02/03/2012
The Sudanese government’s refusal to allow international aid agencies (both UN
and private) into its territory is putting tens of thousands of lives at
risk. But can the aid blockade be broken?
01/19/2012
The global aid community has grown tremendously since the early days of
humanitarian and development assistance. Our understanding of how aid
works has also grown more sophisticated. One of the lessons we have
learned is that aid must change as needs change.
01/11/2012
Traveling in Burma last month, it wasn’t hard to see that things really
are changing in this beautiful but troubled country. Posters of Aung San
Suu Kyi filled market stalls and hung proudly in the offices of local
civil society groups – a remarkable change from the past, when
possessing just one was a cause for arrest.
01/09/2012
The world’s newest country
is struggling to find its footing, as internal and external conflict
continues to force tens of thousands of South Sudanese from their homes.
12/09/2011
At a high-level meeting in Geneva this week, 145 governments came together to re-affirm their commitment to a number of landmark humanitarian agreements.
10/27/2011
Without a clear U.S. strategy to address the shortcomings of this program, abusive Afghan Local Police units will only continue to spread fear, fuel tribal and ethnic tensions, and further destabilize the country. Moreover, left unchecked the ALP will become a catalyst for the insurgency.
10/19/2011
While working as a gender-based violence consultant for my first UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, I was surrounded by victims of violence. I thought constantly about their plight and what was missing in the response by the international community. “Here, more than anywhere,” I thought at the time, “women peacekeepers could do so much to protect and respond to the needs of their fellow women.”
10/07/2011
For the vast majority of the Afghan population -- the displaced, the deprived, and the fearful -- today is just one more day.
07/28/2011
While it is true that droughts are an act of nature, there is nothing
"natural" about the resulting famine in Somalia -- the only country in
the Horn where famine has been declared. There, the famine is a result
of a lack of governance and direct human actions which have deprived
millions of people access to food.
07/07/2011
It’s the “Rohingya problem.” Burma’s history of brutal persecution of
the Rohingya – coupled with their lack of citizenship rights – have
forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee to neighbouring
Bangladesh.
The plight of the Rohingya originates with the Burmese
government’s abuses of this minority. In an ongoing policy review, the Bangladesh government must protect the
Rohingya’s basic human rights to safety, food, shelter, and – as
stateless people – an identity.
03/24/2011
I have spent the past two weeks visiting these three countries to assess
the immediate needs of those fleeing the violence in Libya. To the
outside world, the first indicator of the level of violence being
unleashed on civilians by Colonel Gaddafi's regime was the large-scale
exodus of people across the borders into Tunisia and Egypt. More than
300,000 people have fled across these two borders in the past month. The
majority of these are migrant workers -- from countries as diverse as
Egypt, Pakistan and the Philippines -- who need flights back to their
countries. Others are from sub-Saharan African countries who need
protection from intimidation and attacks, as they have been mistakenly
identified as mercenaries or are victims of racist and thuggish
behavior. Many of them now have no home to return to.
03/03/2011
America has a choice to make. As the Senate begins debate on the budget
for the remainder of fiscal 2011, senators will have to decide what this
country’s international priorities are.
12/26/2010
Michel Gabaudan
As President Obama pushes forward with his military strategy for Afghanistan, ordinary Afghans are undeniably worse off. More and more Afghans are forced from their homes by violence, especially as the military offensive in the south pushes insecurity north. Meanwhile, the Afghan government remains too weak, and humanitarian organizations are unprepared to meet even the most basic needs of the population. As the U.S. proceeds into its 10th and most challenging year yet in Afghanistan, it must recognize and address the growing humanitarian needs and ensure that the most vulnerable Afghans do not fall through the cracks.
In November, Refugees International traveled to Afghanistan to look at the capacity of the United Nations and the various aid agencies to provide Afghans with the basics for survival. In short, the current aid system is broken.
10/25/2010
Imagine having to leave your home in a hurry, bringing hardly anything
with you. Imagine building a flimsy shelter, out of old rugs, branches,
and, if you are lucky, plastic tarps. Imagine having no running water.
Imagine not knowing if you will find food for your children tomorrow.
Imagine not being able to put them into school. Imagine fearing your
daughter will be raped every time she goes to the toilet. Imagine that
this is your everyday ordeal for months, years, decades. This happens to be the daily reality of hundreds of thousands of people in Somalia.
