Today's date:
Press Releases 2010
Press Release, Tuesday 7 September 2010
UNHCR is alarmed by the further deterioration we are seeing in the situation in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu. Our partners report that fighting over the past two weeks between the transitional government and al-Shabaab has cost more than 230 civilian lives with at least 400 people wounded and 23,000 displaced. So far this year over 200,000 civilians are estimated to have fled their homes.
Press Release, Friday 3 September 2010
Despite flood waters receding in some parts of Pakistan and more people returning home, the overall humanitarian situation is still very grave. Conditions in the thousands of spontaneous settlements and camps that have sprung up over the last few weeks are desperate. We have had reports overnight of new flooding in parts of Dadu Tehsil in Sindh province as embankments are breached.
Press Release, Friday 3 September 2010
UNHCR is very concerned by on-going forced returns of Iraqi citizens from Western European countries. On September 1st, a chartered flight with 61 people on board, mainly Iraqis who had been residing in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and the United Kingdom, landed at Baghdad airport. UNHCR has so far not been able to confirm reports that three Iranians were among those on board.
Pressmeddelande, 3 september 2010. In Swedish.
FN:s flyktingorgan (UNHCR) har mottagit två miljoner svenska kronor från Svenska PostkodLotteriet för insatsen i översvämningsdrabbade Pakistan.
Press Release, Tuesday 27 August 2010
The number of people returning voluntarily to Afghanistan from Pakistan and Iran so far this year has exceeded 100,000, almost twice as many as last year. Some 95,000 of these are from Pakistan.
Pressmeddelande, 25 augusti 2010. In Swedish.
FN:s flyktingorgan (UNHCR) har mottagit en miljon kronor av Universal Telecom, Timepiece LDA för insatsen i översvämningsdrabbade Pakistan.
Press Release, Friday 20 August 2010
Pakistan Flood Emegency:
UNHCR is increasingly concerned about the plight of flood-affected Afghan refugees in Pakistan, some of whom are now under pressure to repatriate by speculators around Peshawar seeking to develop land that until now has been occupied by refugee settlements.
Press Release, Thursday 19 August 2010
To mark World Humanitarian Day 2010, on August 19th, UNHCR is making available to interested media a rare interview with one of its staff members, Vincent Cochetel, who was kidnapped in 1998 in the Northern Caucasus and held hostage for almost a year.
Press Release, Friday 13 August 2010
Pakistan Flood Emegency:
With over 160,000 people having so far received UNHCR emergency shelter and relief assistance across flood-affected areas of Pakistan, the agency appealed on Wednesday for $41 million to help meet the urgent needs of a further 560,000 people, amounting to 80,000 families.
Press Release, Tuesday 10 August 2010
Pakistan Flood Emegency:
Pakistan’s flooding is testing the limits of the country’s emergency response capacity, as well as that of UNHCR and other UN and international agencies to respond.
Press Release, Friday 6 August 2010
Pakistan Flood Emegency:
Monsoon rain continues to sweep across parts of Pakistan. According to UNHCR implementing partners on the ground, it has been raining today in northern areas of the Swat Valley in flood-affected Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province.
Press Release, Tuesday 3 August 2010
Pakistan Flood Emergency:
UNHCR, as part of a coordinated UN response, is stepping up its assistance to provide shelter to the hundreds of thousands of people affected by the worst floods and landslides northwest Pakistan has seen in decades.
Press Release, Wednesday 28 July 2010
UNHCR is calling on local and central authorities in Kyrgyzstan to improve the situation and the return conditions for some 75,000 remaining internally displaced people (IDPs) who were uprooted by the violence in southern Kyrgyzstan during June.
Press Release, Friday 9 July 2010
2010 Nansen Award
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) today announced the winner of its annual Nansen Refugee Award, British photo-journalist Alixandra Fazzina. Ms. Fazzina was chosen for her tireless dedication to uncovering and portraying the overlooked human consequences of war.
Press Release , Tuesday 6 July 2010
UNHCR has called for a significant increase in resettlement opportunities, estimating that over the next three to five years more than 805,000 refugees will need resettling in third countries.
Press Release, Friday 2 july 2010
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has heard from the Police Chief in Orestiada in northern Greece that sixteen people drowned while trying to cross the Evros River on 29 June. Eleven of the bodies were recovered on the Greek side of the river, while a further five were found on the Turkish side. The majority are believed to be Somalis, including three women.
Pressmeddelande, torsdag 1 juli 2010, in Swedish
Den danske författaren och journalisten Carsten Jensen deltar i en högaktuell diskussion om asyl i Norden, tillsammans med Manuela Ramin-Osmundsen och Gregor Noll.
Under rubriken ”Var går gränsen? Nordiska förhållningssätt till asylrätten” diskuterar deltagarna vad det är som styr de flyktingpolitiska besluten i de nordiska länderna.
