Tag: UNHCR

IOC Refugee Olympic Team to represent more than 100 million displaced people at the Olympic Games Paris 2024

Stuart Mitchell

Thirty-six athletes from 11 different countries, hosted by 15 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and competing across 12 sports were named recently as members of the IOC Refugee Olympic Team for Paris 2024. The announcement was made by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) President, Thomas Bach, during a live-streamed ceremony from Olympic House in Lausanne, Switzerland. Appearing at the Olympic Games for the third time, the IOC Refugee Olympic Team will represent the many millions of displaced people around the world. According to UNHCR, there were an estimated 114 million people…

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Education Above All Foundation and UNHCR partner to enrol more out-of-school, refugee children

Stuart Mitchell

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and global development organization Education Above All (EAA) Foundation have signed a new, five-year agreement aimed at addressing the global challenge of out-of-school children (OOSC), including refugees, internally displaced people and host community children. The new agreement builds on the success of enrolling more than 1.6 million OOSC in 14 countries globally since 2012. The strategic partnership agreement signed in Doha by UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, and EAA Foundation CEO, Fahad Al Sulaiti, will focus on supporting, promoting, and protecting the right…

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UNHCR launches fund to shield refugees and other displaced people from climate shocks

Stuart Mitchell

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, today launched the UNHCR Climate Resilience Fund, seeking to boost the protection of refugees and displaced communities who are most threatened by climate change. As part of its work to protect and assist more than 114 million people who have been forced to flee, UNHCR already seeks to build people’s resilience and reduce their vulnerability to risks, including the impact of climate change. For the first time, the Fund will exclusively target financing efforts to protect the most threatened displaced communities, equipping them to prepare…

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Global forum closes with over $2.2bn in pledges to improve lives of refugees and hosts

Stuart Mitchell

The second Global Refugee Forum (GRF), which brought the international community together in solidarity, closed after three days with a range of pledges to improve the lives of the world’s refugees and the countries and communities that host them. The Forum – co-hosted by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and Switzerland and co-convened by Colombia, France, Japan, Jordan and Uganda – took place from 13-15 December in Geneva, Switzerland. It was attended by over 4,200 participants from 168 countries, including five heads of state or government, ministers, heads of international…

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UN and regional human rights experts launch platform to coordinate advocacy on rights of refugees and asylum-seekers

Stuart Mitchell

A group of UN and regional independent human rights experts recently launched the Platform of Independent Experts on Refugee Rights (PIERR), to better coordinate joint advocacy initiatives that will enhance the protection and promotion of human rights of refugees and asylum-seekers. In a complex international context, where persecution, conflict, violence, human rights violations, and events disturbing public order have resulted in historically high numbers of people being forced to flee their homes, there is a need for strengthening coordinated action and work to protect asylum-seekers and refugees, the experts said,…

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