09/18/2010
Lazaro Sumbeiwyo and John Danforth
Four months away from a scheduled referendum on self-determination, Sudan is at an historic crossroads. In January, the people of south Sudan will choose whether to stay unified with the north or secede to create a new country roughly the size of Texas. This referendum, the cornerstone of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which the two of us helped negotiate, was to be the pinnacle of a six-year process to make Sudan more democratic and peaceful. Neither the north nor the south has succeeded in “making unity attractive’’ as it was hoped, and most analysts expect an overwhelming vote in favor of southern secession.
Four months away from a scheduled referendum on self-determination, Sudan is at an historic crossroads. In January, the people of south Sudan will choose whether to stay unified with the north or secede to create a new country roughly the size of Texas. This referendum, the cornerstone of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which the two of us helped negotiate, was to be the pinnacle of a six-year process to make Sudan more democratic and peaceful. Neither the north nor the south has succeeded in “making unity attractive’’ as it was hoped, and most analysts expect an overwhelming vote in favor of southern secession.
09/10/2010
L. Craig Johnstone
Thirty-five years ago, two young Foreign Service officers went AWOL from Henry Kissinger's staff at the State Department to go to Vietnam in the days before the collapse of Saigon. I was one of them. Our action drew stern rebukes and orders that we be arrested and returned to the United States. We had each been posted in Vietnam. We went back there at our own expense and in defiance of our superiors because we were alarmed at the lack of planning on the part of our government regarding the well-being of our Vietnamese employees and allies as the end to the war approached. We believed that the United States had a moral obligation and a humanitarian responsibility to rescue those who had worked and sided with us on the battlefields of that unwinnable conflict.
Thirty-five years ago, two young Foreign Service officers went AWOL from Henry Kissinger's staff at the State Department to go to Vietnam in the days before the collapse of Saigon. I was one of them. Our action drew stern rebukes and orders that we be arrested and returned to the United States. We had each been posted in Vietnam. We went back there at our own expense and in defiance of our superiors because we were alarmed at the lack of planning on the part of our government regarding the well-being of our Vietnamese employees and allies as the end to the war approached. We believed that the United States had a moral obligation and a humanitarian responsibility to rescue those who had worked and sided with us on the battlefields of that unwinnable conflict.
07/15/2010
Dawn Calabia
“We are one country, one religion…why is this happening now?” asked a man sitting in his half-ruined house in Jalal-Abad. I should be tending to my crops, repairing my house, but I cannot…. I have sent my children away … it is not safe here …Will it happen again?” Kyrgyzstan, a country of 5.3 million people, just approved a new constitution, setting up Central Asia’s first parliamentary democracy with elections planned for October 10. But this young country is now reeling from inter-ethnic violence that destroyed 3,000 buildings, forcing an estimated 300,000 people from their homes. One hundred thousand people – mostly women, children, the elderly, disabled and wounded – received brief refuge and aid in neighboring Uzbekistan.
“We are one country, one religion…why is this happening now?” asked a man sitting in his half-ruined house in Jalal-Abad. I should be tending to my crops, repairing my house, but I cannot…. I have sent my children away … it is not safe here …Will it happen again?” Kyrgyzstan, a country of 5.3 million people, just approved a new constitution, setting up Central Asia’s first parliamentary democracy with elections planned for October 10. But this young country is now reeling from inter-ethnic violence that destroyed 3,000 buildings, forcing an estimated 300,000 people from their homes. One hundred thousand people – mostly women, children, the elderly, disabled and wounded – received brief refuge and aid in neighboring Uzbekistan.
06/17/2010
Dan Glickman
Being American has never been about where you were born. Being American is about ideals, principles, strength and faith. Being American is answering the cry for help, even when times are tough. On Sunday, as the nation marks World Refugee Day, it’s time to reflect on America’s rich history of responding to humanitarian crises, examine the connection between our national morality and our national security, and recommit ourselves to being the world’s moral leader.
04/21/2010
Patrick Duplat and Renata Rendón
Since Sept. 11, the United States has given large sums of money to Pakistan to gain allegiance and support in the global war on terror. In return, the United States hopes for cooperation on issues ranging from nuclear disarmament to cracking down on jihadist groups. As a result, President Obama is confronting questions over how to balance security concerns with humanitarian and human rights principles, the very choice he denounced as false in his campaign.
04/02/2010
Dan Glickman
As chairman of the Motion Picture Association of America, I worked with filmmakers who capture compelling stories and inspire millions of people. I saw powerful films, such as "Hotel Rwanda" and "Blood Diamond," bring the suffering of displaced people out of the shadows. They remind us all of our shared values. 01/08/2010
Lazaro Sumbeiwyo and John Danforth
The world’s
attention was rightly seized by the terrible conflict in Sudan’s
western region of Darfur, in which hundreds of thousands of civilian
lives were lost. It is often forgotten, however, that the tragedy of
Darfur came after Sudan’s north-south conflict, Africa’s longest
running civil war, in which more than 2m people were killed. On Friday
it is five years since the historic Comprehensive Peace Agreement was
signed between north and south Sudan, yet there is a real threat of
all-out war returning to Sudan and still no permanent resolution to the
Darfur conflict.
