JRS STATEMENT - WORLD REFUGEE DAY
On 20 June, World Refugee Day, JRS urges governments worldwide to increase humanitarian aid to populations in vulnerable situations and to take measures boost food production in developing countries. JRS reminds governments of their obligations to protect refugees and encourages them to take measures to promote self-sufficiency among displaced persons. Posted 20 June 2008.
LATEST ISSUE OF THE REFUGEE VOICE
JRS/USA examines the question of resettlement for Bhutanese refugees in this May issue of the Refugee Voice.
DONATE NOW TO HELP VICTIMS OF CYCLONE IN MYANMAR
The international community continues to gain new understanding of the enormous scope of the natural disaster that recently struck Myanmar (Burma). If you would like to help us reach out to the victims of the cyclone in Myanmar by providing them with safe drinking water, food and non-food items, basic medicine and medical supplies, please click here.
ITALY: BANISH THE FRONTIERS OF THE MIND SAYS FR GENERAL
"If a country or a culture closes itself to other cultures, it does not have much future", this was one of the principal messages launched by the recently elected Fr General of the Society of Jesus, Adolfo Nicolás, at a press conference held in the Caravita Oratory in Rome on 11 June. Posted 18 June 2008.
KENYA: INCREASED INSECURITY IN THE KAKUMA AREA
"The overall security situation in Kakuma Refugee Camp and its environs has been tense and volatile for the past two months", JRS Kenya project director, Elizabeth Ogaye, told Dispatches on 1 June. Posted 18 June 2008.
SUDAN: LACK OF FUNDING LEADS TO A REDUCTION IN AIR SERVICE FOR AID STAFF
On 10 June, the UN World Food Program (WFP) announced that its ability to transport 14,000 aid workers to Darfur and other parts of the country will be reduced due to lack of funding. Posted 18 June 2008.
BURUNDI: GOVERNMENT AND REBELS COMMIT TO RENOUNCE ON VIOLENCE
"The government of Burundi and Palipehutu-FNL renounced violence and undertook to resolve all their differences by dialogue," reads a joint communiqué issued on Monday, 10 June, after two days of high level peace talks in South Africa. Posted 18 June 2008.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO (DRC): REBELS ATTACK DISPLACED PERSONS
On 4 June, rebels killed and wounded an unconfirmed number of internally displaced persons, among them children, in a camp in Kinyandoni, North Kivu, eastern DRC. Posted 18 June 2008.
SOUTH AFRICA: GOVERNMENT PROVIDES ACCOMMODATION FOR VICTIMS OF XENOPHOBIA
In early June, as a result of the attacks, the National and Provincial governments decided to erect Centers of Safe Shelter (CoSS) to provide for the needs of the displaced persons. The official count as of 10 June was 23,635 displaced people housed in the CoSS in three provinces: in Johannesburg and Pretoria in Gauteng province, Cape Town in Western Cape province, and in Durban in Kwa-Zulu Natal province. Posted 18 June 2008.
MALTA: MIGRANTS CLINGING TO TUNA PEN RESCUED
On 7 June, fifty-six irregular migrants were rescued by the Maltese armed forces. Half of them were found clinging to a tuna-pen after their boat capsized in rough seas. Posted 18 June 2008.
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: ALLEGED TRAFFICKER RELEASED WITHOUT CHARGE
On 10 June, JRS condemned the release of Haitian national, Jean-Paul Frandominique, who was recently arrested in the Dominican border city of Dajabon with a number of children. Mr. Frandominique told the police he had paid a captain less than five US dollars and that he intended to bring the children, aged between two and six years of age, to villages in the northern region of Ciboa. Posted 18 June 2008.
REFUGEE AGENCY OPENS A NEW INFORMATION CENTER TO GREET AND ORIENT COLOMBIAN REFUGEES AT A KEY POINT ON THE 400 MILE SHARED COLOMBO-ECUADORIAN BORDER [UNHCR]
UNHCR, in cooperation with Ecuadorian authorities, has opened its first information center for newly arrived Colombians on the Ecuadorian border. The center is intended to help newly arrived refugees understand their rights as they enter their country of refuge. The center is hailed as an important preliminary step toward reaching the largely invisible Colombian refugee population in Ecuador, which now numbers an estimate 250,000. Posted 27 May 2008.
THE WASHINGTON POST AND THE NEW YORK TIMES EXAMINE A PATTERN OF MEDICAL NEGLECT IN U.S. IMMIGRATION DETENTION FACILITIES
The Washington Post and the New York Times report on the lack of necessary or emergency health care for many detained immigrants, which has led to serious medical complications and avoidable deaths in some cases. Meanwhile, Representative Lofgren, in the House of Representatives, is currently sponsoring a bill to require timely and effective delivery of medical and mental health care to all immigration detainees in custody. Click on the the links above (in red) to read more.
