Latest news with #UNRefugeeAgency
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Migrant bodies found in boat washed ashore on Caribbean island
The bodies of 11 people believed to have been migrants have been found inside a boat washed onto the shores of the Caribbean island of Canouan, which forms part of St Vincent and the Grenadines. The identities of those on board remain unclear, a police official said, but several passports found at the scene suggest they were from Mali, a land-locked country in western Africa more than 6,000km (3,800 miles) away. The boat, measuring 45ft (14m) in length, 12ft in width and 6ft in depth, was found grounded in Little Bay, on Monday. The discovery comes just months after a boat with 13 dead bodies - some of whom also had Malian documents - was found washed ashore in St Kitts and Nevis. Authorities in St Vincent and the Grenadines said they were alerted to the boat with the 11 deceased migrants on Monday. Eujin Byun, the UN Refugee Agency's global spokesperson, told the BBC the migrants - believed to be from Mali - had probably planned to go to the Canary Islands. Given the small size of the boat recovered in St Vincent and the Grenadines, Ms Byun said it was "highly unlikely" those on board would have been attempting to reach the Caribbean. She added: "We cannot talk on behalf of those who have passed away, but our best guess is that they wanted to take the Atlantic route to get to the Canary Islands" Hundreds of thousands of people have been internally displaced inside Mali, whose central and northern regions have known little stability since independence from France in September 1960, and many others have fled abroad. Around 6.4 million people in the country are in need of humanitarian aid, according to the European Commission, and more than 1.5 million people require emergency food assistance. Ms Buyn explained that Mali had experienced "a cycle of violence" since 2012, when the Tuareg rebellion in northern Mali triggered a military coup and Islamist groups that helped defeat the government captured several towns. Access to services in the west African country had been "severely restricted" and Malians were crossing the border in search for better livelihoods, she added. But when refugees cross the border to neighbouring countries in the Sahel region, they are often confronted with a similar landscape, Ms Byun said, which leads them to seek refuge further afield. "Desperate people make desperate decisions," she concluded. The UN official worries that the Atlantic route from Africa to Europe is not getting as much attention as the Mediterranean route, and "smugglers are taking advantage of this". The region with more 'terror deaths' than rest of world combined
BBC News
28-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Migrant deaths: Eleven bodies found in boat on Caribbean island
The bodies of 11 people believed to have been migrants have been found inside a boat washed onto the shores of the Caribbean island of Canouan, which forms part of St Vincent and the identities of those on board remain unclear, a police official said, but several passports found at the scene suggest they were from Mali, a land-locked country in western Africa more than 6,000km (3,800 miles) boat, measuring 45ft (14m) in length, 12ft in width and 6ft in depth, was found grounded in Little Bay, on discovery comes just months after a boat with 13 dead bodies - some of whom also had Malian documents - was found washed ashore in St Kitts and Nevis. Authorities in St Vincent and the Grenadines said they were alerted to the boat with the 11 deceased migrants on Byun, UN Refugee Agency's global spokesperson, told the BBC the migrants - believed to be from Mali - had probably planned to go to the Canary the small size of the boat recovered in St Vincent and the Grenadines, Ms Byun said it was "highly unlikely" those on board would have been attempting reach the added: "We cannot talk on behalf of those who have passed away, but our best guess is that they wanted to take the Atlantic route to get to the Canary Islands" Hundreds of thousands of people have been internally displaced inside Mali, whose central and northern regions have known little stability since independence from France in September 1960, and many others have fled abroad. Around 6.4 million people in the country are in need of humanitarian aid, according to the European Commission, and more than 1.5 million people require emergency food Buyn explained that Mali had experienced "a cycle of violence" since 2012, when the Tuareg rebellion in northern Mali triggered a military coup and Islamist groups that helped defeat the government captured several towns. Access to services in the west African country had been "severely restricted" and Malians were crossing the border in search for better livelihoods, she when refugees cross the border to neighbouring countries in the Sahel region, they are often confronted with a similar landscape, Ms Byun said, which leads them to seek refuge further afield."Desperate people make desperate decisions," she UN official worries that the Atlantic route from Africa to Europe is not getting as much attention as the Mediterranean route, and "smugglers are taking advantage of this".
NDTV
24-05-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
427 Rohingya May Have Drowned In Two Shipwrecks In May: UN
The United Nations said Friday it feared that 427 Rohingya, Myanmar's persecuted Muslim minority, had perished at sea in two shipwrecks on May 9 and 10 off the Myanmar coast. If confirmed, this would be the "deadliest tragedy at sea" involving Rohingya refugees so far this year, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees(UNHCR) said in a statement. The Rohingya have been persecuted in Myanmar for decades. Thousands of them risk their lives every year by fleeing repression and civil war in their country by sea, often aboard makeshift boats. "The UN Refugee Agency is gravely concerned about reports of two boat tragedies off the coast of Myanmar earlier this month," a statement read. UNHCR said it was still working to confirm the exact circumstances surrounding the shipwrecks but preliminary information indicated that a first vessel carrying 267 people sank on May 9, with only 66 people surviving. A second ship with 247 Rohingya on board capsized on May 10, with just 21 survivors, the UN agency said. The Rohingya on board were either leaving Bangladesh's huge Cox's Bazar refugee camps or fleeing Myanmar's western state of Rakhine, the statement said. Rakhine state has been the scene of fierce fighting between the military and the Arakan Army, an ethnic minority rebel group, over control of the territory. "The dire humanitarian situation, exacerbated by funding cuts, is having a devastating impact on the lives of Rohingya, with more and more resorting to dangerous journeys to seek safety, protection and a dignified life for themselves and their families," said Hai Kyung Jun, who leads UNHCR's regional bureau for Asia and the Pacific. In 2024, some 657 Rohingya died in the region's waters, according to UNHCR.
