Latest news with #FilippoGrandi
Al Jazeera
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Over 400 Rohingya feared drowned in two shipwrecks off Myanmar coast: UN
At least 427 Rohingya, Myanmar's Muslim minority, may have perished at sea in two shipwrecks on May 9 and 10, the United Nations said, in what would be another deadly incident for the persecuted group. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees(UNHCR) said in a statement on Friday that – if confirmed – the two incidents would be the 'deadliest tragedy at sea' involving Rohingya refugees so far this year. 'The UN refugee agency is gravely concerned about reports of two boat tragedies off the coast of Myanmar earlier this month,' UNHCR said in the statement, adding that it was still working to confirm the exact circumstances surrounding the shipwrecks. According to the agency, preliminary information indicated that a vessel carrying 267 people sank on May 9, with only 66 people surviving, and a second ship with 247 Rohingya on board capsized on May 10, with just 21 survivors. 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. Persecuted in Myanmar for decades, thousands of Rohingya risk their lives every year to flee repression and civil war in their country, often going to sea on board makeshift boats. In a post on X, UNHCR High Commissioner Filippo Grandi said news of the double tragedy was 'a reminder of the desperate situation' of the Rohingya 'and of the hardship faced by refugees in Bangladesh as humanitarian aid dwindles'. In 2017, more than a million Rohingya fled to neighbouring Bangladesh from Myanmar's Rakhine State following a brutal crackdown by Myanmar's military. At least 180,000 of those who fled are now facing deportation back to Myanmar while those who stayed behind in Rakhine have endured dire conditions confined to refugee camps. In 2021, the military launched a coup in Myanmar, ousting the elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi. Since then, Rakhine has been the scene of fierce fighting between the military and the Arakan Army, an ethnic minority rebel group, for control of the state amid a widening civil war in the country. '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. Humanitarian organisations have been hit hard by funding cuts from major donors, led by the United States administration of President Donald Trump and other Western countries, as they prioritise defence spending prompted by growing fears of Russia and China. UNHCR is seeking financial support to stabilise the lives of Rohingya refugees in host countries, including Bangladesh, and those displaced inside Myanmar. Its request for $383m for support in 2025 is currently only 30 percent funded, the agency said.
New Straits Times
29-04-2025
- Politics
- New Straits Times
UN refugee chief: Security Council 'chronically failed' to prevent wars
HAMILTON: The UN refugee chief on Monday said violence has become the defining feature of today's world, criticising the UN Security Council or failing to prevent and stop wars, Anadolu Ajansi reported. "This is a season of war. This is a time of crisis. From Sudan to Ukraine, from the Sahel to Myanmar, from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Haiti, violence has become the defining currency of our age," Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told the Security Council. "Preventing and stopping war — upholding peace and security — that is the Security Council's mandate. "That is your primary responsibility. And one that – you will forgive me for again saying it — this body has chronically failed to live up to. But please do not resign yourselves to the defeat of diplomacy," he said. Grandi said the norms of international humanitarian law are being cast aside as easily as "the thousands of lives destroyed in the pursuit of supremacy." On Gaza, which Israel has cut off from humanitarian aid for nearly two months, Grandi said that while the UNHCR is not part of the UN response there, "the situation of civilians there, which we thought could not get worse, is reaching new levels of desperation by the day." He also addressed the situation in Syria, saying "for the first time in decades, there is a spark of hope, including for the millions of Syrians who remain displaced today, 4.5 million of them refugees in neighbouring countries." "Whether they will stay in Syria or, tragically, move again – including to Europe and beyond – depends, of course, on the authorities, but also – very much – on your willingness to take risks," he said, calling on council members to ease sanctions, support early recovery, and create conditions for basic services like security, water, and electricity. Grandi warned of dwindling humanitarian aid, saying "aid is stability" and that freezing or cutting aid budgets "is already having fatal consequences on millions of lives." At the end of the council session, Grandi again addressed the body and raised the alarm about declining funding for humanitarian operations. "I cannot emphasise more how dramatic the situation is in this very moment," he said, warning that the UNHCR is leading "an internal effort which may conclude with the retrenchment of my organisation to up to one-third of its capacity." "If the current trend continues in terms of freeze, in terms of cuts that, unfortunately, many donor countries have announced, the humanitarian system will be gravely retrenched," he said. "We will not be able to do more with less. But as I have said many times, we will do less with less. We are already doing less with less," Grandi added, noting that UNHCR education and healthcare programmes have already been cut. "You have been the refugee. You have welcomed those who sought refuge," he said. "Now you sit at this table, with the responsibility to end war, to bring peace. You must succeed." – Bernama-Anadolu
