View previous stories
	World Refugee Day: Spotlight on needs by Michel Gabaudan Refugees International   June 20, 2011   Today is World Refugee Day -- a day for people to spend a little more time recognizing and honoring the world’s most vulnerable people. At a time when only a few of the world’s refugees and displaced people make the news headlines, I welcome any day that reminds people to stop and pay attention to all 43.7 million people who are struggling to rebuild their lives and communities.   As conflicts become more complex, people are remaining displaced for far longer. As a result, it is hard for governments, the media and the public at large to keep their attention on most displacement crises after the initial spotlight fades.   For example, while there is frequent news coverage from Afghanistan, the growing number of displaced people in that country is largely absent from the stories. Yet, more than 430,000 people are now uprooted from their homes in that country, many living in squalid urban slums.   When it comes to the plight of displaced people, the world’s attention struggles to focus on more than one crisis at a time. Today, the spotlight is shining primarily on Syria. Some 10,000 people have fled the violence that the Syrian military is unleashing to suppress three-month old peaceful demonstrations against Assad’s regime. Advocates have praised Turkey’s government for keeping its borders open and honoring its international obligations to support refugees.   I am concerned that Syria is pushing for people to return home. This is certainly premature and I hope that people are able to return home voluntarily strictly when they are willing and able to do so.   It is noteworthy that so few people from Syria are actually fleeing the country so far. Given the frightening level of violence, the population is showing tremendous resilience in working towards their goal for regime change.   I witnessed this same resilience when I traveled to Libya in March. There, I spoke with many Libyans who wanted to stay and show support for their country. Untold numbers of people were uprooted inside Libya, living with friends and family or in public buildings. Agencies have had to adjust in order to identify needs and provide critical assistance to people who are scattered throughout towns and cities. Outside the country, more than one million people fled as a result of Colonel Gadaffi’s crackdown against the uprising in his country. Many of these people were third country migrants who were safely evacuated to their home countries. But many, especially those from countries like Somalia and Eritrea, are unable to return home.   Western governments have been challenged over how best to respond to the “Arab Spring” protests. But one immediate easy way would be to support those displaced by these uprisings – as well as other crises around the world. The first critical piece is to provide support to Turkey, Tunisia, Egypt and other countries who are generously hosting refugees. UNHCR noted today that 80 percent of the world’s refugees live in developing countries like Pakistan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.   Second, industrialized nations must increase the resettlement of refugees and allow more to seek asylum and find work in their countries.   Part of Refugees International’s job is to create our own spotlight and shine it on the humanitarian needs of people most affected by these world events. In doing so, we generate attention, assistance and protection to the people most in need.   On World Refugee Day, help us recognize the millions of forgotten people who have been uprooted by conflict and natural disasters by learning a bit more about them. Few people understand all of the details about the global refugee plight. Visit the related web page
	UN rights chief urges Syria to end assault on its own people by Reuters / UNICEF & agencies   June 2011   The United Nations human rights chief has condemned the ongoing violent crackdown by Syrian authorities against peaceful protestors and called on the Government to respond to her repeated requests to allow a fact-finding mission to visit the country.   “We are receiving an increasing number of alarming reports pointing to the Syrian Government’s continuing efforts to ruthlessly crush civilian protests,” High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said in a news release.   “It is utterly deplorable for any government to attempt to bludgeon its population into submission, using tanks, artillery and snipers,” she added. “I urge the Government to halt this assault on its own people’s most fundamental human rights.”   She noted that non-governmental organizations and others are now reporting that the number of men, women and children killed since the protests began in March has exceeded 1,100, with up to 10,000 or more detained.   Saying that “bare statistics do not reveal the full extent of individual crimes and suffering,” Ms. Pillay referred to the case of Hamza al-Khatib, the 13-year-old boy, who was allegedly abducted and tortured to death by local security forces.   “The unimaginably cruel murder and mutilation of this child seems to be emblematic of the moral and legal bankruptcy of the apparent policy of crushing dissent by all available means,” she stated.   Ms. Pillay also voiced particular concern about reports of civilians fleeing the north-western town of Jisr al-Shughour in the wake of recent threatening statements by Government officials.   