Press Release, Wednesday 30 June 2010
UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres today appealed to the international community not to forget the tens of thousands of people faced with having to rebuild lives and overcome trauma following the violence in mid-June in and around Osh in southern Kyrgyzstan.
Pressmeddelande, fredag 18 Juni 2010, in Swedish
Studien "Voices of Afghan Children" fokuserar på anledningarna till att barnen lämnade Afghanistan, på själva resvägen och mottagandet i Sverige. Barnen berättar om den långa resan via Iran, Pakistan, Turkiet, Grekland, Frankrike eller andra europeiska länder. Vi får veta hur barnen behandlats illa av människosmugglare, migranter, gränsvakter och polis på vägen, om barn som dör eller blir kvarlämnade.
Press Release, Friday 18 June 2010
The study "Voices of Afghan Children - study on asylum-seeking children in Sweden " examines the reasons for leaving Afghanistan, the routes the children take, and their reception on arrival. The children describe the journey to Sweden via Iran, Pakistan, Turkey, Greece, France and other European countries. They tell stories of how they are mistreated by smugglers, migrants, border guards and police on the way. Some die on the way or are left behind.
Press Release, Friday 18 June 2010
UN High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres, announced today a major landmark in resettlement of Iraqi refugees, with 100,000 people having been referred for resettlement from the Middle East to third countries since 2007. Guterres made the announcement during his visit to Syria, which according to government estimates, hosts over 1 million refugees, the majority from Iraq.
Press Release , Thursday 17 June 2010
Some 300,000 people are now estimated to be internally displaced in Kyrgyzstan, according to information from the Kyrgyz Interim Government and non-governmental organizations on the ground. While many among this population are being sheltered by family and host communities, it is also estimated that at least 40,000 people are in need of shelter. The Kyrgyz authorities are trying to restore law and order, and have reported that some 180 people have been killed and a further 1,900 injured.
Press Release, Wednesday 16 June 2010
A UNHCR emergency airlift to Uzbekistan carrying humanitarian aid for tens of thousands of people fleeing the violence southern Kyrgyzstan began early Wednesday morning (16 June). The first two UNHCR flights, loaded with humanitarian aid from agency's central stockpiles in Dubai, landed at Andijan airport at 1110 and 1400 today local time.
Press Release, Tuesday 15 June 2010
STOCKHOLM - The first of six planned Ilyushin-76 cargo planes, each carrying 40 tonnes of UNHCR relief supplies for refugees fleeing violence in southern Kyrgystan, is scheduled to take off from Dubai tomorrow morning (Wednesday, 16 June) at 0100 hrs GMT and is expected to land at Andijan airport in Uzbekistan at 0500 hrs GMT.
Press Release, Tuesday 15 June, 2010
2009 Global Trends Report
Some 43.3 million people were forcibly displaced worldwide at the end of 2009, the highest number of people uprooted by conflict and persecution since the mid-1990s, according to UNHCR's annual 2009 Global Trends report, released today. At the same time, the number of refugees voluntarily returning to their home countries has fallen to its lowest level in twenty years.
Press Release, Monday 14 June 2010
UNHCR is preparing to deploy emergency team and aid to Uzbekistan where thousands of refugees have crossed fleeing violent clashes in Osh and other cities in south Kyrgyzstan.
Press Release, Monday 14 June, 2010
Growing numbers of Afghan children are making a difficult and dangerous overland
journey to Europe, travelling without their parents and exposed to dangers and
human rights abuses, a new United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) report has found. The report presents recommendations on how
governments, including the government of Afghanistan, should respond to this
complex issue.
Press Release, Tuesday 8 june 2010
UNHCR understands that four governments - the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the UK - are arranging an enforced removal of Iraqi citizens to Baghdad, Iraq later this week. We have not received confirmed information of the number and profile of those individuals and whether some have requested protection.
Press Release, Tuesday 1 June 2010
STOCKHOLM - UNHCR is calling for US$18 million to meet an anticipated shortfall this year in its requested funding for Afghan refugees in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Press Release, Friday 28 May 2010
More than 17,000 people have been displaced from
their homes in the Somali capital Mogadishu in May. Over 14,300 fled
in the past two weeks alone, following renewed, heavy fighting between
the Transitional Federal Government troops, supported by the African
Union Peace Keeping Force (AMISOM), and armed opposition groups.
Press Release , 21 May 2010
On May 11th, UNHCR issued new eligibility guidelines on the protection needs of Somali asylum seekers. On May 12th, we notified donors of our concerns over the deteriorating situation in Somalia.
Press Release, Wednesday 12 May 2010
Prompted by a rapidly deteriorating situation and growing displacement in Somalia UNHCR is seeking additional funds to ease the plight of Somali refugees in neighbouring Kenya, Yemen, Ethiopia and Djibouti and those forcibly displaced inside their country.
