International Diploma in Humanitarian Assistance - Fordham Institute of International Humanitarian Affairs
International Diploma in Humanitarian Assistance - Fordham Institute of International Humanitarian Affairs
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Refugees

GEOPOLITICS

When Deaths Exceed Births, Countries Can Turn to Immigration

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The demography is clear: when deaths outnumber births — excluding for zero immigration — populations decline. That simple yet powerful demographic relationship is irrefutable, regardless of geography, era, economics, political ideology or religious belief. Yet many politicians around the world, who typically have short-term perspectives, particularly those living in countries facing population decline and large … Read more

UNGA72

Trump Blows Up the UN, Metaphorically Speaking

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Can a rebuttal happen before an event occurs? United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres took pre-emptive strikes against President Donald Trump in his speech at the opening session of the 72nd General Assembly, on Sept. 19, 2017. Rumors were rampant that Trump would deliver a strongly nationalistic speech, reportedly written by Stephen Miller, author of Trump’s … Read more

UNGA72

Stopping Sex Abuse in UN Peacekeeping: Guterres’s Direct Call for Political Support

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The United Nations’ top coordinator of a drive to end sexual exploitation and abuse in and around peacekeeping missions says the organization cannot succeed without more political support from member nations and cooperation from independent, civilian humanitarian and development agencies working with the UN. Jane Holl Lute, the special coordinator with the rank of under … Read more

WORLDVIEWS

To Make a Bigger Impact, the UN Refugee Agency Needs a Crisis Fund

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The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is facing the largest refugee crisis since its inception. The agency, which was created to respond to the overwhelming number of refugees after World War II, has seen its mandate expand while its resources have stayed flat. A funding reform that gives the agency the autonomy and ability … Read more

GEOPOLITICS

As the UN Chief Goes to Washington, He Reiterates Plight of Refugees

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Photo: UN Secretary-General António Guterres in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

On International Refugee Day, António Guterres reiterated the plight of refugees and displaced people worldwide — a phenomenal 65.5 million people — in his first media briefing at United Nations headquarters in months. He let drop that he is traveling to Washington, D.C., from June 27-29 to lobby Congressional members on UN budget matters. The … Read more

TAKE A LOOK

Refugee Health: A Defining Issue of the Century

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In mid-2016, the United Nations refugee agency and Ugandan officials made a horrific discovery. Cholera was being introduced in a migrant settlement by refugees from South Sudan who were fleeing the extreme violence in their imploding country. In barely six weeks, beginning last July, 80,000 South Sudanese had arrived in Uganda when the outbreak of … Read more

BOOKS

Surviving a Sea That Stole Almost Everything: One Refugee’s Story

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“I represent just one voice among the millions who risk their lives every day in order to live a life of dignity,” writes Doaa Al Zamel, a young Syrian woman who survived a horrific journey across the Mediterranean. “Every family in my country has lost so much that they have had to rebuild their homes … Read more

WORLDVIEWS

The UN Should Just Say No to Returning Refugees to Danger

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Pressure is building on Afghan and Somali refugees to go home, even if they no longer have homes to return to. It is not surprising that this pressure is coming from governments that have been hosting huge numbers of refugees and want to end what seems to them like a never-ending burden. What is surprising … Read more

How’s He Doing? António Guterres’s First Month as UN Secretary-General

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António Guterres, the United Nations secretary-general

Thirty-two days in office as United Nations secretary-general, António Guterres spoke extensively to the media for the first time at UN headquarters, on Feb. 1. Indicative of the chaos gripping many parts of the world as a result of new White House actions, Guterres might be forgiven for waiting a month to address the media … Read more

GEOPOLITICS

Feelings Hurt, Yemeni-Americans in New York City Protest the Trump Immigration Ban

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BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Thousands of Yemeni-Americans in New York City turned out to peacefully — if not passionately — protest the White House ban on immigrants entering the United States from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen. The protesters waved American and Yemeni flags, shouting slogans like “United we stand against the Muslim ban.” Held at … Read more

GEOPOLITICS

Take a Look: Global Refugee Law and US Areas Affected Most by Trump Ban

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The public furor and enormous protests by many thousands of Americans nationwide have led experts to try to explain where the decisions made by Donald Trump fall short of legality in both national and international law. From Hollywood to the world of sports to the corridors of the United States Congress, people are saying that … Read more

Educators on the UN Denounce Trump’s Crackdown on Refugees

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More than 700 educators and students, meeting at United Nations headquarters in New York recently, called on the international community to protect refugees’ lives, encourage countries to take in “large numbers of refugees and migrants” and do more to ensure they get an education and are protected from sexual and gender-based violence. Acting as President … Read more

TOPIC: WOMEN

Trump’s ‘Gag Rule’ Contradicts UN Policy Helping Women in Distress

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Just days after a global outpouring of support for a movement demanding protection for the rights of women and other advances promoted by civil society, Donald Trump has fully turned back the clock. On Jan. 23, with a stroke of his presidential pen, he banned all official American aid to any global organization that provides … Read more

A Poverty-Easing Plan to Help Displaced People and Their Host Countries

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — One year ago, almost 1 percent of the world’s population, about 65 million people, had been forcibly displaced from their homes. That is a population size that would constitute a nation larger than Britain or would be the world’s 21st-largest country. But instead of creating their own country, the majority of the 65 … Read more

What World Leaders Said — and Left Out — at the UN Refugee-Migrant Meeting

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At the inaugural United Nations Summit for Refugees and Migrants in New York City on Sept. 19, dozens upon dozens of speakers said their piece on the contentious subject of migratory flows concerning the world. But few offered specific ways to solve the global problem of people who are moving in desperate, sometimes deadly hordes … Read more

What to Expect at the UN’s First Migration and Refugee Summit Meeting

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How do you solve the refugee and migrant crisis? At the United Nations, which has by default inherited the pressing problem of the biggest movement of people from their homes since the end of World War II, you hold meetings, conferences, panel discussions, produce “outcome documents,” give speeches, promise to do more and weep, curse … Read more

Peter Sutherland, UN Migration Envoy, Says: Do Not Shirk the Refugee Crisis

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As the special envoy to the United Nations secretary-general on international migration since 2006, Peter Sutherland, an Irishman, has minced few words on the topic of people leaving their homes in search of better lives. In his role at the UN, he advises the secretary-general on issues related to international migration and development and promotes cooperation … Read more

A New Year at the UN: Getting Serious About Global Disorder?

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Government leaders from around the world are gathering in New York for the opening on Tuesday of the 71st session of the United Nations General Assembly, an event haunted by momentous crises demanding undivided attention and action from all member countries. Responses in both the General Assembly (whose powers are limited) and the Security Council (stalemated … Read more

Religious Intolerance Surges Worldwide, US Studies Confirm

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Burmese Buddhists attack Muslims and Christians. Indian Hindu zealots kill Muslims and Christians and trash their places of worship. In the Central African Republic, Muslims are driven from the country by Christians. The Middle East and parts of North Africa are aflame with sectarian violence, and religious minorities are the most vulnerable to persecution, even … Read more

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