Browse by Theme: Refugees

As we launch into 2018 it is worth reflecting that 2017 has not only seen some political upheavals in the UK and the US but also some fundamental social shifts. Whilst the revelations of sexual harassment and abuse of power from Hollywood to almost every workplace were not a surprise to some, they certainly got people talking about what is acceptable and gave people the confidence to come forward and share their #metoo experiences. So 2018 has to be the year we reinforce this cultural shift and secure some concrete changes in policy and practice when it comes to achieving gender justice at home and abroad.

This week (14-15 December 2017) Theresa May is in Brussels for a crunch time EU Heads of State Council meeting. The terms of Brexit, including the status of European citizens, the Irish border and future trading relations, are top of the bill.

This week (12-13 December 2017) diplomats meet in Geneva to take stock in negotiations towards a new UN ‘Global Compact on Refugees’ at the UNHCR High Commissioner’s Dialogue on Protection Challenges. To coincide with the Dialogue, CARE is publishing new research from Greece and elsewhere which highlights how the failure to provide safe and legal routes for refugees, in particular family reunion, has gendered impacts on women and girls left stranded in countries of transit.

Today, June 20th, is World Refugee Day. It’s a day to raise awareness about the challenges faced by refugees and to hold governments accountable for commitments they made under the UN Refugee Convention to protect and assist displaced people. But there are also other sides to the global refugee crisis, which do not get enough attention.

The right to work for refugees is vital. In fact, increasing the economic opportunities for refugees is the only way in which they can become autonomous and productive, escape from long-term limbo and prevent them from being a burden on the state. But this is just one of the ways in which refugees can be supported, and providing the right to work is not an excuse for states to avoid their responsibilities to help people in need. Fundamentally, there needs to be political will and collaboration around a range of interventions and support to resolve refugee crises and an equitable resettlement arrangement should be a part of this.

Today, ministers and senior diplomats from around the world meet with the UN, EU and states involved in the Syrian conflict for a high-level Conference (5 April) to identify ways forward on the crisis. This happens as news from Khan Sheikhoun in southern Idlib in Syria suggests that an aerial bombardment using chemical weapons has left over 50 dead, and the situation escalates across multiple besieged areas across the country. At the top of the agenda is the question of ‘reconstruction’ – yet what does ‘reconstruction’ mean in a country still at war?

The plight of refugee women both in Europe and the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region has been largely ignored, characterised by a lack of information and lost in the broader sweep of the humanitarian disaster. This won’t be the first time in history women’s issues were side-lined in light of a bigger cause.