Press Release, Tuesday 11 May 2010
UNHCR has today issued new guidelines on the protection of people fleeing Somalia. The guidelines are intended to promote a consistent approach to the protection needs of persons from Somalia.
Press Release, Tuesday 27 April, 2010
We welcome last week’s resumption of Government-led return movements in
northern Sri Lanka, following a three week temporary pause due to parliamentary
elections and Tamil New Year. Following this, some 7,000 internally displaced
people (IDPs) have returned to the districts of Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu.
Press Release, Thursday 22 April, 2010
I am humbled by today’s decision of the UN General Assembly to renew my mandate as High Commissioner for a further five years. It is a privilege and an honour to go on dedicating my life to supporting one of the world’s most vulnerable groups.
Press Release, Monday 19 April 2010
UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie today expressed her concern for the lives and the well-being of thousands of displaced people who are trapped in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu.
Press Release, Friday 16 April 2010
UNHCR is shocked by the further loss of civilian lives we’ve seen from fighting in
Mogadishu earlier this week. More than 30 people are reported killed, many of them
civilians including children. From local sources we understand that medical facilities
are having difficulties coping with the many wounded. Residents have described
this week’s shelling as among the worst in months.
Press Release, Friday 9 April 2010
The number of people crossing the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea in the mixed migration flow from the Horn of Africa has nearly halved during the first quarter of the year in comparison with the same period in 2009. Since the beginning of the year, some 9,400 people reached the shores of Yemen in contrast to nearly 17,000 between January and March 2009.
Tuesday 30 March, 2010
It is with great sadness that I learned yesterday of the bomb attacks on subway stations in Moscow and the many deaths and injuries that have resulted.
Thursday 25 March, 2010
Stockholm, 25 March 2010 – In-depth research by the UN Refugee Agency in 12 EU Member States has found numerous differences in the way asylum applications are assessed. UNHCR calls for practical measures and amendments to EU legislation to ensure fair and effective asylum procedures across the Union. The UNHCR study entitled “Improving Asylum Procedures” was presented today in Brussels.
Tuesday 23 March 2010
The overall number of asylum seekers in industrialized nations was stable in 2009, according to the UNHCR provisional statistical report that measures asylum levels and trends in industrialized nations.
Friday, 12 March 2010
UNHCR is extremely worried about the worsening situation for the civilian population in Somalia which is, once again, exposed to relentless and indiscriminate fighting in Mogadishu and elsewhere in the country. We estimate that since the beginning of the year more than 100,000 Somali civilians have been forced to flee their homes across the country.
1 March, 2010
STOCKHOLM, March 1 (UNHCR) - NRK Søndagsrevyen’s reportage yesterday on the situation of internally displaced Roma in the lead polluted Cesmin Lug and Osterode camps in Kosovo is very disturbing. Well aware of the untenable situation, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has for years worked to assist the population in the two camps in various ways – including providing health education, medical treatment and food supplements and by improving the hygienic situation - and has urged responsible parties to find alternative solutions for the groups. The reportage leaves the impression that UNHCR has been in charge of the camps for the last ten years and thus is accountable for the situation. This is not correct. UNHCR ended its responsibility for these camps in 2001.
Wednesday, 10 February 2010
Angelina Jolie, who said she was in Haiti to "listen and to learn," visited
medical centres, the UN mission and met with vulnerable children. On her
arrival in the Haitian capital, Jolie was briefed by the United Nations
Acting Special Representative of the Secretary-General Edmond Mulet on
the scale of the humanitarian operation to date and the challenges that
remain.
Tuesday, 2 February 2010
UNHCR welcomes the approval by the Council of Ministers of Spain on 29
January of the establishment of an annual refugee resettlement programme,
in accordance with the recently amended asylum law.
Friday, 29.01.2010
The humanitarian crisis in Yemen is deepening and we now estimate that
250,000 civilians have been displaced since the countrys internal conflict
flared in 2004. This represents a more than doubling of the number displaced
as of August 2009 when the latest round of fighting erupted.
Tuesday,19.01.2010
UNHCR reiterates its strong commitment to back up and support the broader
humanitarian effort to address the massive and urgent needs in Haiti, which
is under the leadership of the Emergency Relief Coordinator, John Holmes.
Tuesday,19.01.2010
The number of Somali casualties and displaced civilians continues to grow as fighting in central areas of Somalia rages on. Since the beginning of the year, fighting and general insecurity have displaced an estimated 63,000 people in Somalia.
Tuesday 12 January 2010
The widening strife in Somalia is having a devastating effect on the civilian
population and sparking increasing displacement.
Tuesday 12 January 2010
There is no lull in the fierce fighting between the government troops
and Al Houti forces in Saada province in northern Yemen as the conflict
enters the sixth month. Thousands of Yemeni civilians continue to flee
to neighbouring provinces, desperately seeking safety, shelter and assistance.
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A press review with summaries of asylum and refugee-related articles in regional media.
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