Crises

Central African Republic

More children killed in Central African Republic amid escalating violence< (UNICEF, 17 April 2013)

In the face of intensifying violence in the Central African Republic, including on a playing field and at a church, more and more children are being killed and injured, says UNICEF. UNICEF is calling on all armed groups to stop actions that are putting civilian lives at risk, either through fighting or by preventing humanitarian aid reaching those in need.

Democratic Republic of Congo

UNHCR chief urges international support for Central African Republic and DR Congo< (UNHCR, 12 April 2013)

UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres on Friday called on the international community to increase its support for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Central African Republic (CAR), which have both been facing major humanitarian crises for more than a decade.

UN to probe claims of rape by DR Congo army, rebels <(AFP, 17 April 2013)

The United Nations said Wednesday it would investigate dozens of claims of rape by army officers and rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

The UN's mission in the country, Monusco, said that 126 cases of rape were recorded between November 15 and 30 last year in and around Minova, in the restive eastern province of South Kivu.

Mali

Malian refugees face abject conditions, long displacement <(IRIN, 17 April 2013)

Some 70,000 Malian refugees in Mauritania are facing enormous hardships and, as political and ethnic tensions persist back home, the prospect of a prolonged displacement.

Medical aid group Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) called for long-term plans to improve the living conditions of the refugees at Mbéra camp, near the Mauritania-Mali border. The camp is in the middle of the desert, where temperatures can soar up to 50 degrees Celsius.

UNHCR urgently needs funding to continue assisting displaced Malians <(UNHCR, 19 April 2013)

The UN refugee agency on Friday renewed an appeal for millions of dollars to help meet the needs of tens of thousands of Malian refugees and almost 300,000 internally displaced people.

"UNHCR needs US$144 million to cover the basic protection and assistance needs. So far we have received only 32 per cent of this amount," spokesman Adrian Edwards told journalists in Geneva. "The financial requirements and activities presented in the Special Appeal are not additional to the ones approved by our Executive Committee in 2012 but reflect a reprioritization of UNHCR's budget based on the latest developments in the region," he added.

South Sudan

In a move to a new camp, refugees in South Sudan respond cautiously <(UNHCR, 17 April 2013)

During the past three weeks, Hassam Neel Salom has been among a small, but growing number of refugees who have moved from a crowded and insecure settlement near a contested section of the border between South Sudan and Sudan to a new camp.

Salom first came to the Ajoung Thok camp as part of a UNHCR cash for work programme and, together with other refugees and men from the surrounding host communities, helped to construct a refugee camp meeting international standards in a wooded area away from the militarized zone. It will eventually be able to accommodate 20,000 people.

Sudan

Regional insecurity adding to Chad's humanitarian needs <(IRIN, 12 April 2013)

Chad is grappling with an influx of refugees and returnees into its south-eastern regions, mainly from neighbouring Sudan, and others from the Central African Republic (CAR) following a series of inter-ethnic clashes in Darfur and a recent coup in the CAR, respectively.

At least 74,000 people have fled into Chad from Darfur in the past two months, 50,000 of them in the past week alone, sparking the largest influx of refugees from Sudan into Chad since 2005, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

Syria

A city that’s not a city – inside a Syrian refugee camp<(The Guardian, 19 April 2013)

A city that’s not a city, Jordan’s Zaatari camp sits just across the border and houses more than 100,000 Syrians. Located in desert terrain, the ground is so white and dusty it almost looks as though it is snowing. The majority of refugees live in tents provided by UN refugee agency UNHCR, with the more fortunate housed in “caravans” – prefab buildings which have the bonus of flooring. Makeshift shops line the main thoroughfares selling many things, from candyfloss to cigarettes.

U.N. aid groups say world must act now to save Syria <(Reuters, 15 April 2013)

World leaders must act urgently to break the diplomatic deadlock around Syria if they want to prevent the crisis from reaching a dangerous tipping point, the heads of the United Nations aid agencies said on Monday in a rare political appeal.

If the international community continues to dither the crisis could turn into a humanitarian catastrophe that could scar the region for a generation, one of the leaders said.

Is Turkey's approach to Syrian refugees sustainable?< (IRIN, 15 April 2013)

On a small piece of land beside the rushing Euphrates River, 908 white, prefabricated container homes sit surrounded by double-barbed wire fences and guard towers.

Each one - with two rooms, two windows, a door and a small bathroom - is meant to accommodate a family.

Promised aid funding for Syria reaches half-way point*< (IRIN, 18 April 2013)

UN officials are lauding as a “big achievement” today’s announcement that Kuwait has officially allocated $300 million promised for humanitarian aid in Syria.

Only once before has a Gulf country contributed such a large amount of money through multilateral channels - when Saudi Arabia made a $500 million contribution to the World Food Programme (WFP) in 2008, the single largest cash donation ever made to a UN agency.

Syrian refugees burden and benefit for Lebanese economy <(Reuters, 17 April 2013)

What happens to a country when one in 10 of its residents is a refugee?

