Miyavi is on a mission to change Japan's tune on refugees
In his lesser-known role as a refugee advocate, Miyavi, aka the samurai guitarist, asks that people look beyond the headline numbers before declaring Japan unwelcoming to asylum-seekers. Despite Japan taking in only 42 refugees in 2018 — accepting less than 1 percent of applicants — ...
As Peru tightens its border, desperate Venezuelans cling to asylum lifeline
Thousands of Venezuelans crossed into Peru despite a crackdown on migrants without passports or visas meant to stem the flood of immigration from their crisis-stricken nation, as many lacking those documents filed asylum requests instead. Venezuela's economic collapse under President Nicolas Maduro has unleashed the ...
Contemporary Japanese artist Nara wants to raise awareness on struggles faced by refugees
Contemporary Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara urged visitors to an international aid symposium in Tokyo to try to "imagine" being in the shoes of displaced persons during a speech where he shared his experience of visiting refugee camps in Jordan. At the event held Saturday at ...
149 African refugees airlifted from Libya to Italy but more help needed, U.N. says
A total of 149 Africans in Libya were evacuated to Italy on Thursday, but more states must help people escape deteriorating conditions in Tripoli after two months of fighting, the United Nations refugee agency said. Libyan eastern commander Khalifa Hifter's Libyan National Army began an ...
U.N. evacuates 325 detained African migrants as war reaches Tripoli
The United Nations refugee agency evacuated 325 African refugees on Wednesday from Qasr Ben Gashir detention center in southern Tripoli because of deteriorating security and escalating violence. The refugees — mainly Eritrean, Sudanese and Nigerian — were taken to a detention center in Zawiya, a ...
UNHCR warns of false rumors as migrants gather near Greece's northern border, seeking to cross
Dozens of refugees and migrants stuck in Greece gathered in a field near the country's northern border on Thursday, seeking to travel onward to Northern Europe. Small groups of people including children arrived at the field next to the migrant camp of Diavata near the ...
Sadako Ogata: Waging peace on war
A 1993 photograph of a diminutive, sexagenarian woman surveying the front lines of conflict has left an indelible mark on the international community as a true example of commitment to humanitarian aid.
UNHCR credits Japan for 'small steps' but calls on nation to accept more refugees
Japan is making progress toward opening its doors to refugees in “small steps” but could do more to support displaced people in areas of conflict, including the Rohingya, U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said in Tokyo on Friday. As Japan prepares to accept ...
Japan considers doubling number of refugees to 60 starting in 2020
The government will review its policy of receiving refugees only from Myanmar under the program led by the UNHCR, while also promoting their settlement in areas beyond Tokyo.
U.N. readies to send teams to Myanmar's Rakhine after Rohingya return deal: official
The United Nations is preparing to send teams of experts into Myanmar's Rakhine state to begin work aimed at eventually repatriating Rohingya Muslims who fled violence last year, the regional head of the U.N. development agency said on Thursday. The U.N. agencies for development and ...
Russian jets pound south Syria as U.N. urges Jordan to open border to displaced thousands
Syrian army troops came closer to the Jordanian border on Thursday as the opposition and Russia agreed to resume suspended talks on a deal to end fighting that has sparked one of the fastest displacements in the course of the conflict. Dark smoke rose over ...
Mediterranean 'disembarkation platforms' no quick fix to ease EU migration crisis: U.N. agency
Planned new centers around the Mediterranean to handle migrants will be no silver bullet solution to the European Union's immigration challenge, says a U.N. agency of the idea it will be asked to implement. Irregular migration across the sea has been dramatically reduced, and only ...
