DISPLACEMENT AND ASYLUM

GENEVA (SOHA) – Asylum seekers at the Mexican border fleeing violence or persecution are entitled to lodge claims in the United States to obtain sanctuary there, U.N. agencies said in a fresh attempt to shield migrants from tough U.S. immigration policies. United Nations officials have repeatedly urged Washington to ensure …

NAIROBI (SOHA) – The divisive debate over a federal refugee program will likely resurface next year in St. Cloud as two new members elected Nov. 6 join the City Council. Paul Brandmire and Mike Conway will be sworn in Jan. 7 for four-year terms, and both say they will push …

NAIROBI (SOHA) – Kenya has repatriated 300,000 refugees to Somalia under the Safe Voluntary Return programme since December 2014, Deputy President William Ruto has said. The government is partnering with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in the programme. The UNHCR, Kenya and Somalia signed a tripartite agreement on …

SANAG (SOHA) –  An initiative by university graduates and students is enabling nomadic Somali children whose education was cut short by the punishing drought to catch up on their studies. The group of 150 youth have set up classes for children of destitute pastoralist families, displaced by drought and resettled …

SANAG (SOHA) – Displaced families from the Somali region of Ethiopia living on the outskirts of Badhan town in northern Somalia’s Sanag region are surviving under difficult conditions without access to food and proper shelter. The 27 families, who fled from conflict between Somalis and Oromos in eastern Ethiopia, have been …

TORONTO (SOHA) – New Victoria city councillor Sharmarke Dubow may be fresh to politics but he’s already mastered the game of life. Kylie Stanton has more on his journey from refugee camp to Canadian citizen, and now, city hall. A Victoria city councillor was elected the first time he was …

MOGADISHU (SOHA) – An upsurge in insecurity and conflict has triggered a new wave of displacement in the Lower Shabelle region of South West State. According to UNHCR-led Protection and Return Monitoring Network (PRMN), more than 34,000 people have fled the area since the beginning of August, joining thousands of …

OTTAWA (SOHA) – The United Nations High Commission for refugees is seeking a greater global commitment in helping educate over a million children living in refugee camps in the horn of Africa who are out of school to help them build them a better future, it’s envoy for the region …

OTTAWA (SOHA) – The United Nations refugee agency is asking Canada to resettle more refugees from the Horn of Africa, emphasizing the needs of particularly vulnerable Somalis displaced by a decades-long conflict in the war-torn country. Mohamed Abdi Affey, the special envoy of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees …

HARGEISA (SOHA) – For the last six years, Elmi Noor, 38, has been making $4,000 a month from what he terms a ‘lucrative business’ – smuggling young people from across East Africa to Libya, where they are invariably held for ransom by criminal gangs under cruel conditions. Noor coordinates a …