crossed the Gulf of Aden or the Red Sea on smugglers' boats, the highest total since 2006 when UNHCR started collecting data on this route.

Once data for August is compiled, another spike in arrivals in Yemen is expected. Migrants who go to Yemen in the hope of reaching the Gulf states, usually try to depart during the fasting month of Ramadan because they think patrols on the border between Yemen and Saudi Arabia are more lax during this time.

Meanwhile, the figures for this year show a significant change in the composition of those making the crossing, with more Ethiopians risking the trip with help from smugglers operating along the shores of Somalia and Djibouti. More than 51,000 have crossed this year.

In previous years, Somali refugees have constituted between a quarter and a third of all arrivals to Yemen, but from January to July this year only one-in-six of those arriving were Somali nationals, who are automatically recognized as refugees in neighbouring countries due to the turmoil in their homeland.

A UNHCR spokesperson said the refugee agency's "primary concern is for those fleeing conflict and persecution and who are forced to resort to any available means to reach safety in neighbouring countries – in this case, meaning taking boats operated by smugglers."

Some of the Ethiopians who reach Yemen decide to seek asylum. Most cite a lack of prospects and a difficult economic situation. To avoid detention and deportation, they attempt to evade contact with the Yemeni authorities. Reports of serious abuses of Ethiopians at the hands of smugglers have been increasing.

"We are also seeing disturbing trends in the way that boat crossings are being done. In addition to growth in the number of daily boat departures to Yemen from Djibouti, the smuggling process has now become so organized that those deciding to make this dangerous journey are using established money transfer systems to pay smugglers [rather than risk carrying cash]," the spokesperson said.

The vast majority are crossing the Red Sea from Obock, Djibouti, with the remainder crossing the Gulf of Aden from Somaliland and Puntland.

UNHCR News Story: High Commissioner for Refugees wraps up mission to Myanmar, Thailand

nobody@flickr.com (UNHCR) — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 00:51:58 -0700

UNHCR posted a photo:

UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres gave staff in Bangkok a traditional Thai greeting as he concluded his mission to the region today.
UNHCR / S. Bhukittikul / July 2012

High Commissioner for Refugees wraps up mission to Myanmar, Thailand

BANGKOK, Thailand, July 13 (UNHCR) – UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres has concluded a five-day trip to South-east Asia with agreements in both Thailand and Myanmar that refugees should only return home voluntarily, in safety and in dignity – and should be able to stay home when they do go.

"We don't want the refugees of today to become the irregular migrants of tomorrow," he said.

Meeting Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, he thanked Thailand for its generosity in hosting tens of thousands of Myanmar refugees for more than two decades. The two reached "a solid agreement" that refugees should only go home when they choose to do so.

Earlier in Myanmar, Guterres told President Thein Sein and other senior officials that UNHCR supports peace-building in the south-east (the area from which refugees fled to Thailand) through assistance to displaced people.

"We are ready to help prepare for returns, which should be voluntary and carried out in safety and dignity, both of those displaced within the country and from the nine refugee camps in Thailand," he told the president and other authorities.

Both in Myanmar and in his meeting in Bangkok with the secretary general of Thailand's National Security Council, Wichean Potephosree, all sides agreed that the return of many of the 150,000 refugees now in nine camps in Thailand must be sustainable.

All sides also agreed to work together to create security, economic and social conditions on the ground to make returns successful and ensure that refugees will be able to make a living when they go back. "No one wants refugees to go home, only to have to flee again," Guterres said, "Or, worse yet, become displaced within their own country."

Less encouraging were recent disturbances in Myanmar's western Rakhine state, but there UNHCR has been delivering – and will continue to deliver – humanitarian aid to both displaced communities, Rakhine and Muslim, without discrimination.

"We believe that this can be a factor for reconciliation between communities and we hope that a situation will be established in Rakhine state with the rule of law prevailing, with a human rights-based approach," Guterres said.

The High Commissioner also expressed concerned for the status of the 800,000 stateless Muslims of northern Rakhine state.

He told President Thein Sein and the Myanmar government he hoped that – independently of possible improvements in the nationality law – nationality would be granted to the members of the Muslim community who are entitled to it under the present legislation.

"Others should receive a legal status that would grant them the full enjoyment of rights required to develop a normal life in the country," he added.

On Friday night, the High Commissioner was to travel to Ethiopia for the Africa Union summit and for a field mission on Monday to see conditions for refugees from Sudan's Blue Nile State.

By Kitty McKinsey in Bangkok, Thailand

2011 Global Trends

nobody@flickr.com (UNHCR) — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 01:35:02 -0700

UNHCR posted a photo:

Several thousand refugees and migrants fleeing Libya are pressed against a concrete wall erected in the no-man's land between the main Libya-Tunisia border crossing. The 2011 uprising in Libya and subsequent exodus of people to Tunisia and Egypt was another major displacement crisis last year.
UNHCR / A. Duclos / 1 March 2011

UNHCR News Story: Survivors of sea voyage to Malta say seven Somali refugees died

nobody@flickr.com (UNHCR) — Wed, 09 May 2012 01:03:56 -0700

UNHCR posted a photo:

An aerial photo from the past shows an overcrowded boat off the coast of Malta.
© ANSA.

