UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, called today for an additional 40,000 resettlement places to be made available for refugees located in 15 priority countries* along the Central Mediterranean route. “These 40,000 resettlement places, which will complement already existing commitments, will be crucial t...

Libya remains one of the most complex mixed migration situations in the world, with refugees traveling alongside migrants through perilous routes, surviving dangerous desert crossings and abuses that include sexual violence, torture, detention in inhumane conditions and abductions for ransom. All th...

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 ...

Violations of international refugee law, such as attacks by troops and families being driven back across borders, jeopardized the safety of people fleeing for their lives in 2017, UNHCR’s international protection chief said today. In a key annual address to the UN Refugee Agency’s annual Executive ...

PARIS – UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said on Monday that France has a leading role to play in resettling refugees and managing migration flows in Europe. During a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, Grandi added that the UNHCR supports France in its efforts to “lead E...

News comment by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, on Mediterranean crossings over the weekend Since Friday, we‘ve seen over 6,000 people crossing the Mediterranean to reach Italy – bringing the total this year to over 43,000. These massive arrivals and the fact th...

This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Cécile Pouilly – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today's press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. In the last 24 hours we have received alarming information on two new shipwrecks in the Central Mediterranean. The first ...

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. Reports emerging from the sea rescue effort between Italy and Libya suggest around 20 men, women and children are missin...

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, announced today that it is stepping up its presence and programmes in Libya in response to the worsening humanitarian crisis resulting from conflict, insecurity, political instability and a collapsing economy in the North African country. Amid the increasing complexity...