ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, May 11 (UNHCR) – Citing parallels between Islamic teachings and current refugee law, UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres, has urged member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to take long-standing principles of providing asylum and enshrine them in national legislation.
Tehran, 9 May 2012 - The Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Iraq, Mr. Martin Kobler, paid a visit to the Islamic Republic of Iran, in the framework of UNAMI’s regional mandate. At the beginning of his stay, Mr. Kobler visited Isfahan to pay respect to the rich history and culture of Iran. In Tehran, he met with Foreign Minister Salehi and other high officials of the Iranian Government.
The aim of the International Conference on Afghan Displacement, held in Geneva on 2-3 May 2012, was to find sustainable solutions for Afghan refugees. The new strategy endorsed by the conference primarily supports voluntary repatriation, sustainable reintegration and assistance to host countries. The conference can be regarded as a success for Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan in view of the support pledged by the international community, and for Switzerland as the host country and facilitator for implementation of the new strategy.
When a UNHCR evaluation team visited a Somali refugee school and community centre in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur, it found that all of the children and young people there had large pieces of paper pinned to their clothing, bearing a variety of different messages. One of them read: “Thanks UNHCR for visiting our refugee education centre. But when will our turn come?” Another stated: “We are Somali refugee children. We have very few opportunities here.
Bushehr, May 7, IRNA --Tthe Director General of Soil Maintenance and Erosion Department of the Forest, Range & Watershed Management Organization, Parviz Garshasbi says more than 110 million hectares of land in Iran are turning into desert.
Garshasbi told a group of the Organization's staff and directors that presently between 110 million to 118 million hectares of land in Iran are being desertified and 32 million hectares out of the total have turned into deserts.
(New York, May 5, 2012) – Iranian authorities should immediately free dozens of university students currently behind bars solely for peacefully expressing political opinions, and end harassment of student activists on university campuses throughout the country, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch issued the call as part of a joint campaign initiated by Iranian and international student and rights groups to highlight the government’s systematic crackdown against university students for their political activism.
GENEVA, May 3 (UNHCR) – A two-day international conference on Afghanistan's protracted refugee situation wrapped up here on Thursday after endorsing a new "solutions strategy" to support repatriation, sustainable reintegration and assistance to host countries.
Delegates from more than 40 countries had gathered in Geneva this week to discuss the strategy, which was drawn up between Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan and UNHCR, co-host of the meeting with the Swiss government.
“Comment se fait-il que la vente de bananes soit plus fermement contrôlée que le commerce de mitrailleuses ?”
Anna Macdonald
Responsable de la campagne Control Arms pour Oxfam
Publié le : 3 Mai 2012
Selon Oxfam, le manque de régulation internationale en matière de commerce des armes constitue la principale cause des violations d’embargos
Plus de 2,2 milliards de dollars d’armes et de munitions ont été exportés depuis l’an 2000 vers des pays soumis à des embargos sur les armes, selon de nouveaux chiffres publiés aujourd’hui par Oxfam.
“How can the sale of bananas be more tightly-controlled than the sale of machine guns?”
Anna Macdonald
Oxfam's Head of the Control Arms Campaign
Published: 3 May 2012
Oxfam says lack of global rules on arms trade is main factor for embargo violations
More than $2.2 billion worth of arms and ammunition have been imported since 2000 by countries operating under arms embargoes, according to new figures released today by international humanitarian agency Oxfam.
DUBAI, 3 May 2012 (IRIN) - As a meeting of representatives of the Afghan, Iranian and Pakistani governments and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) opened to discuss a new strategy [ http://www.irinnews.org/Report/94965/AFGHANISTAN-Towards-more-sustainabl... ] for dealing with the most protracted refugee crisis in the world, NGOs working in Afghanistan raised a number of questions about the new approach.
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GENEVA, May 2 (UNHCR) – A conference on Afghan refugees opened here on Wednesday with a call by UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres for the international community to throw its full weight behind a new "solutions strategy" drawn up between Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan and UNHCR.
The strategy, which is being presented at the two-day conference for endorsement, aims both at preserving asylum space for Afghan refugees in neighbouring countries over the coming three years and beyond, and at supporting sustainable reintegration for those Afghans who return home.
International Conference on the Solutions Strategy for Afghan Refugees to Support Voluntary
Repatriation, Sustainable Reintegration and Assistance to Host Countries
Distinguished Co-Chair, Honourable Members of Government, Excellencies, Ladies and
Gentlemen,
DOGHAROUN, Iran, May 1 (UNHCR) – Days before delegates gather in Geneva this week for an international conference on Afghan refugees, UNHCR spoke to Abdol Ali Din Mohammad, who lived in exile in Iran for 13 years. He returned to his home in Faryab province last week with his wife and eight daughters. UNHCR Repatriation Assistant Anahita Ghahreman met Abdol as he was registering his return at a voluntary repatriation centre in the city of Dogharoun in south-eastern Iran. Extracts from the interview:
Since the beginning of 2011, the number of the registered returnees with the Ministry of Displacement and Migration (MoDM) increased dramatically compared to the same period in 2010. Starting in April onward, the number was steadily increasing, reaching a peak in August but taking a downward trend afterwards although it still remained relatively high.
In April, the Afghanistan Agrometerological Network (Agromet), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) which was assisted by the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (CHA) and the Afghan Veterinary Association (AVA), the World Food Program (WFP), and FEWS NET conducted a rapid food security assessment all over the country. This month’s Food Security Outlook is a joint FEWS NET, WFP, FAO, and Agromet report that incorporates these findings.
This is a summary of what was said by the UNHCR spokesperson at today’s Palais des Nations press briefing in Geneva. Further information can be found on the UNHCR websites, www.unhcr.org and www.unhcr.fr, which should also be checked for regular media updates on non-briefing days.
The UN refugee agency and the Government of Switzerland are co-sponsoring a two-day international conference next week in Geneva on Afghan refugees.
HUMENNÉ, April 19 (UNHCR) – A group of 44 Afghan refugees arrived on Thursday, April 19 at the Evacuation Transit Centre (ETC) in Humenné, eastern Slovakia, ahead of onward resettlement elsewhere.
