A total of 8.5 million people were forced to flee within their own country by conflict and violence during 2019, according to a new report from the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC).
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23/05/2020
More than 50 Million People Are Displaced within Their Own Country
23/05/2020
Internal Migration: A Literary/Historical View
Human Wrongs Watch
– It is easy to generalize about migration. Populist politicians often portray migrants as strangers and ”our” homeland as a stable entity, rooted in an old agricultural society. When they do so they tend to forget that most of us are in fact migrants who have left that traditional farming community far behind and if it was not we who did so, it was our ancestors.
Another form of generalization is to mirror the general in the personal, something that is done in novels and films. I believe that virtually every country on earth can present moving descriptions of people leaving the countryside for the city.
Reading a novel or watching movie describing this process may help us to realize that behind every migrant, international as well as internal, there is a unique human destiny.
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22/05/2020
Migrant Children Forcibly Returned from United States to Mexico and Central America Are Facing Danger and Discrimination Aggravated by COVID-19
Human Wrongs Watch
(UN News)* — Migrant children forcibly returned from the United States to Mexico and Central America are facing danger and discrimination aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
Returnees perceived to have the virus have been the target of violence and discrimination, while their reintegration is fraught with “major protection risks”, the agency reported on Thursday [21 May 2020].
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22/05/2020
UN Migrants and Refugees Agencies Urge European States to Disembark Rescued Migrants and Refugees on Board the Captain Morgan Vessels
Human Wrongs Watch
Geneva, 21 May 2020 (IOM)* – The International Organization for Migration (IOM), and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), are calling on Malta and other European States to speed efforts to bring some 160 rescued migrants and refugees, who remain at sea on board two Captain Morgan vessels, on to dry land and to safety.
A separate group of 21 people, mostly families, women and children, were already evacuated and disembarked in Malta several days ago. It is important to disembark the remaining people as soon as possible, as they have been on board the vessel for some two weeks – the standard quarantine period for COVID-19 – without any clarity on disembarkation. It is unacceptable to leave people at sea longer than necessary, especially under difficult and unsuitable conditions.
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21/05/2020
Venezuela to Sue Bank of England for Theft of 31 Tons of Gold
20 May 2020 (teleSUR)* — Venezuela’s Representative to the United Nations Samuel Moncada Tuesday [19 May 2020] announced that his country will sue the Bank of England for stealing 31 tons of gold that this financial institution had in its custody. This lawsuit will be brought before a British court.
Gold Bar Badge from Bank of England | Photo: Flickr
“Looting is a crime of extermination by denying the people vital means to face the worst pandemic in a century. It is the colonial war against Venezuela!”, Moncada tweeted.
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“It is not the first time that the Bank of England has acted as a looting agent against the peoples. Now it violates contracts and swindles nations taking advantage of the pandemic. A crime against humanity. An alert to the world to never again trust these pirates of the century XXI!,” he stressed.
21/05/2020
Only Venezuelans Can Resolve Venezuela’s Deepening Crisis – UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peace-building Affairs
Human Wrongs Watch
(UN News)* — Negotiations remain the only way to overcome the ongoing political deadlock in Venezuela, especially given the potentially far-reaching impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, a senior UN official told the Security Council on Wednesday [20 May 2020].
21/05/2020
Indigenous Refugees Battle Coronavirus in Latin America
Venezuelan indigenous Warao refugees and migrants are relocated to a safe space in Manaus, Brazil, amid the COVID-19 pandemic. © UNHCR/Felipe Irnaldo
19 May 2020 (UNHCR)* — As the Coronavirus pandemic spreads through Latin America, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is warning that many displaced indigenous communities are now dangerously exposed and at risk.
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20/05/2020
‘Alarming’ Military Build-Up Underway in Libya, as COVID-19 Heightens Insecurity
Human Wrongs Watch
(UN News)* — The civil war in Libya is in danger of intensifying as foreign intervention grows and the spectre of the COVID-19 pandemic adds to a deepening sense of insecurity, the head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) told the Security Council on Tuesday [19 May 2020].
Stephanie Williams, who is also Acting Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya, said on Tuesday that while the rest of the world adjusts to life with the novel coronavirus, Libyans have dealt with almost constant bombardment and frequent water and electricity outages during the holy month Ramadan.
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19/05/2020
Why on Earth Is the U.S. Bombing Somalia?
Human Wrongs Watch
By Danny Sjursen | Independent Media Institute – TRANSCEND Media Service*
The Trump administration has quietly ramped up a vicious bombing—and covert raiding—campaign in Somalia amid a global coronavirus pandemic. Neither the White House nor the Pentagon has provided any explanation for the deadly escalation of a war that Congress hasn’t declared and the media rarely reports. At stake are many thousands of lives.
US military base in Somalia. Reuters
The public statistics show a considerable increase in airstrikes from Obama’s presidency. From 2009 to 2016, the U.S. military’s Africa Command (AFRICOM) announced 36 airstrikes in Somalia.
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19/05/2020
FAO Seeks $350 Million to Scale Up Hunger-Fighting, Livelihoods-Boosting Activities in Food Crisis Contexts Where COVID-19’s Impact Could Be ‘Devastating’
Human Wrongs Watch
More and more people struggle to have access to or enough food in fragile countries.
In Syria, FAO continues supporting farmers to build vegetable nurseries.
ROME, 18 May 2020 (FAO)* – The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is seeking $350 million to scale up hunger-fighting and livelihoods-boosting activities in food crisis contexts where COVID-19’s impact could be devastating.
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HUMAN WRONGS WATCH 