02/10/2009
Eileen Shields-West
With Susan Rice in as the new U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, policy toward the long vexing Darfur refugee crisis is bound to change. But many questions remain about new approaches to one of the great humanitarian challenges of our time.
With Susan Rice in as the new U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, policy toward the long vexing Darfur refugee crisis is bound to change. But many questions remain about new approaches to one of the great humanitarian challenges of our time.
08/27/2008
Ken Bacon
Three events on Monday, Aug. 25, help illustrate the cruel complexities of the death, destruction and displacement in the Darfur region of Sudan. First and most worrisome, Sudanese troops attacked the huge Kalma Camp, where 90,000 people displaced from their homes by violence live in crowded squalor. The Sudan Tribune quoted a source saying that 86 people died and 221 were wounded during the attacks against people seeking refuge from violence (in other reports the number of deaths cited is lower).
Three events on Monday, Aug. 25, help illustrate the cruel complexities of the death, destruction and displacement in the Darfur region of Sudan. First and most worrisome, Sudanese troops attacked the huge Kalma Camp, where 90,000 people displaced from their homes by violence live in crowded squalor. The Sudan Tribune quoted a source saying that 86 people died and 221 were wounded during the attacks against people seeking refuge from violence (in other reports the number of deaths cited is lower).
08/04/2008
Ken Bacon
At his final economic summit, President Bush highlighted his commitment to Africa, where he has increased assistance and programs to reduce HIV/AIDS. But a more enduring legacy may be a change in U.S. military structure that gives the Pentagon a bigger role in U.S. policies toward Africa. Scheduled to become fully operational October 1, 2008, the new Africa Command, known as AFRICOM, is developing at a time when the Pentagon controls an increasing share of foreign aid that used to be directed by civilian agencies. The percentage of Official Development Assistance that the Pentagon controls has skyrocketed from 3.5% to nearly 22% in the past decade.
At his final economic summit, President Bush highlighted his commitment to Africa, where he has increased assistance and programs to reduce HIV/AIDS. But a more enduring legacy may be a change in U.S. military structure that gives the Pentagon a bigger role in U.S. policies toward Africa. Scheduled to become fully operational October 1, 2008, the new Africa Command, known as AFRICOM, is developing at a time when the Pentagon controls an increasing share of foreign aid that used to be directed by civilian agencies. The percentage of Official Development Assistance that the Pentagon controls has skyrocketed from 3.5% to nearly 22% in the past decade.
05/29/2008
Lionel Rosenblatt
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) has been struggling to address issues requiring special engagement with its sovereign members, such as human rights and natural disasters. A humanitarian expert describes how the group can save lives in Burma. Cyclone Nargis has killed several tens of thousands in Burma's Irrawaddy delta. And if the relief effort continues at the current feeble pace, informed estimates are that the death toll will reach 200,000 in the near future.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) has been struggling to address issues requiring special engagement with its sovereign members, such as human rights and natural disasters. A humanitarian expert describes how the group can save lives in Burma. Cyclone Nargis has killed several tens of thousands in Burma's Irrawaddy delta. And if the relief effort continues at the current feeble pace, informed estimates are that the death toll will reach 200,000 in the near future.
03/14/2008
Lionel Rosenblatt
The Thai government has launched a dangerous trial balloon in its efforts to repatriate several thousand Hmong from Laos. If the international community does not weigh in rapidly and effectively with the Thai government, many Hmong will be forced back to Laos where they will face possible persecution. Most of the 8,000 Hmong from Laos are in Thailand's Petchabun province. Also under threat of forced repatriation are 150 or more Hmong recognized as refugees by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) who are being held in wretched conditions for more than a year in a detention center in Nongkhai, perilously close to the crossing point to Laos. These refugees have all been offered opportunities to resettle in third countries, but Thailand has refused to consider these offers.
The Thai government has launched a dangerous trial balloon in its efforts to repatriate several thousand Hmong from Laos. If the international community does not weigh in rapidly and effectively with the Thai government, many Hmong will be forced back to Laos where they will face possible persecution. Most of the 8,000 Hmong from Laos are in Thailand's Petchabun province. Also under threat of forced repatriation are 150 or more Hmong recognized as refugees by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) who are being held in wretched conditions for more than a year in a detention center in Nongkhai, perilously close to the crossing point to Laos. These refugees have all been offered opportunities to resettle in third countries, but Thailand has refused to consider these offers.