In a special session held in April, the UN Human Rights Council authorized a fact-finding mission to Syria to investigate alleged violations of international human rights law. Ms. Pillay urged the authorities to cooperate and to grant her team access to the country.   “So far we have not received any official reply from Syria – either positive or negative,” said Ms. Pillay, whose team is scheduled to issue a preliminary report on the situation in Syria to the Geneva-based Council on 15 June.   The High Commissioner also reminded neighbouring countries that no one from Syria should be returned against their will in view of the current human rights situation, and urged States to keep their borders open for refugees fleeing Syria.   Meanwhile, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) today strongly appealed for calm and restraint after a number of Palestinian refugees in Syria lost their lives and had been injured in recent events, including in Yarmouk, which is home to a third of the Palestinian refugee community in Syria.   “UNRWA calls on all concerned to preserve the sanctity of human life as required by international law, to protect the safety and dignity of all, and to ensure that any further loss of civilian lives is avoided,” the Agency stated in a news release.   The protests in Syria are part of a broader uprising this year across North Africa and the Middle East that has already toppled the long-standing regimes in Tunisia and Egypt and led to ongoing conflict in Libya.   June 4, 2011   Syrian forces have killed at least 70 protesters in one of the bloodiest days since the start of an 11-week revolt against the authoritarian rule of president Bashar al-Assad.   Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets on Friday in defiance of security forces determined to crush the uprising, and some activists said the death toll could hit 100.   Rami Abdulrahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said at least 60 people were killed in Hama, where Mr Assad"s father Hafez crushed an armed revolt 29 years ago by killing up to 30,000 people and razing parts of the city.   A political activist in Hama said tens of thousands of people were attending the funerals of dead protesters. "Anger is very high in the city. People will never be silent or scared. The whole city is shut today and people are calling for a three-day strike," the activist, who gave his name as Omar, said from the city.   Residents and activists said that security forces and snipers fired at demonstrators who thronged Hama on Friday. On top of the casualties there, Syrian human rights group Sawasiah said one person was killed in Damascus and two in the north-western province of Idlib. Seven people were killed in the town of Rastan in central Syria, which has been under military assault and besieged by tanks since Sunday.   Rights groups say security forces have killed more than 1,000 civilians during the uprising, provoking international outrage at Mr Assad"s ruthless handling of the demonstrators.   Mr Assad has tried brute force and political concessions, often simultaneously, to quell protests. The tactic has so far failed to stop the revolt against 41 years of rule by the Assad family, members of the minority Alawite sect in mainly Sunni Syria.   In Deraa, birthplace of the revolt, hundreds defied a military curfew and demonstrated on Friday, two residents said. Syrian forces fired on demonstrations in the eastern city of Deir al-Zor and in Damascus Barzeh district.   June 2011   Syria accused of torturing children.   United Nations children"s agency UNICEF has called on Syria to investigate reports of "horrific acts" of violence against children detained during the current wave of unrest.   The call came after The New York Times reported that an online video showed the body of a 13-year-old boy, arrested at a protest on April 29, who it said had been tortured, mutilated and killed before his body was returned to his family.   Protests against the rule of president Bashar al-Assad broke out in southern Syria in March and have spread across the country. Human rights groups say 1,000 civilians have been killed and 10,000 arrested in a government crackdown.   In a statement, UNICEF said use of live ammunition against demonstrators had reportedly killed at least 30 children, although it said it could not independently confirm that figure or the circumstances of their death.   The agency said it was "particularly disturbed by the recent video images of children who were arbitrarily detained and suffered torture or ill-treatment during their detention leading in some cases to their death."   "We call on the government to thoroughly investigate these reports and ensure that perpetrators of such horrific acts are identified and brought to justice," it added.   The agency reminded Syria that as a party to the 1990 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, it was bound to ensure children"s right to life, to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, and protection from violence, exploitation and abuse.   It said the government had a primary responsibility for the well-being of those affected by the unrest and a duty to ensure continuation of basic social services.   The UNICEF statement was one of the strongest issued by any UN body on the situation in Syria. The UN humanitarian division OCHA has failed to win permission from Damascus to send teams to cities attacked by government forces.
	View more stories