Libya Review
18-05-2025
- General
- Libya Review
1,600 Sudanese Refugees Receive UN Aid in East Libya
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has provided humanitarian assistance to more than 2,100 displaced people in Marj, a city in eastern Libya. The aid effort targeted Sudanese refugees and vulnerable Libyan families affected by the ongoing conflict in neighbouring Sudan. According to UNHCR, over 1,600 Sudanese refugees who fled the war, along with 500 members of the Libyan host community, received vital supplies. Many of those displaced expressed a desire to return home, but ongoing violence and instability in Sudan have made that impossible. The relief distribution included essential non-food items such as mattresses, blankets, plastic sheets, mats, buckets, soap, and hygiene kits. Additional support included baby kits and clothing kits to meet the basic needs of families living in temporary conditions. The conflict in Sudan, which erupted in 2023, has forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee to neighbouring countries, including Libya. Many of the Sudanese refugees in Libya face uncertain futures, with limited access to education, healthcare, and employment opportunities. Eastern Libya, which has remained relatively stable compared to the west, continues to host a growing number of displaced people. UNHCR stressed the importance of continued international support to address the growing humanitarian needs of refugees and displaced Libyan families alike. The agency continues to work with local partners and authorities to ensure aid reaches those most in need, despite limited funding and logistical challenges. The distribution in Marj is part of UNHCR's broader efforts to assist displaced populations across Libya, particularly those impacted by regional conflicts. Tags: Al-MarjlibyamigrationSudanese RefugeesUNHCR
The National
04-05-2025
- Politics
- The National
Sabir Zazai: Scotland dodged riots as refugees better integrated
Swathes of England descended into chaos in July and August last year after the fatal mass stabbing of children at a dance class in Southport, Merseyside – following fake online rumours that the perpetrator was a Muslim refugee. But riots never spread to Scotland, something the Scottish Refugee Council's chief executive, Sabir Zazai puts down to the country's approach to integrating migrants. Zazai, himself a refugee from Afghanistan, told the Sunday National: 'We have taken a rights-based whole-society approach to integration in Scotland and since 2013, the New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy is heralding a new course to building and expanding diverse and integrated communities across Scotland.' The strategy aims to ensure that refugees are 'included in and contribute to society and to their communities' from the first day they arrive in Scotland. He said the strategy meant refugees were seen not as 'a threat or a burden but as people who have so much to contribute to our society'. Asked whether this had helped Scotland avoid last year's riots, Zazai (above) said: 'Partly that, partly how we work together, partly it is the framework that has been created as part of the successful delivery of New Scots engaging with the police, engaging with other authorities, when the riots were happening we were here, speaking with the police, speaking with local authorities, speaking with others, looking at how we avoid a situation like this. 'I'm not getting into Scottish exceptionalism, we do have our own issues here as well, the riots could have been worse here, too but we do have those frameworks.' Scotland has proportionately lower rates of immigration than the rest of the UK, taking in around 6% of the total number of immigrants compared with a population share of 8%. The country also has more positive attitudes about immigration than the UK, with data showing that 38% of Scots said more people should come to the country, versus 22% of people in the UK as a whole. When asked whether it should be reduced, 28% of Scots said immigration should be reduced against 48% of people across the UK. Zazai called on the UK Government to follow Scotland's lead, saying: 'In Scotland, we have that strategy, it's world-renowned, it's been flagged by the [UN Refugee Agency] as the best model for integration and the UK Government has got an opportunity to learn from that. 'We do have an opportunity in the UK to learn from the devolved government's approach to refugee integration, to create a UK-wide integration strategy and invest in that. Integration needs investment, you cannot expect people to sound like us and be part of our society when you put them below the poverty line and expect them to rebuild their lives.' As well as being beneficial for society, Zazai said there was a moral imperative for Britain to take in asylum seekers, adding: 'When people arrive, fleeing from some of the most dreadful conflicts around the world, it's everyone's responsibility to help them rebuild their lives.' Zazai also accused Labour of aping the far-right with some of their policies, especially a new policy to publish the ethnicities of criminals awaiting deportation, which critics say will result in 'league tables' of the worst-offending groups. After British nationals, the worst-offending groups are Albanians, Poles and Romanians – none of which are in the top nationalities of people claiming asylum in the UK. He said: 'Whether it's the criminal league tables or preventing refugees from seeking citizenship, the UK Government has announced a number of headline-grabbing measures. These are hostile statements which only increase divisions and fuel misinformation in our communities.' (Image: Henry Nicholls/PA Wire) Zazai added: 'We've got to take that whole society approach and not divide communities by labels in that way. That is what the far-right does.' On 'league tables', Zazai said that they would create the impression that foreigners were responsible for more crime than in reality, adding: 'The criminal league tables, the Government would never do an achievement league table of refugees.' He also blasted Labour's citizenship ban on asylum seekers who arrive in the country illegally – such as by arriving in small boats – saying that getting his British passport was a major moment for him in feeling part of society. He said: 'Citizenship was an important moment in my own journey. That sense of belonging and that sense of being part of a society starts at that moment.' The UK Government was approached for comment.
