With a record 79.5 million people around the world living in forced exile, the Security Council must overcome its differences and make real progress to resolve long-running conflicts and clear the way for refugees and internally displaced persons to return home, the Head of the United Nations refugee agency told the 15-member organ during a 18 June videoconference meeting.
Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message for World Refugee Day, observed on 20 June:
Forced displacement is now affecting more than one percent of humanity, or 1 in 97 people, and fewer of those who flee are able to return home, according to a report issued today by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has launched an $186 million appeal to provide lifesaving protection and assistance to refugees, internally displaced persons, returnees and host communities in the Central Sahel, The number of displaced in Burkina Faso has more than quadrupled in the past year.
In Bangladesh, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) confirmed today that a 71-year-old Rohingya man is the first refugee in the Cox’s Bazar camp to die from COVID-19 and some 30 other people have tested positive so far, yet the numbers are likely higher as testing is ramping up.
The Secretary-General’s annual report on the protection of civilians in armed conflict has been released. Covering 2019, it documents the death and injury of tens of thousands; the displacement of millions; as well as widespread reports of sexual violence, noting children were forced to take part in fighting.
Anti-coronavirus measures are exposing victims of human trafficking to further exploitation and limiting their access to essential services, a new analysis released by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime said today, noting also the emergence of new opportunities for organized crime to profit from the crisis.
In South Africa, the United Nations has launched a $136 million emergency appeal to help up to 10 million people in vulnerable communities facing COVID-19-related risks in health, water, sanitation, food security and gender-based violence.
The Secretary-General launched a new report highlighting the centrality of human rights to COVID-19 response and recovery alongside recommendations, saying the pandemic is fast becoming a human rights crisis exposing deep weaknesses in public service delivery that must be addressed.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights released new guidance on COVID-19 and the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people, stressing that they must not fear retribution for seeking health care amid the pandemic.
