Budapest – UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi called on Hungary to improve access for people seeking asylum and to do away with its so-called border “transit zones,” which he said are in effect detention centres. In Budapest, he met Minister of Foreign Affairs Péter Szijjártó and In...

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, today urged EU Member States to promptly relocate all asylum-seekers eligible under the EU’s emergency relocation scheme and for it to continue beyond the two years originally planned. “Although the relocation scheme has only partially met what was originally foreseen ...

The Hellenic Rescue Team and Efi Latsoudi of “PIKPA village” on Lesvos joint winners of humanitarian honour A 2,000 strong volunteer sea rescue team, credited with saving thousands of lives during the 2015 refugee crisis, and a passionate human rights activist who provided a safe haven for thousa...

This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson William Spindler – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today's press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. By: William Spindler | 20 September 2016 The number of refugees and migrants reaching European shores this year ...

This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson William Spindler – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today's press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. By: William Spindler | 20 September 2016 On Monday evening, a fire broke out at the Moria reception centre on th...

Tunis, Tunisia – 1 February 2017. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is conducting a two-week course on human rights and refugee law for the Libyan Coastguard and Navy. The training is being held on an Italian ship crossing the Mediterranean Sea. “This training represents an important opportunity t...

A year ago today, the world was moved by the photograph of Syrian toddler Alan Kurdi who drowned when his family, like hundreds of thousands of other refugees, was desperately trying to reach safety in Europe. UNHCR estimates that, since Alan’s death 4,176 people have died or gone missing on the Med...

The informal camp for refugees and migrants in Calais known as “the Jungle” is not an environment fit for human habitation. UNHCR has long recommended its closure and its replacement by proper accommodation for asylum seekers and migrants. Yesterday, the French authorities transferred some 1,900 peo...

Earlier this month France’s President Francois Hollande announced that the informal camp for refugees and migrants in Calais, the so-called “Jungle,” will be closed in the coming days, with the camp population to be moved to centres where better help can be provided. This is welcome. The Calais ...

UNHCR is alarmed at the high death toll being seen this year among refugees and migrants crossing the Mediterranean. Already, and with two months of 2016 still to go, at least 3,740 lives are reported lost – just short of the 3,771 deaths reported for the whole of 2015. This is the worst we have see...