Forbes
19-04-2025
- Politics
- Forbes
Sudan - The Biggest Humanitarian Crisis In The World Today
Sudanese women cook at a camp for displaced people, in Port Sudan, on April 15, 2025. Sudan entered ... More its third year of war on April 15, with no sign of respite for war-weary civilians. Tens of thousands of people have been killed and more than 13 million uprooted in what the United Nations calls the world's largest hunger and displacement crises. (Photo credit: EBRAHIM HAMID/AFP via Getty Images) As the war in Sudan entered its third year, the country is facing the biggest humanitarian crisis in the world today. Nonetheless, the situation receives very little attention globally. Having returned from Chad, where he met with Sudanese refugees, Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, commented: 'Sudan is bleeding. Its people have been suffering for too long. Civilians are being bombed every day. Millions are trapped between conflict, neglect and the dilemma of flight. Two years of war have created what is now the world's worst humanitarian and displacement crisis, intensified by extreme cuts to international aid. In the past few days, we have seen brutal attacks on vulnerable people in North Darfur. Aid workers were among those killed. These are flagrant violations of humanitarian law.' He further added: 'The Sudanese are besieged on all sides – war, widespread abuses, indignity, hunger and other hardships. And they face indifference from the outside world, which for the past two years has shown scant interest in bringing peace to Sudan or relief to its neighbors.' The last two years have brought unimaginable pain and suffering to the people in Sudan. The conflict has forced 12.4 million people to flee their homes and seek safety either elsewhere in Sudan or across the border, including more than half of whom are children (including nearly a third under five). About 90% of children are out of school. Children are among those most severely affected by the war. The number of children in need of humanitarian assistance in the country doubled. The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) reports that 15 million children require support, up from 7.8 million at the start of 2023, the year fighting erupted between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and former ally the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Sudan is currently the world's largest humanitarian and child displacement crisis, with more than 30 million people overall needing humanitarian assistance this year. Famine is spreading at an alarming rate. The UN World Food Program (WFP) has now confirmed famine in 10 locations, with more places at risk. The agency recalled that between 2022 and 2024, around 60% of annual admissions for severe acute malnutrition occurred during the rainy season, meaning that up to 462,000 children could be affected this year if the trend holds. With the ever-deteriorating situation, humanitarian access to children in Sudan is closing due to the intensity of the conflict and bureaucratic impediments. Funding for life-saving services is critically low. Disease outbreaks are also expected to surge, while vaccination rates are dropping. Last year, 49,000 cholera cases and more than 11,000 cases of dengue fever were reported, mainly affecting mothers and children. Such outbreaks are further exacerbated by the effects of the rainy season, including water contamination, poor sanitation, and increased displacement and population movement. However, famine and disease are not the only threats to the children in Sudan. As reported by UNICEF, 'The situation is being compounded by a deadly combination of interlinked factors, such as a ten-fold surge in the number of grave violations against children, namely killing and maiming; abduction; recruitment and use in hostilities; rape and other forms of sexual violence; attacks on schools and hospitals; and the denial of humanitarian access.' While grave human rights violations were previously confined to regions such as Darfur, Blue Nile and South Kordofan, such violations have now been verified in more than half of Sudan's 18 states. The reported violations against the people of Sudan meet the legal definitions of war crimes and crimes against humanity. In the case of Darfur, where whole communities are targeted because of their ethnicity, the question of genocide has been raised. All these crimes must be investigated and those responsible brought to justice. The situation in Sudan requires urgent action to stop the conflict and provide comprehensive assistance to all those affected. Without these steps, the people of Sudan do not stand a chance. In the words of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, 'Continuing to look away will have catastrophic consequences.'
