Children in every country are struggling with the impact of COVID-19. An entire generation has had its education disrupted, from nurseries and pre-primaries to universities and apprenticeships
For most people in displacement contexts, there are simply not enough vaccines available in the places where they are hosted: 85% of refugees are hosted in lower- and middle-income countries, while ...in the first six months of this year 85% of vaccines went to wealthy countries; lower- and middle income countries have still received only a fraction of the vaccine doses they require.3 Shortages in these countries can also pose particular risks to vaccination campaigns aimed at displaced populations, as they can result in them being deprioritized.
more
Children in refugee situations face many potential dangers, such as violence, abuse, exploitation, discrimination, separation from their families, trafficking and military recruitment. The impact of these experiences can be devastating and long-last...ing. Children have different needs from adults and these needs can only be identified and met if they are approached in a way that is specific to children.
The impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic has exacerbated the dangers faced by children in refugee situations and laid bare the need for their protection and for ensuring that all their human rights are upheld all the time.
The goal of this publication is to share examples of approaches by members of the Initiative that have proven effective for children.
more
Aligned to the Lancet Migration Global Statementto include migrants and refugees incountries’response toCOVID-192, this brief focuses onGreece’s challenges and opportunities to build an inclusive response. Asylum seekers and ...te-to-highlight medbox">refugees in Greece are currently placed by the Greek governments in Reception and Identification Centres(RICs), apartments, hotels and camps across the Greek islands and the mainland, along with a proportion who are homeless. Currently there are six RICson the Greek islands: Vial on Chios island; Pyli on Kos island; Lepida on Leros island; Moria on Lesvos island; and Vathy on Samos, as well asan unofficial camp on Rhodes. Inaddition there are 18 camps in the northern mainland of Greece; 13 camps in the southern mainland of Greece and one in the southern peninsula (Peloponnese).
more
10–11 May 2016, Catania, Italy
This report found that fewer than 15 percent of more than 3,000 school-age asylum-seeking children on the islands were enrolled in public school at the end of the 2017-2018 school year, and that in government-run camps on the islands, only about 100 children, all preschoolers, had access to formal e...ducation. The asylum-seeking children on the islands are denied the educational opportunities they would have on the mainland. Most of those who were able to go to school had been allowed to leave the government-run camps for housing run by local authorities and volunteers
more
Action on behalf of unaccompanied and separated children should be guided by principles enshrined in international standards. The validity of these principles has been confirmed by experience and lessons learnt from conflicts and natural disasters in recent years. The objective of the present public...ation is to outline the guiding principles which form the basis for action in this regard.
more
As the Group of Eight (G8) world leaders meet in Saint Petersburg, Russia for this year’s G8 Summit, it is important to take stock of international efforts to finance the response to the global HIV/AIDS epidemic. Financing a sufficient and sustain...ed response to the epidemic has emerged as one of the world’s greatest challenges, and one that will be with us for the foreseeable future. Often, those countries most affected are also least able to respond, increasing their vulnerability to HIV/AIDS and in turn further complicating their ability to address the epidemic, as is the case for many nations in sub-Saharan Africa. In addition, concerns have been raised about “second wave” nations, particularly China, India, and Russia, which stand on the brink of generalized epidemics if more is not done now
more
Health Evidence Network Synthesis Report, No. 47
The increasing number of refugees, asylum seekers and irregular migrants poses a challenge for mental health services in Europe. This review found t...hat these groups are exposed to risk factors for mental disorders before, during and after migration. The prevalence rates of psychotic, mood and substance use disorders in these groups are variable but overall are similar to those in the host populations; however, the rates of post-traumatic stress disorder in refugees and asylum seekers are higher.
more
Health Evidence Network synthesis report 53
Technical guidance.
This technical guidance aims to inform policy and practice development specifically related to improving the health of older refugees and migrants within the European Union and the larger WHO European Region. Both ageing and mig...ration are in themselves complex multidimensional processes shaped by a range of factors at the micro, meso and macro levels over the life-course of the individual, but also with intertwined trajectories. Relevant areas for policy-making include healthy ageing over the life-course, supportive environments, people-centred health and long-term care services, and strengthening the evidence base and research
more
The main objective of this guidance is to provide scientific advice on public health principles and considerations for infection and prevention control of COVID-19 in migrant and refugee reception a...nd detention centres in the European Union and European Economic Area (EU/EEA) and the United Kingdom (UK).
more
This report tells the stories of some of the world’s 7.1 million refugee children of school age under UNHCR’s mandate. In addition, it looks at the educational aspirations of refugee youth eage...r to continue learning after secondary education, and highlights the need for strong partnerships in order to break down the barriers to education for millions of refugee children.
more
Refugee law encompasses both customary law, peremptory norms, and international legal instruments.
The only international instruments directly applying to refugees are the 1951 United Nations Conve...ntion Relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees. Both the Convention and the Protocol are open to states, but each may be signed separately. 145 states have ratified the Convention, and 146 have ratified the Protocol. This is the key document to refugee protection plus the text of the Protocol, which removed a deadline and geographical restrictions from the Convention.
For versions in other languages (e.g. Russian, Spanish, French and Chinese) go to http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/home.
more
Hundreds of thousands of refugees are at risk of being pushed to return to Syria in 2018, despite ongoing violence, bombing and shelling that are endangering the lives of civilians, leading humanitarian agencies warn in a report released today. The ...warning comes amid a global anti-refugee backlash, harsher conditions in neighbouring countries hosting Syrians, and Syrian government victories in the conflict that have fuelled misleading rhetoric suggesting Syria is safe for refugees to return.
more
For close to 15 years, the Monitor has tracked the impact of victim assistance on the lives of victims of landmines, cluster munitions,
and other explosive remnants of war (hereafter “mine/ERW victims...). Over this time, the international community has strengthened its resolve to promote the rights and address the needs of victims through programs and services that are accessible and adequate in quantity, quality, availability, and consistent with the high standards set by human rights as well as other international humanitarian law.
more
The pandemic presents tough choices for governments, local communities, health and school systems, as well as families and businesses: How to re-open safely? How to safeguard people’s lives and protect their livelihoods? Where to allocate scarce r...esources? How to protect those unable to protect themselves? Answers to questions like these will affect our short-term success in battling the spread of the virus and could have impacts for generations to come.
More than ever, the world needs reliable and trustworthy data and statistics to inform these important decisions. The United Nations and all member organizations of the Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities (CCSA) collect and make available a wealth of information for assessing the multifaceted impacts of the pandemic. This report updates some of the global and regional trends presented in Volume I and offers a snapshot of how COVID-19 continues to affect the world today across multiple domains.
more
Once identified as vulnerable, applicants enjoy specific rights and safeguards in the asylum process under EU law. Vulnerability should therefore trigger additional or tailored support to ensure that people have the necessary conditions to bring forward a claim ...dbox">for protection.
more