For the government of Lebanon - a tiny Mediterranean state of 4 million people that has seen almost half a million Syrians enter its territory over the past two years - the answer is clear. But economists say it may be overlooking the opportunities an influx of refugees can bring.

Kuwait gives UNHCR US$110 million for Syria operations< (UNHCR, 18 April 2013)

UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres on Thursday warmly thanked and praised Kuwait after receiving an unprecedented US$110 million cheque from the emirate for its Syria crisis operations.

Speaking at a presentation ceremony in Geneva, the High Commissioner also urged other countries to follow Kuwait's example, which he said had given UNHCR and other UN agencies a "breathing space" at a time when funding is desperately short.

Jordanians feel the heat as more Syrians flee< (AFP, 17 April 2013)

Jordan, already straining from hosting hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees, is increasingly feeling the heat from its own citizens who are fed up with the growing influx.

Jordan says it is hosting more than 500,000 Syrian refugees and the authorities last week opened a new refugee camp in the Mrigeb al-Fuhud area east of the capital Amman as thousands continue to flee the war across the border.

Syria: UN Humanitarian Chief urges Security Council to “end this brutal conflict”< (OCHA, 18 April 2013)

The United Nation’s Humanitarian Chief, Valerie Amos, has called on the Security Council to find an immediate political solution to the conflict in Syria, warning that continued failure could see the country reach a “point of no return”.

“The situation in Syria is a humanitarian catastrophe with ordinary people paying the price for the failure to end the conflict,” she told the Security Council in New York.

UNHCR chief warns Security Council of "terrifying" situation for Syria< (UNHCR, 18 April 2013)

UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres, warned the United Nations Security Council today that without an end to the fighting soon, almost half of Syria's 20.8 million people could be in need of humanitarian help by the end of this year.

In an address to the Council by video-link from Geneva, Guterres said 400,000 refugees had fled Syria in the last seven weeks, bringing the population of Syrians registered as refugees or waiting to be registered to 1,367,413. If current trends continue, he said, then by the end of the year there may be up to 3.5 million Syrians refugees, together with 6.5 million people inside Syria who may be in need of help.

UN agencies ask deadlocked Security Council to OK cross-border Syria relief operations< (The Washington Post, 18 April 2013)

The U.N.’s chief humanitarian official asked the Security Council to approve cross-border relief operations into Syria to deliver aid to millions suffering from the country’s civil war.

U.N. agency chiefs for humanitarian affairs, refugees, women in conflict, and children in conflict used the Security Council briefing to speak over the heads of the deadlocked council nations to appeal to the world for support.

Spindelegger: "Two million euros for Syrian refugees" <(Government of Austria, 16 April 2013)

"The conflict in Syria has lasted for over two years now and it is resulting in an ever increasing death toll and destroying the livelihood of millions of people. Moreover, the pressure on the neighbouring countries of Syria is also increasing, with more and more refugees from Syria seeking shelter. Last week I visited a refugee camp in Lebanon and witnessed the harsh living conditions of Syrian refugees. We would like to make a contribution here and have decided to make an additional two million euros from the Foreign Disaster Relief Fund available to alleviate humanitarian distress", Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger announced today after the session of the Ministerial Council.

Syria air strikes kill 12 children: watchdog <(AFP, 14 April 2013)

Air strikes by regime warplanes killed at least 12 children in two incidents on Sunday, one targeting a Kurdish village in northeast Syria and the other a district of Damascus, a watchdog said.

Elsewhere, activists accused the regime of destroying the minaret of the historic Omari mosque in southern Daraa, the so-called cradle of the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad.

Syria refugees: your stories <(The Guardian, 16 April 2013)

The number of refugees fleeing the civil war in Syria has reached 1.3 million according to the UN. There are refugee camps in neighbouring Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon, Egypt and Iraq. If you're affected by the crisis – whether as a refugee or an aid worker – we would like to hear from you.

Podcast

Global development podcast: modern-day slavery in focus <(The Guardian, 18 April 2013)

The UN's International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimates that 21 million people around the world are engaged in forced labour, but what are the causes and consequences of this modern-day form of slavery?

How far is globalised trade driving modern slavery as it increases the demand for ever-cheaper goods? Why does slavery still exist almost 150 years after most countries abolished it? And what should governments do now to tackle the trafficking and exploitation of people for profit?

Immigration

Turkey has new law on asylum, but sets limits for non-Europeans< (Reuters, 12 April 2013)

Turkey passed a long-awaited asylum law on Friday that will enhance protection for people seeking refuge, but retained restrictions on applications from those from outside Europe.

Turkey's position as a bridge from Asia to Europe, as well as its wealth compared with neighboring states, has long made it both a destination and a transit point for migrants from the Middle East and as far afield as Africa and South Asia.

How curbing immigration would hurt hospitals <(Swiss Info, 8 April 2013)

If the Swiss authorities decide this week to limit immigration from European Union member countries by enacting a quota clause, health workers say it will put a strain on local hospitals, already worried about red tape and staffing problems.

Photocredit © UNHCR / Jared J. Kohler / March 2013