Al Arabiya
15-04-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Ignoring Sudan war refugees ‘will have catastrophic consequences': UN
Ignoring the refugees of Sudan's devastating conflict, which entered its third year on Tuesday, will have 'catastrophic consequences,' the head of the UN's refugee agency said Tuesday. Dubbed the 'forgotten war,' the war between Sudan's regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) is a bitter power struggle. 'After two years of unrelenting suffering, the world can no longer afford to ignore this emergency. We must make every effort to bring peace to Sudan,' Filippo Grandi said. He added that two years of war have created what is now the world's worst humanitarian and displacement crisis, intensified by extreme cuts to international aid. Senior international officials were gathering in London on Tuesday aiming to chart a pathway to peace, but without the presence of the warring parties. More than 13 million people have been uprooted and tens of thousands killed, with both sides accused by the United States of committing atrocities. There are also increasing fears that the tensions will spill over Sudan's borders and stir further instability in the impoverished Horn of Africa region. 'It's not just the Sudanese who have become invisible. The world has largely turned its back on the countries and communities that have taken in so many refugees,' Grandi said.
Zawya
29-03-2025
- Politics
- Zawya
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' (UNHCR) Grandi hails launch of Kenya's landmark refugee inclusion plan
The Government of Kenya launched a groundbreaking initiative on Friday to improve the lives of more than 830,000 refugees and asylum-seekers and their generous hosts, by transitioning the country's refugee camps into integrated settlements where refugees and local communities enjoy greater economic opportunities and access to improved health, education and other services together. The Shirika Plan – which translates to 'cooperation' in Swahili – is the culmination of years of work towards greater refugee inclusion, led by the Government of Kenya together with local authorities, with strong support from UNHCR and other UN agencies, donors, humanitarian and development partners and the private sector. The initiative marks a significant development in the country's move toward implementing policies to improve the lives of refugees and their long-time hosts. For more than three decades, Kenya has generously hosted refugees and asylum-seekers, primarily from Somalia, South Sudan, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The country is home to two of the world's largest refugee camps – Dadaab in Garissa County, which hosts over 420,000 people, and Kakuma in Turkana County, home to more than 300,000. Under the Shirika Plan, these refugee-hosting areas will be developed into municipalities to increase economic opportunities, education, health, and essential services for both refugees and local communities. This initiative aligns with Kenya's commitment to the Global Compact on Refugees and builds upon legislative milestones such as the Refugees Act of 2021. UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, congratulated the Government of Kenya on the plan at a launch event in Nairobi. 'Kenya is showing the world that a story of cooperation, inclusion and hope is not only possible, but also necessary and of advantage to all,' Grandi said. 'Shirika recognizes that solutions, which shift away from refugee dependency on humanitarian aid towards greater self-reliance, are possible. UNHCR is committed to supporting the government of Kenya to now turn this innovative plan, into a reality.' In his keynote address at the plan's launch in Nairobi, Kenya's President, H.E. Dr. William Samoei Ruto, reaffirmed the country's pledge to work towards long-term solutions for the hundreds of thousands displaced people living in Kenya, often for decades. 'The Shirika Plan now gives us a framework to collaborate more ambitiously and pursue historic achievements that will guarantee hope and dignity for refugees, and give host communities due recognition,' said President Ruto, calling the plan 'our bold, homegrown solution, which amplifies the African Union's call for African solutions to not only Africa's problems but also global challenges as well.' UNHCR joins the Government of Kenya to appeal to all States, financial institutions and private organizations and development partners to continue to provide support and financing to this important to ensure the full realization of the Shirika Plan and improve the lives of refugees and their Kenyan hosts. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
