Today's date:
Press releases 2009
24 December 2009
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres,
appealed today to the Government of Thailand to halt its plans for the
involuntary return of around 4000 Lao Hmong to the Lao People’s Democratic
Republic.
Friday 18 December 2009
UNHCR has issued its recommendations to Spain, as it prepares to assume the EU
Presidency on 1 January 2010.
Brussels, Friday 11 December 2009
The UN refugee agency UNHCR welcomes the adoption of the Stockholm programme
defining the priorities of the European Union (EU) on asylum and other
Justice and Home Affairs issues from 2010 to 2014. At the same time,
UNHCR calls on the EU to ensure that migration management objectives
do not overshadow refugee protection principles.
Geneva, Monday 7 December 2009
UNHCR Media Advisory
As many as 50 per cent of the world’s 10.5 million
refugees under UNHCR’s mandate are now living in cities and towns
across the globe. At least twice that number of internally displaced people
and returnees are believed to be in urban settings.
Friday 4 December 2009
We are encouraged by the Sri Lankan government’s long-awaited decision
this week to allow increased freedom of movement for some 135,000 internally
displaced people (IDPs) remaining in 20 closed camps in Vavuniya, Mannar,
Jaffna and Trincomalee in the north of the country.
Tuesday 1 December 2009
In Kabul today, UNHCR has begun distributing blankets, warm clothes,
charcoal and other winter supplies to 1,500 returnees and internally
displaced people (IDPs) in greatest need as part of a countrywide
programme to help some 200,000 vulnerable Afghans survive the harsh
winter.
Thursday 29 October 2009
UNHCR has received a donation of SEK 4 million (approximately USD
570,000) from the Swedish PostcodeLottery towards its protection and
assistance to almost 300,000 Somali refugees living in the world’s
largest refugee camp in Dadaab, Kenya.
Thursday 29 October 2009
During the current Swedish European Union Presidency, the direction
of EU law and policy on asylum and international protection
is to be determined for the next five years.
Thursday 22 October 2009
Asylum applications in industrialized nations rose by 10 percent in the
first half of 2009 compared to the same period last year, according to
the UN refugee agency’s provisional statistics released Wednesday.
Tuesday 29 September 2009
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is deeply concerned about reports of security
incidents taking place inside camps accommodating internally displaced
persons (IDPs) in northern Sri Lanka.
Tuesday 29 September 2009
The situation in the Sa’ada province in northern Yemen remains tense and volatile. A fragile calm was reported over the weekend in the city of Sa’ada which has been virtually cut off from the rest of the world for more than six weeks. Local residents and displaced people, caught up in the fighting between the government troops and Al Houti forces, continue to face a dire humanitarian situation, unable to leave the embattled city to seek safety and shelter elsewhere. Although there is still no access to the city of Sa’ada, UNHCR managed to distribute some assistance through a local NGO partner.
Monday 28 September 2009
GENEVA, September 28 (UNHCR) - UN High Commissioner for Refugees, António
Guterres, warned Monday that as global conflicts become more complex - involving
state armies, militias and insurgents - humanitarian efforts are increasingly
put at risk.
Friday 25 September 2009
More than 50,000 Somalis fled to Kenya since the beginning of the year, escaping the fighting and the growing humanitarian crisis in their country.
In Swedish, fredag 25 september 2009
STOCKHOLM-- FN:s flyktingorgan UNHCR och Rådgivningsbyrån för flyktingar och asylsökande i Stockholm inleder en serie kurser för offentliga biträden som bistår asylsökanden i asylprocessen. Det är ett nytt projekt som Europeiska flyktingfonden finansierar.
18 September 2009
UNHCR is alarmed by reports that dozens of people were killed and wounded on Wednesday 16 September in an air raid on Al Adi, in the Yemen’s Amran Governerate.
2009-09-15, in Norwegian
FNs høykommissær for flyktninger (UNHCR) gir i år Nansenprisen til avdøde senator Edward Kennedy for hans uttrettelige arbeid for flyktningers rettigheter gjennom mer enn 45 år.
Press Release, Tuesday 15 September 2009
GENEVA, September 15 (UNHCR) - The UN refugee agency announced Tuesday that its Nansen Refugee Award will go to the late Senator Edward Kennedy for his achievements as an unparalleled champion of refugee protection and assistance for more than 45 years.
Press Release, 14 September 2009
DABAAB, KENYA - UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie visited Dadaab, the world’s largest refugee camp situated on the Kenya-Somali border on Saturday. Describing the camp as ‘one of the most dire’ she had seen, Jolie concluded her visit by asking “if this is the better solution, then what must it be like in Somalia?”
Pressmeddelande, 02.09.2009
Idag förväntas EU-kommissionen lägga fram ett förslag som främjar praktiskt samarbete och ekonomiskt stöd från EU för vidarebosättning av flyktingar till EU-länderna. Det förväntas att ländernas medverkan kommer att ske på frivillig basis.
Tuesday, 08.09.2009
Heavy fighting between Al Houti forces and government troops in and around
Sa’ada city in northern Yemen continues with utter disregard for
the safety and well being of the civilian population.
