Tag: UNHCR

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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Former refugee wins global Nansen award for championing education for displaced children

Stuart Mitchell

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, announced today that Abdullahi Mire – a former refugee and journalist who has championed the right to education while putting 100,000 books in the hands of refugee children in Kenya – will be the UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award’s 2023 global laureate.  “Abdullahi Mire is living proof that transformative ideas can spring from within displaced communities,” said Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. “He has shown great resourcefulness and tenacity in strengthening the quality of refugee education.”  Born in Somalia, Mire grew up in…

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UNHCR commits to climate action in Africa to protect displaced populations and foster resilience

Stuart Mitchell

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, reaffirms its dedication to climate action as a central element of its mission to address displacement and provide protection to vulnerable populations in Africa. UNHCR’s Assistant High Commissioner for Operations, Raouf Mazou, and Director General and Special Representative of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), Ambassador Majid Al Suwaidi, travelled to Kenya’s Dadaab refugee complex in advance of this week’s Africa Climate Summit. “UNHCR recognizes the unique vulnerabilities faced by forcibly displaced populations and host communities in Africa. We must act now to ensure…

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Geneva summit garners action to tackle gender discriminatory nationality laws

Stuart Mitchell

Leaders from governments, civil society and United Nations agencies convened in Geneva recently at a Global Summit on Gender Equality in Nationality Laws, calling for expedited action to end gender-based discrimination in nationality laws that deny people the equal right to acquire and confer nationality on their children and spouses.  Convened by the Global Campaign for Equal Nationality Rights, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, UNICEF, and UN Women, the Global Summit heard from Eswatini, Iraq and Kiribati states, which reaffirmed their commitment to achieve gender equality in their nationality laws. …

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UNHCR and Platon launch collaboration to bring refugee voices, aspirations into focus

Stuart Mitchell

Portrait of a Stranger, a creative multimedia collaboration between world-renowned photographer and storyteller Platon, and UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, will debuted in March in partnership with the Movies That Matter International Human Rights Film Festival in The Hague, Netherlands.  The 18-minute film features interviews and portraits of over 20 refugees who fled conflict and persecution in various parts of the world, exploring the universal desire to be free, safe, respected and valued, and to belong. Over the last year, UNHCR and Platon interviewed a diverse group of refugees ranging…

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