The world’s largest gathering on refugee issues closed with over 1,600 pledges of action and financial commitments worth an estimated $2.2 billion. UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi praised the "determined unity” shown by participants, who – in the face of global division and crises – pledged transformative action on behalf of refugees and the countries hosting them. The 2023 Global Refugee Forum came as the global refugee population has reached a record level of 36.4 million, with a total population of the forcibly displaced of 114 million people.
UNHCR
Abdullahi Mire's foundation has supplied over 100,000 books donated by education charities and former refugees living in the diaspora to support schools in Kenya's Dadaab camp and to establish three public libraries.
Honoring individuals, groups and organizations who excel in protecting refugees, displaced and stateless people is the main mission of the Nansen Refugee Award given out by the UN Refugee Agency. Established in 1954, the award celebrates the legacy of Fridtjof Nansen, a Norwegian scientist, polar explorer, diplomat and first High Commissioner for Refugees for the League of Nations. Since then, more than 60 individuals, groups or organizations have received the prize for their service to refugees. The 2023 Global Laureate is Abdullahi Mire, a journalist and former refugee from Somalia.
Erasmia Roumana’s job requires extraordinary strength. Working in Greece as a protection associate with UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, she interviews refugees who have survived devastating shipwrecks at sea after embarking on desperate journeys in search of a better life.
“I have seen some very horrible situations. And I always wonder at that moment, how can people survive this? How can people move on after this?”
One tragic story stood out over the years. In 2014, Syrian refugee Doaa survived three days at sea following a shipwreck which killed 500 people, including her fiancé. In this episode of Awake at Night, Erasmia Roumana shares the latest fateful twist in Doaa’s story and reflects on the courage and resilience of the survivors she meets.
The climate crisis and human displacement are increasingly linked. Not only did climate-related disasters cause more than half of all new displacements reported in 2022, but nearly 60 percent of refugees and internally displaced people now live in countries that are among the most vulnerable to climate change. Our understanding of these connections is growing, but the ways in which our rapidly changing climate is forcing people to move and making life harder for those already displaced, are complex and evolving. This situation has led to a proliferation of myths and disinformation. Here are five of the most common myths related to the climate crisis and displacement, followed by what the UN Refugee Agency knows.
The intense fighting in Khartoum has created a humanitarian emergency inside Sudan and the wider region. Here is how the humanitarian community is responding.
While armed conflicts, rising food insecurity, and the climate emergency have pushed displaced people around the world to the brink, refugees are finding ways to contribute to their host communities, as educators, entrepreneurs, advocates, climate activists and health-care workers, among others. During the upcoming Global Refugee Forum, an opportunity to mobilize action for positive change in the lives of refugees will be appreciated as the 17 goals collectively known as the Sustainable Development Goals cannot be fully realized without their inclusion. Being a refugee is not a handicap and they are living proof that their power of perseverance is towards a better future no matter the obstacles that stand in their way.
Over 50 people who fled conflict in Sudan have found shelter in Fatna Hamid’s home. Many Chadians like Fatna are opening their doors to Sudanese refugees arriving in Chad. Over 320,000 refugees have crossed into the country’s east since conflict began in April. Information for media form UNHCR.
"I have seen, firsthand, the toll that the violence in Sudan is taking on people across the region." UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Cate Blanchett is calling for donations to help those fleeing their homes. Every act of kindness makes an impact. Please help us to continue responding. Information for media: If you would like to use this video to communicate refugee stories or require B-Roll, transcripts, stills or much more information, please visit our media page.
Exiled Afghan women’s football teams scores goals in Australia in hopes of making a future in their new country, facilitated by UNHCR.
UN Refugee presents the new video by singer-songwriter K’naan, who fled Mogadishu as a child. “I wanted the song to feel ‘like a home for those of us made homeless by conflict’”.
In Bentiu in South Sudan, climate change is not just an environmental issue, it is a challenge to people’s very existence. Four years of historic rains in this region have submerged farmlands, ancestral homes and road. Some 360,000 people have fled due to the floods. They now live in internal displacement sites below the waterline, hemmed in by dikes. While the mainstream debate surrounding climate change centres on the world becoming uninhabitable in the future, in Bentiu it is already a reality. UNHCR continues to build drainage systems and taller dikes in preparation for the rains.
The UN refugee agency anticipates a significant rise in global refugee resettlement needs for next year. According to the 2024 assessment, over 2.4 million refugees will be in need of resettlement, marking a 20 per cent increase compared to 2023. With a deepening refugee crisis and the emergence of new displacement situations, urgent action is required to address the challenges faced by millions of refugees and displaced individuals. UNHCR continues to advocate to allocate more places for emergency and medical cases and ensuring timely processing.
What would you bring if violence or persecution forced you to flee your country? The UN Refugee Agency has worked with photographer Brian Sokol on a refugee portraiture project called The Most Important Thing. Through images and interviews, it reveals some of the anguished decisions refugee families face when they are forced to flee their homes. The most important object Dowla was able to bring with her is the wooden pole balanced over her shoulder. She used it to carry her six children during the 10-day journey to Doro refugee camp in South Sudan.