Archive for ‘Migrants and Refugees’

20/08/2024

Climate Crisis Fuels Flooding and Deepens Displacement

20/08/2024

Widespread Floods and Uptick in Fighting Deepen Humanitarian Crisis in Myanmar

Human Wrongs Watch

By Vibhu Mishra

(UN News)* — A surge in conflict combined with torrential rains and floods is deepening the crisis in Myanmar, leading to a surge in displacement, UN humanitarians have said.

Destroyed houses in a village in Sagaing province. (file)
© UNICEF/Myo Thame | Destroyed houses in a village in Sagaing province. (file)
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Overflowing rivers have submerged towns and villages, impacting nearly 400,000 people, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported.
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Critical infrastructure has been damaged – including roads and railways – along with wide swaths of cropland, threatening both livelihoods and food security.
20/08/2024

Humanitarian Aid to Sudan Civilians Stalled by Floods and Violence

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — On , UN authorities in Sudan confirmed that truckloads of food and supplies have been approved to cross the border from Chad through the Adre crossing.

Khartoum’s war-destroyed Omdurman market, once a vital economic and social hub. Photo: WFP/Jonathan Dumont

The opening of the vital aid route on Friday was welcomed by officials, as it serves as a vital humanitarian route for delivering urgent aid to millions, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

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20/08/2024

‘The Already Catastrophic Situation in Gaza Is Worsening…’ 

Human Wrongs Watch

UN Secretary-General António Guterres is closely following negotiations in Doha focused on trying to end the war in Gaza, where the situation continues to remain catastrophic after more than 10 months of unrelenting war.

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A school which had sheltered displaced people in Gaza stands in ruins.
© UNRWA | A school which had sheltered displaced people in Gaza stands in ruins.
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The UN chief’s Spokesperson told journalists at the regular press briefing in New York on Monday [] that Mr. Guterres had spoken to the Prime Minister of Qatar yesterday.
19/08/2024

2023 Deadliest Year for Aid Workers – 2024 Could be Even Worse, Predicts UN

Human Wrongs Watch

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 19 2024 (IPS)*– Back in August 2003, the United Nations faced one of its violent tragedies when a terrorist attack on the UN headquarters in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad claimed the lives of 22 people.
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Among those killed was Sergio Vieira de Mello of Brazil, the UN envoy in Iraq and High Commissioner for Human Rights, who had a long and distinguished UN career stretching over 30 years.

As the UN commemorated World Humanitarian Day on August 19, it continues to be confronted with rising death tolls among both its humanitarian workers and peacekeepers worldwide.

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19/08/2024

Education on Hold: Sudan War robs Young People’s Hope for the Future

Human Wrongs Watch

By Moulid Hujale in Kosti, Sudan

An entire generation is facing a bleak future as continued violence in Sudan disrupts education for millions.

Ibrahim Abdulrahman inside the classroom he shares with dozens of other forcibly displaced families in Kosti in Sudan’s While Nile State. © UNHCR/Samuel Otieno

14 August 2024 (UNHCR)* — When Ibrahim Abdulrahman’s name was announced on national radio as the top performing student in the country’s high school examinations in 2020, his achievement was celebrated by everyone in his small mountainous village of Al-Dambaire in Sudan’s North Kordofan State.

18/08/2024

The Silent Crisis of Air Pollution

Human Wrongs Watch

 

 

 

 

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Heavy smog seen engulfed amid rise in pollution levels at Barakhamba on November 2, 2023 in New Delhi, India. The Air Quality Index (AQI) remained in the “very poor” category for the sixth consecutive day on November 2. © Sanchit Khanna/Hindustan Times via Getty Images.

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This year, to mark the UN Environment Program’s International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies, Greenpeace East Asia’s Clean Air Unit is highlighting the severe health impacts of air pollution and the positive steps global communities are taking to quantify and combat the problem.

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17/08/2024

“Sudan’s Humanitarian Crisis for Children Is, by Numbers, the Biggest in the World…” – UNICEF

Human Wrongs Watch

This is a summary of what was said by UNICEF Spokesperson James Elder – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at 13 August 2024 press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

On 10 August, UNICEF Spokesperson James Elder (L) peaks to 13-year-old Abu at Al Nau hospital following an injury by shrapnels while playing football at a UNICEF child-friendly space in Al Hattana in Khartoum.
UNICEF/UNI625366/IsamaldeenOn 10 August 2024, UNICEF Spokesperson James Elder speaks to 13-year-old Abu at Al Nao hospital, Sudan.

ATBARA, Sudan/GENEVA 13 August 2024 (UNICEF)* – “Sudan’s humanitarian crisis for children is, by numbers, the biggest in the world. It is also a crisis of neglect.

“So many of the countless atrocities upon children in Sudan have gone unreported, often as a result of very limited access.

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17/08/2024

UN Human Rights Calls for Accountability for Latest ‘Horrific’ West Bank Killing

Human Wrongs Watch

By Daniel Johnson

(UN News)* — The perpetrators of a deadly rampage targeting a Palestinian village in the occupied West Bank must face justice to deter future attacks, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, insisted on Friday [].

The movement of Palestinians is restricted in the West Bank including through the use of checkpoints. (file)
© UNRWA/Kazem Abu Khalaf | The movement of Palestinians is restricted in the West Bank including through the use of checkpoints. (file)
 
Echoing widespread condemnation internationally and within Israel of the attack reportedly by Israeli settlers on the village of Jit on Thursday which left a Palestinian man dead and about a dozen injured, OHCHR spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani described the incident as “horrific”.
 
She noted that the killing “was not an isolated attack”, in reference to years of violence directed at Palestinian communities by Israeli settlers, maintaining that it was “the direct consequence” of Israel’s policy of occupation.
17/08/2024

Colombia: Millions Now Living in Conflict Zones

Human Wrongs Watch

By The Norwegian Refugee Council*

15 August 2024 — The number of Colombians living in areas where armed groups operate has increased by 70 per cent since 2021, reports the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).

Carmen is from an indigenous community, hours into the Colombian Pacific jungle. They face violence, threats, and displacement from armed groups and have been forced to flee many times. Carmen said her community is being destroyed. Photo: Jess Wanless/NRC
 
Today, nearly 8.4 million Colombians live in these zones of conflict, 3.5 million more than in 2021. Civilian suffering is being ignored, and more must be done by both the government and aid agencies to address the humanitarian and protection needs of the civilian population.