Press Release, Tuesday 1 September 2009
Tomorrow (2 September) the European Commission (EC) is expected to put forward a proposal which promotes EU financial support for resettlement to the EU. It will also establish steps for practical cooperation among EU Member States in the area of resettlement. Participation of the States is expected to be on a voluntary basis.
Press Release, 01.09.2009
Sixteen people have drowned in the Gulf of Aden over the weekend in two separate incidents involving smuggling boats sailing from Somalia.
Press Release, Tuesday, 01.09.2009
A humanitarian crisis is unfolding in Sa’ada city in northern Yemen where the situation is deteriorating by the day. We are gravely concerned about the fate and well being of the civilian population trapped inside the city as a result of fierce fighting between Al Houthi forces and the government troops, now entering its third week.
In Swedish: Pressmeddelande 2009-09-01
Idag välkomnas UNHCR som förmånstagare till Svenska PostkodLotteriet.
- Vi är mycket glada och tacksamma över att PostkodLotteriet har valt UNHCR som en av sina nya förmånstagare. PostkodLotteriets stöd kommer att ha stor betydelse för världens flyktingar och vi ser fram emot ett långt och framgångsrikt samarbete, säger Hans ten Feld, chef för UNHCR:s regionkontor i Stockholm.
Press Release, Friday 28 August 2009
The Ugandan rebel group, the so called ‘Lord’s Resistance Army’ (LRA) continues to cause large scale destruction and displacement in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. At least, 125,000 people are known to have been driven out of their villages in Haut Uele district of Orientale Province by the LRA in the last three weeks alone.
Press Release, Friday 28 August 2009
Earlier this week UNHCR staff visited the detention centre at Pagani on the Greek Island of Lesvos. They were shocked at the conditions in the facility, where more than 850 people are held, including 200 unaccompanied children, mostly from Afghanistan.
Press Release, Friday 28 August 2009
The situation in Sa’ada city in northern Yemen remains dramatic. The fighting is ongoing, both inside the city and its surroundings. The town has been practically cut off from the rest of the world for a week now. Yesterday (Thursday), there were reports of continuous fighting between Al Houthi and government forces in northern Yemen, with both parties rejecting a cease fire and vowing to continue the hostilities.
Press Release Wednesday 26 August 2009
Throughout his life, Senator Kennedy was a tireless advocate for refugees - among the most vulnerable people in the world.
Press release, 20 August 2009
Stockholm, 20 August 2009 – The United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Swedish Migration Board (SMB)
are jointly launching the Quality Initiative in Sweden. The project
aims at improving the quality of the refugee status determination and at strengthening
the quality and credibility of the first instance asylum decision making procedure.
Press Release, 28.07.2009
The ongoing fighting in Mogadishu and central Somalia is pushing thousands of Somali civilians to risk their lives to cross the Gulf of Aden and seek asylum in Yemen.
Press Release, 23 July 2009
BAGHDAD – UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie returned to Iraq on Thursday to offer support to the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis who remain displaced within their own country.
Press Release Thursday, 16 July 2009
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres, voiced his outrage at the shooting death of a UNHCR staff member at a camp outside the northwest Pakistani town of Peshawar today. Zill-e Usman was shot by unidentified gunmen in the Kutcha Gari camp on the border of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas in North-West Frontier Province on the morning of July 16. Another staff member was injured in the incident but is in stable condition in a nearby hospital. A guard working with the Commissionerate for Afghan Refugees, a government-funded agency, was also killed. Four to five gunmen reportedly opened fire on the victim as he was walking back from the camp administrative office to his car during a routine visit to the site.
Tuesday 14 July 2009
UNHCR staff in Libya have been carrying out interviews with 82 people who were intercepted by the Italian Navy on the high seas on July 1 about 30 nautical miles from the Italian island of Lampedusa. They were transferred to a Libyan ship and later transported to Libya. Based on subsequent interviews, it does not appear that the Italian Navy made any attempt to establish nationalities or reasons for fleeing their countries.
Press release 23 June 2009
A new study published by UNHCR in cooperation with Naif Arab University
and the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) says Islam’s 1,400-year-old
tradition of generosity toward people fleeing persecution has had more
influence on modern-day international refugee law than any other historical
source.
Press release 2009-06-23
Three Afghan staff of the local non-governmental organization Development
and Humanitarian Services for Afghanistan, or DHSA, were killed when their
vehicle hit an improvised explosive device, or IED, while en route to a project
site.
2009-06-23
UNHCR has published its recommendations to Sweden for its upcoming EU Presidency
(July - December 2009), which will be a particularly critical period for the
future of EU asylum policy.
Press release 2009-06-17
UNHCR on Wednesday received a $ 1 million donation from the Jolie-Pitt Foundation for its operations to assist millions of people displaced by conflict.
Press release 2009-06-16
UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie released a new video this week in the run-up to World Refugee Day, June 20.
Press release 2009-06-16
The number of people forcibly uprooted by conflict and persecution worldwide
stood at 42 million at the end of last year amid a sharp slowdown in repatriation
and more prolonged conflicts resulting in protracted displacement.
