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Australian Assistant Minister for Social Services and Multicultural Affairs, Zed Seselja (2nd from right), visited the Mae La refugee camp on the Thai-Myanmar border, which hosts over 42,000 mainly Karen refugees from Myanmar.
States Talk about Integration but are They Ready to Act?
Switzerland: Increasingly populist leaders portray migrants as a burden at best or at worst as a threat. This week, States will gather in Geneva to discuss the human rights of all migrants, as well as social inclusion, cohesion and all forms of discrimination under the auspices of the Global Compact on Migration. The current narrative on migration warrants a discussion on these topics, like never before.
The Global Compact is one example of the growing interest in integration. It aims to bring forward an informed and hopefully balanced discussion on some of the key challenges toward the adoption of actionable commitments to humanely manage migration.
Gibril Faal speaking at the UN Summit for Refugees and Migrants on 19 September 2016.
Global Compact: Principles or Practices?
By Gibril Faal, Diaspora expert
United Kingdom: At the UN Summit on 19 September, I had the privilege to speak on ‘International Action and Cooperation: The Way Ahead’. Given the comprehensive Agenda 2030 on Sustainable Development Goals, the New York Declaration itself, I thought it was an obvious point that the Global Compact should predominantly be about practice, performance and positive impacts.
This simple and seemingly unsophisticated view is held by many of the organisations and entities – large and small – that work directly with migrants and operate on the frontline of policy implementation. There is significant impatience and weariness amongst migrant and diaspora organisations, civil society, and the private sector. There seem to be endless discussions of global or normative principles which are elegant and highbrow in their attestations of commitment to rights, values and human development, yet we feel mugged and mocked by flagrant inaction and lack of implementation.
"Cities of Migration" Newsletter | May 2017 | Read here
IOM Somalia is using Polyglu to treat drinking water and to help Somalis affected by the recent drought. Watch here
"There is an urgent need to address the root causes which lead people to move, as well as to offer credible alternatives to these dangerous crossings for people in need of international protection, including accessible and safe ways to reach Europe such as family reunification, relocation and resettlement." – UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi. Read more.
Migration in the News
- Al Jazeera, Le Monde, RTE, AFP reported that some 6,000 migrants hoping to head to Europe were rescued in the Mediterranean on Friday and Saturday in dozens of frantic operations coordinated by the Italian coastguard. Some 3,000 were picked up on Saturday.
- Reuters reported that almost 400 migrants disembarked in the Sicilian port of Catania on Saturday (6 May) after being rescued by a ship operated by the Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS).
- Anadolu Agency reported that approximately 80 migrants from Libya died in the Mediterranean Sea trying to reach Italy. It also reported that 40 survivors were rescued by a coast guard ship and taken to the port of Pozzallo in the Italian region of Ragusa.
- UN News Centre reported that IOM has begun transferring South Sudanese refugees from Ethiopia's Pagak border entry point in Gambella to the Gore-Shembola refugee camp in Benishangul Gumuz Regional State.
- Kenya’s Daily Nation reported on British charity Oxfam’s comments last week that African countries are becoming increasingly repressive and causing more people to leave their homes.
- Daily Industry reported that more than 2,800 Bangladeshis arrived on European shores from North Africa in the first three months of 2017, compared to only one over the same period in 2016.
Trending on the Internet
- RT reported that a new UN World Food Programme (WFP) report has found that food insecurity is accelerating global migration and armed conflict as millions across the globe are facing starvation and fleeing their homes.
- Pew Research Center published key findings about US immigrants and revealed that today, more than 40 million people living in the US were born in another country, accounting for about one-fifth of the world’s migrants in 2015.
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