12/06/2006
Kenneth H. Bacon
James Baker has never met Alia Al-Naradi, but they both have an interest in seeing the United States engage Syria on Iraq. For Baker, engagement is about stabilizing Iraq to allow the United States to exit gracefully. For Alia, it's about survival. Alia is an Iraqi refugee who fled to Syria, a country that has absorbed more than 750,000 Iraqis since the beginning of the war. Syria's resources are now stretched thin, and without international help, it may not be able to accept vulnerable Iraqis much longer. Working with Syria through the United Nations to help Iraqi refugees could provide a humanitarian first step for greater engagement.
James Baker has never met Alia Al-Naradi, but they both have an interest in seeing the United States engage Syria on Iraq. For Baker, engagement is about stabilizing Iraq to allow the United States to exit gracefully. For Alia, it's about survival. Alia is an Iraqi refugee who fled to Syria, a country that has absorbed more than 750,000 Iraqis since the beginning of the war. Syria's resources are now stretched thin, and without international help, it may not be able to accept vulnerable Iraqis much longer. Working with Syria through the United Nations to help Iraqi refugees could provide a humanitarian first step for greater engagement.
07/06/2006
Shyama Venkateswar and Joel Charny
Whatever it does or doesn’t signal about DPRK nuclear capability, North Korea’s brief test of a nuclear-capable missile will create real casualties by aggravating ordinary North Koreans’ suffering. With US sanctions already biting and US humanitarian aid halted, Japan is considering calling for more UN sanctions, and even South Korea says contintuing food aid, hitherto decoupled from Pyongyang’s behavior, “will be difficult under the circumstances.”
Whatever it does or doesn’t signal about DPRK nuclear capability, North Korea’s brief test of a nuclear-capable missile will create real casualties by aggravating ordinary North Koreans’ suffering. With US sanctions already biting and US humanitarian aid halted, Japan is considering calling for more UN sanctions, and even South Korea says contintuing food aid, hitherto decoupled from Pyongyang’s behavior, “will be difficult under the circumstances.”
07/06/2006
Kenneth H. Bacon
KHARTOUM, Sudan - As rebel leaders sit at the Green Village Hotel in Khartoum, the prospect of peace in the Darfur region of Sudan suddenly becomes tangible. Looking slightly uncomfortable in suits and ties, they are discussing development plans for Darfur and a scheduled meeting between their leader, Minni Minnawi, and President Bush. But reports from Darfur give a different impression. In the large camps housing many of the 2.2 million people displaced by the civil war, violence has increased since the May 5 signing of the Darfur peace agreement.
KHARTOUM, Sudan - As rebel leaders sit at the Green Village Hotel in Khartoum, the prospect of peace in the Darfur region of Sudan suddenly becomes tangible. Looking slightly uncomfortable in suits and ties, they are discussing development plans for Darfur and a scheduled meeting between their leader, Minni Minnawi, and President Bush. But reports from Darfur give a different impression. In the large camps housing many of the 2.2 million people displaced by the civil war, violence has increased since the May 5 signing of the Darfur peace agreement.
01/31/2006
Kenneth H. Bacon
How can the United States best use its monthlong turn as president of the United Nations Security Council, which it assumes tomorrow? It could start by devoting itself to ending the violence in the Darfur region of western Sudan — violence that President Bush has characterized as genocide. There is precedent for such action. The last time the United States assumed the rotating presidency of the 15-member Security Council, it made a real contribution to peace in the region. John C. Danforth, then the ambassador to the United Nations, brought the entire Security Council to Kenya to pressure the government in Khartoum and the insurgents in the south to end their 21-year civil war.
How can the United States best use its monthlong turn as president of the United Nations Security Council, which it assumes tomorrow? It could start by devoting itself to ending the violence in the Darfur region of western Sudan — violence that President Bush has characterized as genocide. There is precedent for such action. The last time the United States assumed the rotating presidency of the 15-member Security Council, it made a real contribution to peace in the region. John C. Danforth, then the ambassador to the United Nations, brought the entire Security Council to Kenya to pressure the government in Khartoum and the insurgents in the south to end their 21-year civil war.
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Refugees International (RI) advocates for lifesaving assistance and protection for displaced people and promotes solutions to displacement crises.
We are an independent organization, and do not accept any government or UN funding.
We are an independent organization, and do not accept any government or UN funding.