Press release 2009-06-09
Thousands of Somalis were forced to flee their homes over the weekend in some of the heaviest and bloodiest street battles in Mogadishu since 8 May when the latest round of fighting between government forces and the opposition Al-Shabaab and Hisb-ul-Islam groups erupted in several north-west areas of the Somali capital.
Press release 2009-06-05
The number of Somalis forced from their homes in Mogadishu has now topped
96,000 since the start of fighting between government forces and armed opposition
groups on May 8.
Press release 2009-05-26
Pakistanis continue to leave the areas of conflict between government forces and militants in search of refuge in Mardan, Charsadda, Swabi and Nowshera districts of North West Frontier Province (NWFP). Some 18,000 families -- about 126,000 people -- are registered on average every day in these districts.
Press release 2009-05-20
Despite the lull in fighting in Mogadishu, the number of people fleeing the
Somali capital in the last 12 days has now risen to 45,000. Intense fighting
between government forces and the opposition Al-Shabaab and Hisb-ul-Islam groups
erupted in several north-west areas of Mogadishu on 8 May.
Press release 2009-05-15
In a visit to UNHCR-supported displacement camps, High Commissioner for Refugees
António Guterres called Thursday for a massive international aid effort
for hundreds of thousands of Pakistanis recently uprooted by fighting in the
country's north-west.
Press release 2009-05-15
UNHCR is deeply concerned about the week-long clashes in the Somali capital
Mogadishu that have claimed many civilian lives and sparked a new wave of displacement.
Press release 2009-05-12
A Boeing 747 cargo plane with 120 tonnes of UNHCR relief supplies for people
fleeing fighting in Pakistan’s north-west left Dubai this morning and
is due to touch down in Islamabad at 3:15 p.m. local time (11:15 a.m. Geneva
time).
Press release 2009-05-07
GENEVA -- UNHCR expressed deep concern Thursday over the fate of some 230 people who were rescued Wednesday by Italian patrol boats in the Maltese Search and Rescue Region (SAR) of responsibility and sent back to Libya without proper assessment of their possible protection needs.
Press release 2009-05-06
GENEVA -- UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres today expressed deep concern over the safety of tens of thousands of displaced civilians and refugees in north-western Pakistan as UNHCR prepared to step up its already considerable humanitarian assistance to the region.
Press release 2009-04-29
As tens of thousands of civilians continue to make their way out of the conflict zone, UNHCR is responding to the deepening emergency unfolding in Sri Lanka’s north.
Press release 2009-04-24
Fresh displacement has topped 100,000 in Sri Lankas north as tens of thousands
of civilians continue to flee heavy fighting between government forces and
the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the north-eastern coastal belt
of the Mullaitivu district.
Press release 2009-03-31
UNHCR has reports of hundreds of people trying to reach Europe missing off
the coast of Libya. Details are still sketchy, but reports indicate a number
of vessels carrying several hundred people set sail from the coast of Libya
in the direction of Italy over the last few days.
Press release 2009-03-24
GENEVA - The number of asylum seekers in industrialised countries increased
last year for the second year running, according to provisional statistics
compiled by the UN refugee agency.
Press release 2009-03-20
UNHCR launches article competition for journalism students
“Illegal migrants from Africa arrive on the shores of Europe, many
are feared drowned”. A news headline of our times. But are they all ‘illegal
migrants’?
Press release 2009-02-10
UNHCR has been invited to participate in a hearing on amendments to the
Finnish Aliens Act, and welcomes this opportunity to assist Finland in its
efforts to maintain a fair and efficient approach to asylum.
Press release 2009-02-05
- Voices support for Myanmar refugees trapped in camps
BAN MAI NAI SOI REFUGEE CAMP ,
Thailand, February 5 (UNHCR) – UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina
Jolie has called on the Thai government to grant Myanmar refugees in
northern Thailand greater freedom of movement, after spending a day listening
to refugees tell of the difficulties they have faced in two decades of living
in closed camps.
Press release 2009-02-02
GENEVA -- UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres expressed deep shock and sadness Monday over a morning attack in Quetta, Pakistan, that left one UNHCR staff member dead and another missing.
Press release 2009 -01-15
UNHCR has received a donation of SEK 500,000 from Lions Sweden towards its protection and assistance programs for the internally displaced in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic Congo (DRC). This sum covers the cost of 50,000 hygiene kits for girls and women. The hygiene kits will be distributed among displaced in the North Kivu and Oriental provinces.
Press release 2009-01-09
UNHCR calls for access to protection. During 2008, out of a total estimated figure of more than 67,000 people crossing to Europe by sea, some 38,000 persons arrived in Italy and Malta alone, mostly after transiting through Libya.
2009-01-08
NEW YORK, United States, January 8 (UNHCR) – UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres on Thursday briefed the UN Security Council on the challenges facing his agency in caring for tens of millions of uprooted people in an increasingly complex and often dangerous international environment.
2009-01-06
A UNHCR team and other UN colleagues carried out a mission over the weekend
to the towns of Tadu and Faradje in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s
Oriental Province.
2009-01-06
UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres today called for strict adherence to humanitarian principles in the ongoing conflict in Gaza, including respect for the universal right of those fleeing war to seek safety in other states.
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