Survivors of sea voyage to Malta say seven Somali refugees died

VALETTA, Malta, May 8 (UNHCR) – Somali asylum-seekers who landed their boat on one of Malta's most popular beaches at the weekend have told UNHCR that seven fellow passengers died during their week-long voyage from Libya.

The boat came ashore at Riviera Bay on Saturday and the emergency services were alerted to the arrival of the 90 exhausted Somalis by people enjoying an evening on the beach.

This is the fourth such boat to have arrived in Malta this year, bringing a cumulative total of more than 210 people. A further 26 vessels carrying migrants and refugees have arrived in Italy from Libya. "According to our regional office in Italy the latest deaths bring the number of reported or confirmed dead among people attempting to reach Europe from Libya to 81 this year – or two people every three days on average," UNHCR spokesman Adrian Edwards said.

Compared to last year, which saw tens of thousands of people travelling from Tunisia and Libya, numbers of arrivals in Malta and Italy from North Africa are down, with around 1,400 people having arrived in 2012, the majority in Italy.

Last year, an estimated 1,500 people were reported missing or dead attempting to reach Europe across the Mediterranean.

"UNHCR reiterates its call to ship masters in the Mediterranean for heightened vigilance and continued adherence to the longstanding maritime obligation of aiding those in distress," Edwards stressed.

UNHCR News Story: Mixed maritime migration to Yemen reaches record annual high

nobody@flickr.com (UNHCR) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 01:35:10 -0800

UNHCR posted a photo:

Somali refugees wait on Yemen's Red Sea coast for transport to Aden.
UNHCR/ R. Nuri/ October 2010

Mixed maritime migration to Yemen reaches record annual high

GENEVA, November 18 (UNHCR) – More than 12,500 refugees and migrants arrived in Yemen on smuggler boats last month, pushing the total for this year to a record 84,656.

The 12,545 people who crossed from the Horn of Africa in October was itself the highest monthly total since UNHCR began compiling data about the mixed migration route in January 2006. Those making the dangerous crossing cite a range of political and economic reasons.

Of this year's arrivals 23,079 are from Somalia, while nearly all the remaining 61,577 people are Ethiopians. The combined total to date well exceeds the previous annual record of 77,000 people recorded in 2009.

UNHCR's chief spokesperson, Melissa Fleming, said in Geneva on Friday that Somali refugees accounted for the majority of all arrivals in Yemen between 2006 and 2008. "But that has changed," she told journalists, adding that Ethiopian migrants have since 2009 constituted the largest group among those crossing the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. "From 2006 to 2011 their number has increased sixfold – from some 11,000 in 2006 to 61,000 between January and October this year," she noted.

The sailing patterns have also shifted significantly over the years. Initially, most of the crossings occurred in the Gulf of Aden, where the journey from Somalia to Yemen takes three to four days. Since 2009 there has been increasing traffic on the Red Sea. There, the voyage from the Horn to Yemen, with boats now arriving at all times of day, lasts only a few hours. Today, three out of four boats reaching Yemen come ashore on its Red Sea coast.

Refugees from Somalia cite conflict, insecurity, drought and the resulting famine as the main factors driving them to leave their country. Most arrive in Yemen unaware of the insecurity there, which makes further movement difficult and risky.

Most Ethiopians say they left home because of a lack of economic and livelihood opportunities, but some have indicated they fled in fear of persecution or insecurity in their regions of origin.

As well as affecting refugees and migrants, the insecurity and fighting in many parts of Yemen also poses additional challenges and risks for UNHCR staff and people working for its implementing partners.

"Our partners have been forced to reduce the number of convoys and take longer routes transporting refugees from the reception and transit centres along the Gulf coast to Kharaz refugee camp, some 130 kilometres west of Aden," Fleming said.

"Together with our partners we are informing all those in the reception and transit centres about the situation in Yemen. But many decide not to wait for transport and set off on foot towards Yemeni towns and cities – often through conflict-affected areas," she added.

The UN refugee agency is also concerned about an increasing trend of abductions, extortions, kidnappings and sexual assaults targeting refugees, and particularly Ethiopian migrants.

While Somalis are automatically recognized as refugees upon arrival in Yemen, many Ethiopians are taken by smugglers to other Gulf states or held for ransom before they can have any contact with the authorities or UNHCR. The perpetrators are mainly smuggling gangs profiting from a reduced police presence in parts of Yemen, particularly along the Red Sea coast. UNHCR continues to provide medical and legal assistance as well as counselling to victims.

Yemen currently hosts more than 200,000 Somali refugees. In addition, an estimated 445,000 Yemeni civilians are displaced throughout the country. UNHCR and its partners continue to provide essential protection and assistance.